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Submitted by Bread_Slavery on November 25, 2008 - 11:49pm Starter Through the Airport...I know it sounds ridiculous but I desperately want to take my culture back home to Indiana to share the fruits of with my family. Also to teach them the joys of true artisan baking, and I figured that would be particularly fun around the holidays. I fly from Portland to Indianapolis so its going to be a rather long ordeal...and this time of year delays are pretty much a given. I leave PDX at 6am, then arrive in IND at 5pm that day. I figure I could and likely will just make a super stiff dough starter, check it with my bag where it'll hopefully be pretty cool and hope for the best, but if you guys have any experiences or suggestions please let me know.
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Yeah, that's a bad idea,
Yeah, that's a bad idea, IMHO. You're proposing taking what is really a live biological culture across national borders. Not a good plan.
If you really want to try and do this, you're better off drying some of your starter, breaking it up into a coarse powder, and then carrying it that way. At least then it won't be bubbling away in your carry-on.
Not across national borders...just state.
Portland Oregon to Indiana isn't across national borders. I agree that carrying a live dough for several hours on a commercial plane is probably a bad idea.
As an alternative to the drying method, the original poster could get him/herself a steel-walled vacuum bottle (e.g., a Thermos(r) container or similar), put a chilled, straight-from-refrigerator sample of starter or sour dough in it, seal it up tight, and put it in the checked luggage. It should be as safe as transporting a dried starter, at any rate.
Transporting a dough outside of a pressure-sealed container on a plane seems especially prone to disaster since the cargo holds aren't always pressurized and even if they are they aren't pressurized to normal ground pressure. I would expect a lot of anamalous rising during the trip.
I don't see anything wrong
I don't see anything wrong with it based on this TSA link: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm
I'm no expert on restrictions on transporting agricultural products across state lines, but I can't imagine there's any problem with this. The state of Indiana is probably far more concerned about the introduction and spread of invasive species (like the Emerald Ash Borer) than an ounce of bread dough.
Have a great trip!
ROFL! Oh man, I totally read
ROFL! Oh man, I totally read "Indiana" as "India". :)
Strike what I said. Domestically, many people have travelled with their starters, so it shouldn't be a problem.
That said, if you are spending a couple days at your destination, I'd strongly suggest going with drying your starter and then reactivating it when you get there. It's less messy, and reduces the chance that your starter will blow it's top during transit (remember, at altitude, the atmospheric pressure in an aircraft is lower than at sealevel, so your starter will likely expand more rapidly than it would normally... and that could be a rather messy affair if you're unlucky). It also reduces the odds that the TSA will confiscate it under the "liquids and gels" ban.
Go for it
Yeast is yeast from coast to coast in the U.S. If you were moving plant material without a phyto certificate, that's another story.
My only caution would be the container housing it. I'd avoid glass but on the other hand, keeping it in a plastic bag could raise the alarms when your bags are scanned so make sure you clearly label what it is.
You do not want to have it look like a possible explosive material or you'll really get delayed.
Your other option is to send it to yourself in Indiana via priority mail.
Starters on a plane
I travel for a living. TSA regs are my life...
The best way to transport a starter is to put it in a container that has a 3 oz capacity or less and put it in your one quart zip top bag. "3-1-1" I never, ever check a bag anymore and I subscribe to the "If I want to see it again, I don't put it in checked baggage" line of thinking (the stories I could tell you...) so if I valued my starter, I would not check it. Also, temperatures in the cargo area of the plane may go below freezing. Best to keep the starter with you.
If you want to feed your starter en route, you can pack a larger empty container and some flour in your "one carry on and one personal item" and after you pass your last security checkpoint, get some water (from a fountain - or bottled) and feed the starter in the larger container. I carry an empty water bottle and fill it after my last security checkpoint and have never had a problem. Be aware that powders (like flour) may be read as liquids by the scanners, so you may wish to remove the bag of flour from your luggage and show it to the nice TSA person so they don't have to search your luggage.
Even a stiff starter may - and I do mean "may" nothing is certain - be construed as a "gel." All it takes is one zealous TSA agent and your starter is gone.
Hope this helps. Happy Travels!
It sounds to me like you have
It sounds to me like you have the right idea to begin with. Mix it dry, 6 am to 5 pm is only 11 hours, throw in some travel time on each side and it's still only 16 hours or so. 1 oz. (~30 grams) of starter would be plenty. Feed it once you arrive at your destination and it's good to go after you've had your sleep. Just be sure the container is plenty big enough for rising. Carry-on as proth5 suggests. My 2 cents.
:-Paul
That way it'll be quick
That way it'll be quick turnaround too, I'll be shaving a day off revitalizing the culture.
When I go back Midwestern-way, I'll make sure to document the journey.
An Update: I ended up
An Update:
I ended up ripening the culture, then turned it into a super dry dough about double the size of a marble. I put it in a ziploc baggie with some other snacks, figuring if I got questioned about it I could say it was some sort of wheat-based probiotic (not too far from the truth).
Made it home no problem, and rehydrated it into a starter. I baked bread the day after.
I definitely noticed a few differences in the bread, most probably from water quality and the fact that I always use high-quality sea salt and I was stuck using rock-salt there. I gave my dad a sourdough 101 intro so hopefully he'll be baking bread regularly so we can compare how they differ a year from now.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Another Hoosier chimes in
Glad it worked out. If I decide to try baking on one of my NYC to Indianapolis trips (I'm from there, too, North Side, you?) I'll remember to think about water quality, etc.