Warm water bath for the starter...

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I keep my house at around 62 degrees when I  am not home.  I would like to start a sourdough culture but need to work around this detail.  I don't want to heat my house up so that the culture will be happy!  My solution - I have bought an aquarium heater...I want to put the starter in a plastic box that is full of water.  The heater will heat the water, which in turn will keep the little sourdough buddies happy.  My question - I want to use a low plastic box with a tight lid to keep the starter in - put that in the bigger box with the warm water, to help facilitate aheat transfer.  Will there be any problems with having a low but istarter container?  All of the videos I have seen you rather tall jars.  Also, is there a problem with using plastic instead of glass?

tia

into a tall jar of water standing next to the jar of starter?  Tip your styro box on end if you need to.  I tuck starters into my vest pocket to keep warm.   I just don't feed them if letting them cool down at night and count daytime as half a day.  Glass or plastic as long as it is clean.

One doesn't need a large jar to make a starter, a pint sized deli container works too.  A tbs each of flour and water and put a lid on it.  Double that if afraid it could dry out.  Most starter recipes use way too much flour.

I'm sure an aquarium heater will work, but two points:

  • You will need to weigh down your starter jar to stop it floating away
  • You will need a thermostat linked to your heater to stop it overheating

Lance

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Hi.

I use a heat mat which is used for seed germination low wattage 77f all day and safe if I go away I use it in the shed for extra peace of mind obtained at garden centres or internet hope this ight help