My starter - will it starve to death in 4 weeks?
I'm now a hopeless sourdough fanatic. However, I will be starting a job in January which will take me away for alternate months - a month at home, followed by a month away. There will be nobody at home to feed my starter, which is now over two years old. It has been quite resilient in the past, and at times I have neglected it for up to two weeks, fed it, and then it's bounced back into life. But a whole month.....?? The starter is 100% hydration wholemeal rye. I've heard it is possible to freeze, and that may be an idea if it's really safe. My fridge isn't perhaps as cold as it should be - it is old - so I'm worrying about leaving it to exhaust itself and die there. Ideas, thoughts, advice, very gratefully received. Many thanks!
Put it in the fridge in a covered container and forget about it. It will be fine. You're going to refresh it prior to baking anyway.
If it's a liquid starter, you'll get a layer of hooch (alcohol) and you simply stir it back in.
People fret too much about their starters.
feed, fridge, forget.
But why not take some with you, so you can keep on making bread?
-Gordon
Yes, you can freeze it, or dry it out to flakes and then reconstitute a starter too. My stiffer starter at ~62% hydration lives a quiet comfortable existence in the back of the fridge for as long as 4 months, with no question. My 75% hydration starter can go at least 2 months without a refresh. Same for my 100% hydration rye starter. Take the word of those above, that a 100% can make it too. Easier to feed when you return than defrosting or hydrating flakes.
You can hedge your bets by freezing some, dry-flaking some and leaving some as is. This way you can have peace of mind if you doubt the starter will make it. You may wish to put a tight layer of something like plastic film over the top to keep the surface from drying out.
alan
Why not build a whole rye starter from your existing one? Feed just before you go away and only allow it to bubble up by 1/4. Then refrigerate! It will last and with some TLC when you get back it'll be as strong as before. As a safety back up, before you refrigerate, you can take some off and freeze it. A sure way for starter to last a long time is to dry some out. I think with the first two ways (and no extra work to incorporate both) it will be fine.
P.s. you could make your fridge a little colder too.
Wow - Many thanks! Four replies and they all say the same thing - it isn't going to die. That's good enough for me - I shall not worry ! I'm going to be finding an apartment when I first arrive out there - I'm off to work in Albania - and a decent oven is the first thing I'll be looking for.
I would dry some as a backup. It is always good to have anyway. Just spread some in a thin layer on parchment paper and let it dry overnight. Then break it up a little and put in a zip top bag. But 4 weeks in the fridge should be fine.
Because of medical problems, mine went unfed in the fridge for 5 months. It bounced back after a single feed. Of course it needed to be refreshed, but it was fine.
I travel too! More important, I have a veritable petting zoo of starters. Some get lots of TLC, some may get a feed and refresh once a month if they're lucky. I think starters have evolved a wonderful ability to pickle themselves in alcohol when left alone. Been known to do that myself at times!
Stick it in a clean mason jar after a nice snack, cover it up and find it a place in the fridge. When you come home it will take you about two or three days to rejuvenate. Just mix the alcohol back into the body, scale out an amount in a clean bowl, add equal parts dechlorinated water and whatever flour you like to use, then repeat that the next day. After a couple days, you'll be ready to go.
Anyway, if you find a way to kill a starter, I'll pay you a dollar!
Grady