I've been out of town for about 5 weeks, and now that I'm back, I just pulled my starter out of the fridge and fed it for the first time. When I removed it from the fridge, it had a very thin layer of liquid on top, which I poured off. The top of the starter was a bit darker, like what happens to an avocado after being exposed to the air. I scraped off the top layer and it looked great.
I have been following Ken Forkish's feeding instructions, but with reduced quantities. I retained 25g of starter, then added 25g of whole wheat flour, 100g of white flour, and 100g of water. The feeding was at 7pm, and the starter was slow to respond to the feeding compared to its behavior before vacation. When I woke up this morning, it looked vibrant and had doubled in size. It smelled nearly perfect, much better than it smelled before vacation. I'm happy so far.
I still have an elementary understanding of starters and how to use them, so I'd love some advice on the following:
- How often should I be feeding? I live in Arizona, and this time of year, my kitchen is usually around 80 - 81 degrees, sometimes up to 84 in the middle of the day when I'm out of the house.
- Should the feeding schedule be different for the first few days since I revived it?
- At what time during the feeding schedule is starter usually most ready for use, or to start my next recipe? At its peak/highest level in its container? Or sometime before or after the peak?
- Do my feeding proportions seem reasonable?
Thanks in advance.
Also, forgot to ask -
Can I start baking with it less than 24 hours after the first feeding, or is it recommended to wait a few days? I just tried the float test and it's floating nicely :)
Some images:
and one to 4 feedings are very reasonable. You have to be flexible with feeding letting the starter peak and not just double before feedings. Looks like the starter is back on track.
Use for a recipe as you normally do. I use at peak. I feed several hours later for a continuing starter to keep the acid level up so the starter culture can defend itself better between feedings.
1 - as those temps, probably need to feed 2-3 times ever 24 hrs, or more. Keep using the fridge to show down activity, which will take less feedings - 1 feed every week or 2.
2 - nah, feed when necessary ie. At is peak or slightly after.
3 - at it's peak or slightly after
4 - if it's working for ya, keep going with it.
Can you use it - if it smells good, and it's very active, and it floats, it should be good to go.
A note on feeding - I keep a small amount in the fridge. When I need it, I take about half to use in a preferment. When the preferment is good and bubbly, I toss some back in the hat with a little fresh flour and a touch water (I keep it thick), when it's something like 3/4 risen, it goes back in the fridge. I use it about ounces a week. Oh - 5 weeks in the fridge untouched isn't to long. But the longer it sits in the cold, the longer it may take to come back. It sounds like your starter is a good one. They are hard to kill, even after months in the fridge, it'll come back with a little tlc and regular feedings. Now go make some bread!
I had a sour dough starter, it was the San Francisco from Ed Wood starter I think, that I used frequently, and then my life was in flux and I didn't bake bread for a year or more. It was in the back of the fridge, forgotten.
So, 5 weeks for a healthy starter? It ain't no thang. Yours looks nice and healthy.
When I finally looked at my forgotten starter, there was an inch or so of dark, brownish gray, liquid on the top, and the starter itself was oozy and almost slimey.
I let it come to room temp, dumped off the liquid, and began feeding it.
I did NOT toss any of the starter. I always weigh my starter and then double that weigh with a 100% hydration ratio - half the weight in flour, half in water.
When reviving a dormant starter, I don't want to take the chance of tossing any of the good guys. I don't start tossing some of my starter until it is very active.
In this particular case, my starter was a glorious bubbling mess in only 2 days. I waited 24 hours after the first feeding, and then I fed it again, and 12 hours later, it needed to be fed again. I did eventually kill it, but it was about 10 years old and had been abused many times. I'm not sure what killed it.
Personally, I wait until the starter has reached it's peak of activity, or just below that. However long that takes, be it 12 hours or 3 hours. This past summer I captured a wild yeast that is amazingly active. Once it gets going, it will double in about 4 hours, at which point I stir it down and 2 hours later its almost quadrupled. Go figure!
When I'm refreshing the starter, or baking, I double everything in the jar (I keep about 100 grams in a 1 qt mason jar). I use about 100 grams in the bread, and 100 grams goes back into a clean jar. With this starter, about 1 hour later is has begun to climb up the sides of the jar, and then I put it in the fridge.
I have a starter that my mother brought back from Alaska about 23 years ago. When I need some, I dump the whole quart jar, add 4c lukewarm water and 4c flour, let it grow overnight in my oven (off!) and then put 4 c right back in the jar and let it sit until it peaks before putting it back in the fridge. Every now and then, if I'm going to bake potato bread, I'll use a bit of the potato water in the mix. Because of the starch in the potato water, I do get a bit of darker water settling on the top, but I just pour it off the next time I use the starter. Sourdough pancakes and sourdough waffles are wonderful, and is a good use for extra starter. They freeze well, for future breakfasts
Thanks to everyone for all the tips. I think I have a much better understanding now. An interesting tidbit: Before I put the starter in the fridge for 4-5 weeks, it smelled funky and strong - not the normal good starter smell. I was thinking that I'd probably want to start a new one when I was back to baking. But now that I've revived it, it smells absolutely perfect and delicious, as it should. Looks like the downtime did it good.