King Arthur Flour – Sourdough Starter Tips 3

(CONTINUED) Storing Your Starter:

“Once your sourdough pet is cold and relatively dormant, it can survive
quite a long time between “feedings.” It is certainly not as demanding as
children, or more traditional pets, but it isn’t happy just sitting for
months on end like a packet of commercially dried yeast either.” “Freezing:
You may be able to ignore your starter for a month or even much longer, but
if you know you’re going to be away for a time, you can store it (unlike
children or pets) in the freezer. You may want to transfer it to a plastic
container first as it will expand as it freezes. When you are ready to use
it again, give it a day to revive, feed it a good meal, give it another day
to build up an armada of fresh, new wild siblings and it will be ready to
go to work.”

“Drying: An alternative storage method is to dry your starter by spreading
it out on a piece of heavy plastic wrap or waxed paper. Once it’s dry,
crumble it up and put it in an airtight container. Store it some place
cool, or, to be safe, in the freezer. To reactivate the dried starter,
grind it into small particles with a hand cranked grinder, a blender or a
food processor. Pour 1 to 1 1/2 cups of warm water (what feels comfortable
on your wrist) into a glass or ceramic bowl. Stir in and dissolve a
tablespoon of sugar or honey. This isn’t necessary but it gives the yeast
an easy “first course.” Blend in an equal amount of flour and dried
starter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and watch for small telltale
bubbles which should begin to appear on the surface within a few hours.
Once you see them you’ll know it’s alive and well. Let it continue to feed
and grow for a further 12 hours before you cover and refrigerate it.” How
to Remove Some Starter for Baking:

“With a spoon or wire whisk, blend the liquid back into the starter and
then measure out the quantity required by your recipe. Replace the amount
taken with equal amounts of flour and water. Since many recipes are based
on using 1 cup of starter, you would return to your starter pot, 1 cup of
flour and 1 cup of water. (This actually makes 1 1/3 cups more starter but
you can adjust the amount whenever you want.) As you did when you first fed
your starter, let it sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours to give
the yeast a chance to “feed” and multiply before you chill it again.”