The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Starter from fridge to build: An example.

Fred Rickson's picture
Fred Rickson

Starter from fridge to build: An example.

Many questions seem to revolve around feeding a starter (how much, how long, what temp, etc.) prior to baking, that I kept track today as I got ready for a build.  Maybe this will help someone.

I removed the quart Mason jar of starter, stirred the hooch back in, three weeks untouched,  half full of whole wheat starter, from the fridge at 9:30 AM.  Added three heaping tablespoons of  KA whole wheat flour and mixed in enough water to make a thick pancake mixture.  Room temp 70 degrees.  Jar was now 2/3 full.  No mixing and by 1:30 PM the starter reached the jar rim and was a mass of bubbles.  Stirred the starter well.Enough starter goes into the build to leave the Mason jar half full, and the jar goes directly back into the fridge until the next build.  So that's a timeline of one person's method.  I build for 3-5 days for a three loaf bake, rather than an overnight mix, so the balance of yeast to bacteria is not critical as I'll develop all of that over the next few days.  Enjoy.