June 16, 2020 - 1:13am
My starter did not die
Stuck in the back of the fridge for four months. Once I scraped off the gunge on top, the bottom portion was OK. Well, the 100% tub. I didn't like the look of the 70% and washed it all down the sink. Mixed new starters, starting with tablespoonfuls from the 100% tub. The rest of the 100% tub turned into sourdough pancake starter. I'll see if the starter developed new and interesting flavors in the morning.
That stuff is hardier than many people think.
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4 months isn't to long, I've brought back a starter that was a year and a half in the fridge. Took a week or 2, but it came back. A nice thing about a starter - if it ever did die, it's real easy to get another going. Which I was going to do, but wanted to see if I could revive a starter that neglected. Once a starter is going, they are tough.
I just pulled one I left in the freezer because I need the jar. When it defrosted, it had bubbles in it. Going to refresh in the morning.
100%.
The yeasts and bacteria are super hardy and can survive very long periods of time. I used to brew beer quite a bit and we'd culture up yeasts from the bottom of unfiltered beers that had been sitting for months or even over a year. The may have been dormant, but definitely not dead.
There is too much mythology and false lore about how starters need to be continually nurtured like they are a finicky exotic houseplant or pet.They're really not like that at all.
Sure, you may get a different result in loaves from a continually fed starter vs one that has been sitting in the fridge for weeks or months. But to say you can't make excellent loaves from the latter is just plain false. You may well prefer the result from the latter anyway.
I don't continually feed my starter - it just sits in the fridge and I replenish it only when it gets too small in volume to conveniently start up my next batch. I don't discard, and I don't bake odd stuff just to use up "extra" starter. Sourdough crackers? Sourdough starter "crisps"? eh - not high on my list.