The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Storing Starter Discard?

jenjen819's picture
jenjen819

Storing Starter Discard?

With no luck I have been trying to find out if I can store a starter discard either at room temperature or in the refrigerator? I don't want to throw it out and I don't have time to bake during the week, any ideas?

 

 

Thanks!

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

I often end up using parts of the discard to start my builds for the next loaf but have made bread directly from it using the 1-2-3 recipe. You can find this on this site. Or you can use your discard, once you have enough, in a number of other things such as pancakes. 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I never have discard. I have my stock levain  stored in the fridge and out of that I take 10 mg and build my levain for my next bake. If I over -build I stir that back into my stored levain and that essentially refreshes it. I have lowered and lowered my stored amount as I watched what Dab does, he posts here on TFL as dabrownman. He calls it NMNF stater. I keep my stored starter very very thick and dough- like as that causes it to require no care since it isn't " eating" much of anything while stored in its hibernating state. If I want to use starter as a discard, such as pancakes etc I simply build a bunch of starter for that purpose. Hope this gives you some ideas for how to manage along with Danni's great ideas. c

Arjon's picture
Arjon

If you want to have some for use in pancakes et al, keep it in the fridge. At room temp, it will mature and then break down much more rapidly.

If you don't want discard, don't make any. You can do this by keeping a very small amount and using part of it to build a levain before each bake, or by keeping a little more than you usually use, which means you can mix it right into the dough without making a levain first.

In my case, I usually bake once or twice a week. I keep 150 gm of 100% hydration starter, and most often use either 120 or 100 gm. I replace the amount I use with equal weights of flour and water to get back to the original 150 gm, let it sit out for a while, then refrigerate it before it peaks. 

eddieruko's picture
eddieruko

if you're like me and only finding time to bake once a week, if i'm lucky, you will likely have to reduce the size of your starter. mine is right around 100g of rye at 100%. you can adjust the size depending on how much you need for your levain. i typically use 50g when baking two 1kg loaves.

i have had success with feeding my starter once or twice a week, depending on if i make waffles or pancakes or banana bread or cinammon raisin bread... 

my routine is simple, and starters are pretty hard to kill (they can easily be revitalized after a feeding or two if you really neglect it).

  • friday PM, remove starter from fridge to warm to room temp.
  • saturday AM, build levain, feed starter.
  • saturday afternoon, mix dough, begin bulk ferment, put starter in fridge
    • if i want to make something else, leave it out until i'm ready to use it on saturday or sunday. feed give it a couple hours, and then into the fridge.
  • sunday bake

i will adjust this schedule if i manage to bake during the week. personally, my starter has never gone more than two weeks in the fridge without being used/fed. 

there's all sorts of pros/cons to this approach but it works for me. if you really want to hone in on the intricacies of starter flavor and results, then you'll need to follow a more strict regimen. 

 

 

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

and then use with yeasted breads as a flavour booster.  Freeze in ice cube trays and then zip bag up for easy portioning.

You can also save some of the dried starter for a "back-up."

Then reduce the size of the active starter.

cgmeyer2's picture
cgmeyer2

hi mini, can you dehydrate starter in an electric dehydrator & then reconstitute it later? if so, how would one reconstitute it from dehydrated state?

thanks, claudia

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

to dry starter without killing it.  With low humidity, dryer not needed.  Just smear a thin layer of starter on parchment or plastic wrap and expose to the air.  With thicker starters, pinch off thin flakes to air dry.  If humidity is high, feed first before drying as it takes a few days.  Peel up as it dries and turn over, crush into flakes when completely dry and store in air tight container.

Hydrating dried starter is just a matter of taking a teaspoon of the stuff, adding some water to cover stir and let it sit a few hours or overnight.  Add a spoonful or two more water if needed and a spoonful of flour to feed.  Don't let the starter dry out, cover, stirring occasionally. The water may separate out and remain clear for several days.  Then it's a waiting game.  

When the separating water starts to appear cloudy feed a spoonful of flour. When the water no longer separates, add more flour to thicken and observe. Mark the levels on the container and see if it starts rising.   The speed of recovery will depend on age, the condition of the starter when dried and the ambient temperature.  Can take anywhere from 2 to 6 days.  If you've given it a full day to rise after thickening it up, taste it and if it tastes too sour, discard or remove a generous spoonful to feed.

i just revived a two year old einkorn starter and needed five days.  It was more like starting a new starter but with the dried flakes, the pH  starts out lower and most of the needed bacteria is preselected. 23°C

 

nickg's picture
nickg

Hey there!

Did you ever find a yes/no answer to this? I would think storing in the fridge is the way to go if you plan to keep adding to it.

I feed my starter about once a week, so I don't have a ton of discard, and basically I was wondering–can you take the discard from a feeding, put in a separate container, put it in the fridge and then keep adding to it after each feeding?

I think you are asking the same/similar thing.

Let me know if you found anything out. Thanks!

Dreyden's picture
Dreyden

Yes, you can put in fridge!  I have a special container where I place all discard from feeding the starter I keep on the counter.  If you are building your starter, you will quickly accumulate discard.

I use discard for waffles, pancakes, cinnamon coffeecake, crumpets, a delicious chocolate cake, scones, just to name a few!  I freeze all of the baked goods, except the coffeecake.

When I don't want to bake bread for a week or so, I feed starter and store in fridge, feeding once a week.  

Check out King Arthur website for recipes using discard!!

Hope this helps!

elemsong's picture
elemsong

Can I just store my discard in the fridge and keep adding to it or do I have to feed that too, along with my starter?

David R's picture
David R

You don't need to feed it, just use it up before it gets too old.

Reemie's picture
Reemie

Hi!

I do want to make pancakes but don’t have enough discard. Can I keep adding discard to my stored discard in the fridge? Or do I need to keep feeding the stored discard in the fridge to get a large amount for my pancake batter??

dbazuin's picture
dbazuin

I use part discard part flour. 
About 50/50 is alright/

I mix the discard, flour, and a little sugar the evening before and leave it on the counter with a wax cloth to cover the bowl. 

Next morning I add the eggs, salt, butter and a little baking powder to the mix and I go baking. 

 

Reemie's picture
Reemie

Thanks for the pancake directions. I also still want to know if I can add discard to an already stored discard (that’s in the fridge). 

 

SirSaccCer's picture
SirSaccCer

It's fine to accumulate discard from multiple feedings in my experience. But I wouldn't keep it on hand for too long, lest it start to get hoochy.

Benito's picture
Benito

Yes I have a container in the fridge that I keep adding discard to.  Then when I have accumulated enough and feel like making crackers, biscuits, pancakes or naan with my discard then I pull it out and use some.

Benny

dbazuin's picture
dbazuin

Yes thats how a build up enough of it for a delicious pile of pancakes. 
Today it is pancake day ?