how long have you left sourdough starter dormant for?
Mine has been in my fridge for probably 8 or 9 months. In that time, it hasn't moved, been fed, touched, looked at or even spoken to. I've been a very neglectful steward.
I'm planning on getting it out and feeding it. plan on stirring (it is completely separated, with a dark amber liquid on top), the pouring out about 3/4 of it into the sink (all but about 2 TBs). Then will feed with TBS bread flour and 2TB room-temp bottled water. Then plan on feeding regularly for a week to see how it goes.
What do you think? Will it still be alive? Does my baby have hope for survival?
adamclyde
Sep 08, 2005 05:11PM
View »
Video
I have no answer, but make the following two observations:
1) Your risk is about ten cents of flour and water. The rest is self-imposed stress.
2) If this post title doesn't get an answer, I'd suggest a subject of: How to do CPR on my sourdough starter.
Permalink | Reply
well, I fed it last night and I see a bit of life. some bubbles...
here's to hoping...
Permalink | Reply
please do let us know how it works out. i've had a similar situation with mine over the past 4 months and am now wondering. yeah, it's just about 10 cents as the other poster notes, but on the other hand, it was (before I was a bad neglectful person) quite a nice starter!
Permalink | Reply
exactly. the thing I fear is having to start over again... I want some bread in a few days... don't want to start over from scratch making a new starter. then I won't have bread for a week or two.
Anyhow, I looked this morning, and it looked like the little feed I gave the guy last night did some good. It had nearly doubled, and had that good aroma. So, since I'm building up to a bake in a few days, I doubled the feed amount and added it this morning. Will check later this afternoon and plan to double the feed again, to help the little guy build some strength. I'm pretty optimistic now.
I think I'll name my starter Nemo. Seems appropriate.
Permalink | Reply
Yeah, exactly! So, was your starter sort of on the stiff side when you first reopened it? Mine seems almost gummy. If that's a very bad thing, I'll have to restart, as it were, now and then when i'm ready to bake again, (when it's less hot--no AC at my place), I won't have to wait for it to form!
Permalink | Reply
mine had a separated layer - liquid on top, dough-y stuff on the bottom. The liquid was a gray-ish amber color. The surface of the dough was kind of gray. The smell wasn't too different to the normal sour/yeasty aroma of sourdough, so I figured it hadn't gone bad.
The dough part was gummy, but I mixed the liquid and dough together, poured 3/4 of the old starter off and fed it with equal parts (by weight) water and flour. Definitely had activity the morning after. I doubled it today and will check when I get home this afternoon.
It seems to be right back where it started (no pun intended). I am excited. Little Nemo is getting back to good health quickly.
Permalink | Reply
You have given me confidence to do the same with my starter, also many months into its back-of-the-fridge hiatus. Thanks!
BTW, The King Arthur's Flour Baking Companion (one of the best books ever written) advises:
"Very rarely, a severely neglected starter will turn ominously pink or reddish, show visible signs of mold, or smell decidedly putrid. In this case, discard the starter and begin anew..."
Permalink | Reply
Thanks so much for that info. I moved from LA to Phoenix 16 months ago and the last time my starter was fed was before I moved. I just always keep it in the frig. It still looks beige with the gray water on top so I'll use this thread to get off my behind and give it a good feeding for about a week. It may even cool off enough here to do some bread baking in the near future.
Permalink | Reply
that is exactly what mine looked like. I'm thinking now as long as there isn't visible mold, or if it doesn't smell putrid, it will likely work well.
I came home from work and my starter has more than doubled. Nice!!!
Tell us how yours works. 16 months beats my record of neglect.
Permalink | Reply
Sounds like it'll be fine.
I've had plenty of experience with folks (mom, housemate) leaving their starter way dormant, and they always managed to come back okay. Work on it for a few extra days before trying to bake, maybe.
Permalink | Reply