How long do I keep my starter at room temp, prior to putting it in the fridge?
Hello all - I would like to know the optimum time I should keep my sourdough starter at room temperature after feeding, before tucking it away in the refrigerator.
I've read different ways of doing it: a good thread on this forum advocates putting it in the fridge immediately after feeding (to preserve food stores for the yeast).
King Arthur's site says keep it at room temp for 2 hours, then refrigerate.
Cook's Illustrated, in a recent article, says keep at room temp for 5 hours.
I've encountered posts on this forum that gives the percentage of rise as the parameter - I'd like that, since I live in a hot climate, with temps going up to the mid 90's. What happens, in terms of dough rise and yeast activity, in 5 hours in a cooler climate might happen faster in mine and I might end up with a spent starter in the fridge. A guideline in terms of percentage of rise will make more sense to me (i.e., tuck in ref after it increases in volume by 25% for example).
I guess this would depend on how often one bakes, and the duration the starter stays in the refrigerator in between feedings. I tend to bake only once to twice a week.
Thank you for your advice!
Hi, southernsourdough!
Once you have a successful starter, you can't kill it. Go ahead. Try!... I'll give you a quarter...
Seriously, just about any way you store it is going to work but your success is ensured if you give it more flour (food) than less. Your REAL question is how long and how much effort are you willing to expend in reviving it. And as a side question as you progress, what flavor profile are you after.
For lazy and frugal guys like me and many others here, I would gently direct your attention to No Muss No Fuss starter by dabrownman. Once you've nailed that concept, you'll find peace of mind and a method that works for you and what you're trying to accomplish.
Murph
Well, i won't really charge you a quarter, but this summer, I left my starter out (I was feeding it for a few weeks, then just left it out to see what would happen). After a week with no feeds, it actually turned. It picked up something that skunked it and it was unusable. Luckily I have other starter reserved in fridge so it is good but the part that was on the countertop is gone. And unusable.
have to keep it out at all after refeeding. How long have you had it?
hester
Hi, Hester!
Nah, just shove some flour and water in there, stir it up, and stick it in the refrigerator. You'll be fine.
I do encourage you to do the NMNF trick - if for nothing else than to soak up the concept and an exercise in how resilient this stuff really is.
Murph
That's all.
Hester, this starter is about two months old. When it started doubling in volume, I kept it in the fridge, and refreshed it once a week. I pulled it out recently, and tested its rising power - and it barely budged. After 5 refreshments, it is back to doubling in a few hours. I think it's time for another proper attempt at a sourdough loaf! I think it's stronger now, compared to my first attempt, which yielded a very squat dense loaf.
So imho and b/c I had a lot of trouble at the beginning of my sourdough experience I would say keep it out on the counter when you refresh. Maybe even overnight depending upon where you live and the temperature. Then refrigerate.
My starter is about 1 1/2 years. I still do this:
If I want to make dough on Monday, on Sunday morning I take out my starter and take out what I need for the overnight levain as follows. Typically and on purpose, I make more refreshment than I need so I can add some back to the jar I just took from.
So say I need 50 grams of starter to make my levain.
I take 25 grams of starter from my jar, mix w 25 grams water and 25 of flour to make 75 grams. I put the jar of starter back in the fridge, leaving the jar of newly mixed starter out. Later that day depending on humidity and temperature when the starter has risen enough, I remove 50 grams for the levain and put back 20 (I took out earlier) in the jar in the fridge, mixing that up. I always have some sticking to the jar (the 5 grams) so I give myself some leeway.
Then I use that 50 fresh grams for the levain.
hester
The answer is.... it depends... and you have nailed it in terms of variables. The best way to know your starter is optimal is to make sure the yeast are populating. At least one hour and perhaps more depending on your observation. Observe long enough for the culture to start putting out enough gas (to raise the culture if it contains gluten or thick enough to rise.)
Depending on the ratio of culture to feeding, the starter will show fermentation slowly or quickly. I generally go by one third or about 25 to 33% risen with my rye starter and let it refrigerate at least 4 days at 5°C before using. If the starter is used sooner, let the refrigerated culture mature at warmer temperatures before feeding or using as the starter has not used up the food or reached full potential at the cold temperatures. Adjust the rise to the performance of the starter, it the starter seems slow, let it rise more before chilling. If the starter matures too fast, chill sooner.
When judging look at the level of just fed culture (mark it) imagine how high it would be if one third of that culture increased, mark the future level with a rubber band or marking pen on the side of the glass and leave it standing in a draft free spot where it is easy for you to walk by and check on its progress. When it reaches the mark, tuck it into the fridge. This helps the adjustment for seasons and weather and food ratios and all kinds of variables. Hopefully, the yeast will have budded and doubled their numbers within the first hour and a half and you won't have to wait long for "signs of life."
Mini
If your starter culture is pure rye, you should know that when comparing it to wheat starters, it will behave differently after chilling. When compared to wheat, rye is stiffer and brittle when refrigerated. Gas will escape and It will not rise much in the refrigerator or after it is brought to room temperature to mature. Then you have to rely on aroma, taste and the next feeding to judge it.
The bit about the 4-day development period in the fridge is very helpful, Mini-Oven! Thank you for the details! It will help me adjust things around, depending on how the starter behaves.
I don't have a rye starter - but I found out that my starter is not as vigorous if I don't give it a bit of rye. Probably around 10 percent. I feed it with a mix of AP and WW flour plus a smidgen of rye. If I stick with pure AP flour, it does not rise up as much.
is young. Once it is 'established' you can use all AP flour and then when making a loaf, you can turn it into a whole grain one the day or so b/f your bake.
hester
You have struck right on it, southernsd : all depends really on how often you bake. Thus, "optimum" is absolutely relative. For example, if I know I am going on vacation and won't be able to feed my starter for 2 or 3 weeks, I probably wouldn't let it ferment too much before tucking it into the fridge, since it's going to need a good store of food for a rather long haul. On the other hand, if I know I'm going to bake in 3 days, then I might let it ferment for an hour or two (depending on its prior activity) before going to the chill chest.
Personally, if I am going to put my starter in the fridge, I always do it immediately after feeding (I don't always trust myself to remember to put it into the fridge after X hours, or I have somewhere to be). When I want to use it, I just take it out of the fridge and let it warm up at room temperature and it's good to go. That requires a tiny bit of extra planning, but not enough to derail one's life.
When I first grew my starter (which seemed touch and go but probably wasn't), I wondered the same thing. Now I store my starter in the fridge and don't feed it really at all. When I want to bake I feed it every 12 hours (.5 oz starter/1 oz water/1 oz flour) a couple days ahead of time, discarding for the next feed. It works without fail.
I'm not saying this is ideal, but it's dependable and ensures the levain is built with an active starter, and carries no stress. Looking forward to seeing photos of your bread. Happy baking!
Thank you for all the options you have given me! I'm picking up valuable lessons along the way!
I'm curious to know how others take care of their starters, in a way suited to their baking schedule, and it's always a learning process to go through your responses!
Other than that, I don't pay much attention to how long is sits out. I'd say it's most often somewhere around 2-3 hours, but also I've refrigerated right after feeding and left it out for as long as 4-5 hours.
I keep my starter at 100% hydration and bake 1-2 times per week, and haven't noticed any issues that might make me want to consider using stricter timing, either for counter time before refrigerating or for how long to refrigerate before use. I've gone a little over a week between bakes and still used my starter out of the fridge. I can't vouch for longer than that since I haven't gone longer without refreshing before use.