"backing up" my starter..
I was always paranoid about my starter dying or mutating.. every year or so I dry some and save in the freezer in case I need it.
I have 6 years worth of starter.
Last month I did something really stupid and killed my starter.
To give a starter a good start after feeding, I sometime put it in the oven with the light on until it bubbles nicely.
and of course I forgot about it, and turned on the over to preheat to 500f. when I realized what I did it was too late and teh starter was coocked, literally.
So I dug out a dry 2006 version and in 2 days I had starter again.
Here is how I dry. I make a wet starter, and let it go to nice fermentation, and then I spread ti on 2 pan with Silpat, and let it dry for 2 days..
once dry, I crumble it, and put it in in a zip-lock bag, in the freezer.
Could the same be done with a firm starter? Couldn't I simpy roll out the firm starter into the thinnest layer possible and then let it dry in the same manner?
What steps do you use to reconstitute your starter.
Simply water down a chunk of the starter until it is a spreadable consistency, then let it dry. There's no point spending the time and effort trying to roll it out that thin.
to roll a glob of thick starter into flour and then roll out thin and flat using flour when needed. Let dry on paper towel. Crush to fit into jar.