I am getting ready to travel for an extended stay in a different location and taking my cultures with me. I have 3 SD starters and kefir that I routinely travel with. I thought it might be beneficial to show how I do this. A picture, after all, is worth many words. i must give credit to TFL because that is where I learned how to do this but thos posts were a few years ago.
It could not be simpler. I feed my cultures over the course of a few days in ideal temps (80-85F on my porch) until they practically jump out of the jar! I swear they could crawl to the flour bin if I didn't feed them soon enough! At that point I merely smear a thin layer on parchment paper and allow to dry thoroughly. If there are some damp spots, you risk mold development when they are contained in the plastic bag. I discovered that parchment paper works better at releasing the dried flakes than wax paper. I have to really work at getting it to release from the wax paper.
Lovely big sheets that I crumble and place in a plastic bag.
Hmmm...not sure why 1 pic was big and the other small. Saved in the same manner. Regardless...it is as simple as that. I tuck this in whatever bag I am traveling with and reconstitute at the destination. I have frozen the flakes and successfully revived them also.
Being the paranoid person I am, I also travel with the SD wet starter-a few tablespoons- in a small plastic bag that gets tucked in with my "less then 3 oz. liquid" (a US travel rule) carry on. I have never had a problem.
Keifr is another story. I have traveled with the grains tucked into a screw-top container with a bit of milk or cream but it must always be put into a plastic bag as it has ALWAYS leaked with the changes in air pressure. Again, this can be tucked in with the carry on liquids or packed in checked bags. When I put it into checked bags, I usually put it into a small plastic lunch thermos and again into a plastic bag. The cargo section can get quite warm and quite cold and that is why I use a thermos container. I use a plastic container because those bags get really tossed around-a glass lined container would surely break.
So travel with friends with ease!
Isn't it fun to get to destinations and wake up your starter? I get such a kick out of that!
Bon voyage and keep on baking!
Carole
Lately I just do an overnight refresh of my starter, drop 1T of it into an old, tightly-sealed pill bottle, put it in my toilet kit and off we go. I still regularly dehydrate most of our 'spent fuel' just in case, but when I do, I swear I hear little voices hollering "ABUSE! ABUSE!". And I usually end up powdering down the dried stuff to make pasta or bechamel.
In fact, time to refresh for tomorrow's trip. Bon voyage!
Tom
Enjoy your travel’s and baking on your travels.
Benny