How do I revive a tired sourdough starter?
last january i thought i'd try to make my own sourdough starter and nurtured a mother starter out of organic grapes. i fed it every week and was turning out 2 loaves of really nice bread every sunday for my weekday lunches. as the weather got better, my urge to bake bread diminished and i went 3 weeks without feeding it. i managed to bring it back with daily feedings, and keeping it at room temp instead of the fridge.
that lasted another month, but then life intruded and i was going on holiday and then moving house, and then unpacking and the starter has been woefully neglected. all in all it's probably been about 8 weeks since i last fed it.
is it too late? do you think i've killed it? what would be a good way to know? or should i just start all over again?
also -- is there a minimum quantity i need to keep alive? my recipe calls for 250g of starter for 2 loaves, but the total weight of the starter was more like 750g -- could i have just chucked all that out?
all your advice and comments are much appreciated.
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7 Comments:
I'd start a new batch... and also try feeding the old one just to see if anything is still alive in there (I've left mine for three weeks, and it's been fine, but eight weeks may just have been too long). I'm not sure it matters how much you keep alive once it's stable... I seem to always have about 2 cups of the stuff. Let us know what happens!
Ann Fisher at 8:37AM on 11/01/07
Definitely start over. Even if you got the starter from a "special place" like San Francisco, after about six months, there's no trace of San Francisco starter in it anymore. Starter takes local airborne yeast and organisms from its local environment to replenish itself. Starter is an ever-evolving entity.
It's a shame when a 100 year old starter dies but it does happen. I worked for a bakery in SW Colorado and when an emergency arose and the owners had to go out of town, the first thing they told me was "Feed the starter!"
chiff0nade at 8:47AM on 11/01/07
I have succesfully revived a refrigerated sleeping starter after 5-6 months. Feed it for at least a week before using it in your bread. If it lacks the tangy yeasty aroma after a week- it is indeed time to start anew. There is no minimum that you need to keep- its all a function of how much you need to end up with. If you start with 250 grams and at the end of the day of feeding you have 500 g. and you need 250 g for 2 loaves, life is good. You can always build the starter up in quantity.
jjacobs at 10:10AM on 11/01/07
I keep only a few ounces of starter in the fridge and feed it the night before baking. This usually happens at least once a week. Although there have been times of long dormancy in the past 20 years, it still survives.
So, don't give up on your old starter yet. Here's what I do:
Take 1 tablespoon of the culture and place in a clean bowl. Add 1/2 cup bread flour and enough warm water to make a relatively thick consistency. (This dilution relieves the acid inhibition and allows the culture to actually divide and grow back towards the maximum possible.) Cover and keep in a warm place, I use a cold oven and turn the oven light on. Feed again 12 hours later and repeat. After three feedings, it should look active/bubbly if it's alive.
schnitzel at 10:17AM on 11/01/07
Unless it has gone bad, you should be able to revive it by mixing it well, tossing 3/4 of it, and adding flour and water in the ratio originally called for. It may take a day or two at room temp, but it will come back.
For future reference, starter freezes really well. When I know I will be out of town, I park it in the freezer and let it defrost in the fridge before beginning the feeding cycle again.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 11:10AM on 11/01/07
You'll know it's gone bad if it smells rotten or really boozy or otherwise gross.
I've "spiked" sourdough starter with a bit of rye flour from time to time when refreshing it and that seems to perk it up well. I substituted half of the wheat flour for a given feeding with rye, and did this maybe every fourth refresh or so.
pieninja at 6:13PM on 11/01/07
thanks everyone for your encouraging advice. i'm going to see if i can revive it over the next week or so.
i'll keep you posted!
astarteny at 12:41PM on 11/02/07