Reviving starter...

Oregon smoker · Posted: Mon Oct 15 12 1:40 pm Post subject: Reviving starter...

...So as with some things in life my baking got shoved aside to deal with life.
I have 3 starters that have been in the back of the fridge. They have not been touched for a year. They have some liquid that separated out and is on top of the other material.
What is the likeliness of restarting these? And the safety factor of using them(concerning bacteria, mold). There is no mold, but just worried as i want to bake stuff with the kids this winter and use a SD starter.
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TonyMo · Posted: Mon Oct 22 12 2:05 am Post subject:

I am just a beginner when it comes to sourdough. There was a website where a guy had a video about this exact topic; I will try and find it again and post the link.

edit: found it
http://www.breadtopia.com/starter_instructions/

BluDawg · Posted: Mon Oct 22 12 2:41 am Post subject:

Stir the Hooch back in and bring to room temp pour off 1/2 into a new container and feed it. Add a little sugar with the feeding it will probably start working againg. Keep in mind it is weak and will need some TLC to recoup. It will be worth the effort as it should have well developed flavor.
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jrbergen · Joined: 22 Sep 2013 Posts: 6

Hey there,

I've been baking bread for a bit and my answer would be..it depends...

I'm in the military and am single, when I can't feed my starters daily, I freeze them. When I get home, I take them out, thaw them, dump all but a few tablespoons and feed them.

Through education and experience I've learned to feed them a 50/50 blend of whole wheat/bread flour and enough water to make it feel like pancake mix.

I've learned it doesn't matter how much as in grams or pounds. Can be a few tablespoons of the flour mix and water to make it feel like pancake mix.

When I get hooch every day, means I'm not feeding it right. I have learned that the hooch makes it really sour. If you like your bread like that, do as suggested and mix it in.

Personally, I dump it. Dump all but a tablespoon of the starter and feed it lots of the 50/50 and a bit of water daily until it expands like crazy and doesn't give me any hooch at all.

I just got back from a six month deployment, pulled my fav starters from the freezer and fed them as described, dumping the hooch and all but a couple tablespoons of the mother loaf daily. Took about 10 days to get them to where they were ready to make bread this weekend.

Through education I've also learned (but am hoping its not true)...there is no such thing as 'wild yeast' floating around in your home and in your yard and local grape vines. The yeast is generally coming from the flour or grain you use. So, even though I love my 1800's sour dough starter, by now...its probably all Alberta and whatever other flour I'm using.

jrbergen · Joined: 22 Sep 2013 Posts: 6

sorry to continue...

health and safety..if there is no visible mold...you are golden.

Those starters are going to be lemon and salt sour if you don't dump most and rebuild them.

I've got 10 or more starters on the go, trying to believe in local wild yeasts, but I always fall back to "Tartine" when feeding them. Seems to work. I've tried all the pineapple juice, setting them in a grape vine field, putting them under olive tree's, praying to the bread gods.

The simple 50/50 blend and water make a great and active starter, then make whatever kind of bread you like.