Hi, everyone!
About 12 days ago I started a sourdough starter. It's been quite active for the past several days, more than doubling in size in 3-4 hours. The instructions I'm following say it should be ready to work with at this point, but I read somewhere else that you should wait at least two weeks before trying to work with a new starter to make bread. I made some sourdough pancakes with some of my excess starter this morning, and it turned out great. Will it be okay to use for bread at this point?
Also, I don't like throwing away my excess twice a day. I found some recipes that use unfed starter, but I also don't have the kind of commitment or the time to start something new twice a day. I'm planning to refrigerate it once I'm sure it's stable, but for the time being I'm dumping 2 cups of sourdough starter a day in the garbage. Can I keep the discard in a tupperware in the fridge to build up and then use all at once in a large recipe at the end of the week? Will it starve if I do that without feeding it? I don't want to end up with two starters: just a receptacle to keep the excess in until I can get rid of it without wasting it.
Thank you!
Knitfty, are you still feeding your starter twice a day. As Mini said, you don’t need to keep a large starter.
I keep my starter @ 60% hydration. It is only 27g in total. I feed 3g starter, 9g water, and 15g flour. If I wanted to keep it at 100% hydration, I’d feed 3:15:15. It would still only require 15g flour either way.
I also hate waste...
Oh, if you haven’t backed up your starter, it’s very easy. Dehydrate some of your excess by smearing it on a piece of wax paper or a silicone mat. Let it sit out for a day or so. Once dried crack into small pieces and store for a rainy day. It will last for years that way.
Dan