July 6, 2018 - 8:48pm
How to revive a year-old, dormant starter?
Hi, all,
If you have not fed your 100% hydration starter for a year but it still smells and looks healthy, what ratio of flour would you use in the first and subsequent builds to refresh it? Please state the reason(s) for using such ratio. And how do you determine whether your starter is ready for baking? Thank you.
Yippee
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I would use. 1:1:1 ratio of starter,water flour and small amounts 5 to 10 g each and return the old starter back to the fridge. The trick is to build and not discard over the next feedings until the yeasts have made themselves known. (Dormant yeast varieties may take days to wake up and you wouldn't want to throw them away just yet.)
After the first feed, taste the starter it should taste like wet flour with a hint of sour. Temp is important as the starter will have a high bacteria count so keep the temp favoring yeast growth around 26°C during the whole wake up process. Leave it for 24 hours or more until you see any kind of activity. Taste again to compare.
With the next feeding add just flour to thicken into a soft dough and observe until it peaks. (A fast stinky peak is not desired.) Stir and let it peak again. Taste again add to notes.
With the second peak, reduce to 20g or feed 1:1:1 and observe.
At peak it should be smelling not only fragrant but yeasty as well, if not, wait longer, stir down and wait for a second peak or add just enough flour to thicken, mark and observe. If yeasty jump up to a higher ratio of water and flour to starter without discarding (still waiting for any dormant yeast)... like a 1:2:3: or a 1:4:5 or your favourite to test it.
Keep the starter covered and out of a draft or direct sunshine during the process.
Mini
I'd like to clarify a few things with you:
1. For 2nd feeding, you said: "...next feeding add just flour to thicken...".
How much flour? In the ratio of starter,water, flour = 1:0:1, 1 being the weight of the starter at the end of 1st feeding?
2. You said: "... observe until it peaks..."
What indicator do you look for to determine "peak"? Volume, bubbles, smell, or something else?
3. Do you keep track of the amount flour used in all the builds so to calculate the hydration of the starter when it's refreshed? \
Thank you!
Yippee
you surprise me with your questions. Let's see....
1). Just a little bit about half to equal the flour amount of the first feeding. Flours will vary and so will the amount.
2). Yes, all the above and taste. Mostly volume and this will be different with different flours. Gluten free flours will not increase in volume but will have activity. What kind if starter is it. Honestly, this is the first I've heard of a 100% hydration starter that survived to live one year in the fridge unless it froze or was kept at near freezing. It must be showing some signs of abuse. A dryer starter tends to survive better.
3). Keeping track of flour....um not really but easy to do. Just keep your scales handy. Weigh before and after additions. Usually you know by feel the approximate hydration of the starter, it's only a small amount and can easily be corrected with a water addition before or after tossing into a dough recipe. Watch the starter, your earlier experiences will come back to you.
have fun!
has certainly slipped my mind when I don't bake for a long time. With practice, I'm sure it will come back. Thanks again for the reminder!
Yippee