We have an 8 and a half year old starter and we're moving internationally in about 3 months. We'd really like to take it with us, whether that's allowed in luggage or whether we have to mail it to ourselves where we're headed in France. I've seen people talk about this on youtube but I'd prefer the word from the people here. I could have sworn I had read about this here years ago but can't find the post.
So, is there a known and trusted method? Oh, and we're in an airbnb until we move in a couple of months so our kitchen accessories are limited.
Thanks!
Prepping for international move.
Refreshing starter after international move.
I took a belt and suspenders approach: two different methods for preparing the starter for travel and multiple “copies” in my luggage. I’ll let you read the details in the original posts instead of repeating them here.
Paul
Not international but 6 days driving across country. I partly filled a small container with flour, plopped in a small ball of starter, and filled the container the rest of the way. At the far end of the trip, this got back into condition after only a few refreshes. Yes, it did travel in an insulated cooler with other food but it was 6 days, after all.
If the recovery is going to work, you won't need to start with much. And I would certainly take several (labeled) samples, some to travel with the luggage and other to go with you on board.
TomP
I don't know about "known and trusted," but I took a dollop of my 100% hydration rye starter from NY to Switzerland packed in a small glass jar with a screwed on metal lid with a few holes in it and stashed it in my check-in bag. As I remember, I swaddled it in paper towels, put it in a zip-lock bag and stuck it in my alpine hiking boots, to double insulate it in case my suitcase was thrown around by baggage handlers. It was super hungry when I got to Zurich, but, after a feed or two, worked astoundingly well -- better, in fact, than it had in NYC. I also dried some starter and brought it along as well -- but I didn't need to use it because the other worked right out of the jar.
Rob
I have never tried to move starter but why couldn't you dehydrate the starter and rehydrate after you move? It would be a good backup in case one of the other suggestions here doesn't work.
Good luck and best wishes. Dave
Drying is the best bet - but - there will be differences as the environment changes. You shouldn't have problems - but I would expect differences. Enjoy!
From my ~recent experience, this is not a worry.
About 18 months ago, we relocated internationally, a journey over five days involving car, plane and overnight ferry. I keep my 40% ww Rubaud-ish starter in the fridge and normally refresh it weekly. Before we left, I stuffed ~a tablespoon of refreshed starter into a retired plastic pill bottle with a "child-proof" cap and put it in my toilet kit. It flew in checked luggage and I finally got around to refreshing it at our new home probably two weeks after the last refreshment. It grew up fine. So fine that I've since gotten lax about its refreshment schedule -- too often biweekly now rather than weekly. I expect that'll tighten up come winter when the baking season returns in earnest.
Good luck and safe travels.
Tom
What has worked for me, both in terms of leaving my starter home while away for extended periods as well as transporting it easily and effectively while travelling over large distances is to decrease substantially the hydration of my 100% hydration starter by mixing it with it's own weight in flour to get what look like crumbs.
As I keep 40g of liquid starter in the fridge normally, I just mix it with 40g of the four I use to feed it, whizz it with the whisks of my handheld mixer for a few seconds to make the crumbs small and even, and then package the resulting crumbs in something like a zip lock bag to take with me. Once you have arrived at your destination just add water to rehydrate to it's original % and you might be able to bake directly from that.
This method has preserved most of the activity and character of the original starter compared to others I've used (freezing, drying on greaseproof paper in a low oven etc).
One thing to keep in mind. Some countries take a very strict attitude to biosecurity at their borders, so wouldn't take kindly to finding a load of yeast in your cases. Just saying...