The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

What do you use as a container for your sourdough starter?

LaVidaMD's picture
LaVidaMD

What do you use as a container for your sourdough starter?

I received some King Arthur sourdough starter for Christmas and I will be using it for the first time tomorrow. Wish me luck!

My question to the forum is: In what do you keep your sourdough starter?

I purchased a 1.6 quart container similar to this:

http://www.containerstore.com/MEDIA/ProductCatalog/9228/9228.jpg

I quickly found that I do not like the shape. It is too difficult to get the starter out, nor is it any easier to add the fresh 1/2 cup of water and cup of flour. When I was waking up/feeding the starter, I used a huge Pyrex glass bowl loosly covered with plastic wrap. But, I do not want to keep that in the refrigerator all the time. Therefore, I am asking around for advice regarding other sourdough starter containers.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

demegrad's picture
demegrad

I use a container much like this one:

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/2-quart-white-round-food-storage-container/2710200.html, I actually have one of these stores near me so I just went and bought it but they always have these types of container.  I have the 2 quart round white container with lid.  It's not air tight but I've never had a problem with that.  It's to large essentially for the amount of starter I keep but that ok, it doesn't take much space in the frig, and it's mouth is very large, therefore very easy to get the starter out as well as feeding it. 

demegrad

http://www.demegrad.blogspot.com

merrybaker's picture
merrybaker

I use clean, empty glass jars.  I think glass can be cleaned better than plastic, and I always put the starter in a clean jar when I refresh it.  I don't keep a lot of starter on hand, since it's in my fridge, and it'll be so much more after several refreshments for bread.  My favorites are Ball canning jars and Smuckers peanut butter jars.  I put the lid on loosely at first, and once it's ready to go into the fridge, I tighten the lid.  I don't worry about the jar exploding, since beer bottles don't explode, and they have a lot more pressure.

Kate's picture
Kate

I know some people don't like plastic, but I keep my starter in a gallon-size plastic zip-top bag. It's easy to stir - you just mush up the bag - feeding it is a breeze and there's no spoon to wash, and when the bag gets a little mucky I just pour it into a new bag and throw the old one away. I can seal it or leave it an air hole, stuff it in the fridge when I go out of town, but most of all, I can clearly see how much air it has produced by how inflated the bag is, so I get a really good feel for how active my starter is at any moment.

I use enough plastic with everything else (leftovers, juice containers etc) that I see no need to get rid of this one.

Kate 

Drifty Baker's picture
Drifty Baker

I use a old one gallon glass pickle jar.  This jar holds three to four cups of starter and allows lots of room for the starter to grow.  I have a plastic lid that fits on the top while my starter rests in the frig between uses.

sadears's picture
sadears

I use mason jars and cover them lightly with plastic wrap.  I use a wax marker (like for overhead projections) to mark the beginning level.  The nice thing about mason jars is there are measurements (oz, qts, cups) on them.  I don't really use those, but it's nice to see that when my starter rises to the last raised mark, I have about three cups.

 

Steph

bwraith's picture
bwraith

Bodum glass cannisters work for me. They are simple cylinders with a plastic top that has a seal that allows gas to escape. I think I bought mine on amazon.com. King Arthur has a crock that works for a smaller amount of culture.