Results of freezing and thawing starter
hello everyone, follow up to my last posting on using frozen starter. We have a home in rural Devon, UK that we use infrequently. 6 months previously, I fed my starter for the last time and then froze it. This holiday season, I returned, thawed it out, slowly in the fridge and began to use it.
First bread made was...dismal. Almost no rise whatsoever. Probably my own fault as I could clearly see there was insufficient activity but went ahead anyway.
But we had a full house so I ended up making a tartine style loaf every day for almost two weeks after that. The starter became progressively more and more active to the point where I practically had to sit on it to keep it under control;) funnily at my primary home (in California) I use scales and careful measurement. Here I just eyeballed and or used an old pitcher. The bread was the best I've ever made!
i think there were several things going on. First, starter is amazingly resilient and will survive freezing and thawing. Then, feeding and making a loaf a day results in peak activity and consistency which sourdough cultures like. Finally, I was using an airing cupboard with temps about 27-28 deg c for a proofing box. Again warmer temps for fermentation seemed to agree with my starter.
All in all, I was very happy.
for long term storage. Frozen starters take more time to get back to full strength because the water in the yeast and LAB cells expands when frozen and bursts the poor wee beasties cell walls.... killing many of them. If you dry the starter on parchment by spreading it thin, many many more wee beasties can surive to be revived later with water and warm . Just store the dried flakes in a glass container in a cool dry place in the cupboard. Much less lag time when they wake up that way.
Happy baking
I remember you posting a while back wondering if it would...
Hope you're not still "enjoying" our winter ;-)
-Gordon
(southish rural Devon)
I keep mine in the freezer untill I am planning on useing it. I pull it and let it thaw a day or two in the cooler and then feed it and let it sit at room temp then can use it in a day or two. Granted it takes some planning but I dont make sours as often as I would like.
Katnath
Thanks for the follow up. And thanks garyb for backing it up.
I have recently rehydrated some dried after about six months (as per dbm's suggestion) and it came back quick. I do have a bit in the freezer as well, but it's only 2-3 months old at this point.
But, good to know it came back to life after a cryogenic experience.
And I'm glad to hear of your success with an 'eyeballed' recipe. I happen to be doing one myself today (and maybe a little of your success will rub off).
dobie