thanks! 

great instructions. ive already fed it once since reviving it- but i think a lot of the yeast must have died- its not as near as bubbly as it was. Then again, after a few feedings it might get back to normal- I hope! 

L

The consensus is that a from-scratch starter needs a couple of weeks to really mature, that is, for the indigenous yeast and bacteria colonies to firmly establish themselves, so not really a good idea to think about drying it just yet. If you're reconstituting a dry starter culture from elsewhere, I'd give it at least 2-3 days of daily feeding to become robust.

As a practical matter, too, if your starter is only 12 hours old (or so) and you need to interrupt the process, better just to throw it out and pick up again when you're ready.

When I dry starter (and I do a lot of that), I usually mix it to the consistency of thick batter and let it ferment until it's begun bubbling and the volume has increased by about 50%. I then pour it out onto a plastic plate (or a cling-wrap lined sheet pan), spread it to no more than 1/8" or so

in thickness, cover it loosely with cling wrap so the air can circulate, and let it air dry for a couple of days. At that point, unpeel the dried starter from the plate and turn it over so the other side can dry, which also should take a day or two.

The starter is going to be in the form of very hard shards, which need to be broken up. You can do that by pulsing them (carefully!) in a blender at low speed, since the high temps of using a food processor will kill the yeast (learned that the hard way), or by breaking it up manually using a rolling pin or a glass bottle (which I prefer, since those dried starter chips are hard and will scar a wooden roller). I've also heard that some people use a food grinder to break up the starter.

Once it's in powder form, you can just keep it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, where it should keep for several months.

So there it is, long-winded, but this should help.

Stan Ginsberg
www.nybakers.com