Maintaining Sourdough Starter

VERY happy Starter

Sourdough Starter is a living organism.  It is not difficult to maintain, but it does require regular care.  The starter I have was begun in 1991. I got some of it in 1994 and now, if you are one of my “students”, you have some.  By the time you pass it on, it might twenty five or thirty years old.   If you use it, the care is an automatic result of the baking process.  You use a cup in recipe and you feed the starter. Nothing could be simpler, right?  Well, understanding that modern life is not like the life followed by families in wagon trains or trail riders who relied on the veteran “cookie” who ran the chuck wagon, here are a few “rules” and observations to follow to keep your starter alive and “active” for years.

The starter should be kept refrigerated most of the time to slow the growth of the natural yeast.  Leaving it out overnight, even for a day or two is not bad and I usually do that about once a month.  If I don’t use the starter for a two week period, I take it out in the morning, throw out one cup, feed it when I get home from work, leave it out overnight, stir it the next morning and put it back in the refrigerator.  NEVER close up the starter in an airtight container. It cannot “breathe” and will die. 

Clear liquid

I have “rescued” this starter more than once after “forgetting it for long periods of time.  When you get it out of the refrigerator it will very often have separated into a semi clear liquid on top and a gooey white substance on the bottom.  The liquid is the acidic water the organisms have created and are trying to get rid of to maintain the correct environment to grow.  It is, also, a big part of the “sourdough flavor” you are looking for in your bread.  If you are using your starter regularly, just stir it with a wooden spoon and watch it bubble back to life.  The starter is fine unless it turns to pink or green or smells REALLY rank.  Remember, SOURDOUGH is SOUR! (Smelling only, it actually tastes sweet! Try it!) I have rescued a starter in which the liquid on top had dried and turned BLACK!  I just don’t recommend letting that happen! (And I won’t name names!)

Sourdough Loaves

I always let sourdough come to room temperature before measuring and using.  You don’t have to wait when feeding it, just warm the water to about 110˚ and it will start right up. There is also a school of thought that suggests using unfed starter straight from the refrigerator. I haven’t tried it, but I plan to and will send along the results.