Starter international move
Just wanted to share my little success. Have recently moved overseas (from cool, dry Alberta to hot, humid Taiwan), and wanted to bring my sourdough along, as it has been a close companion for several months. Did the spread-thin, dry-it-out technique, and brought it over in an air-tight container, where it has sat for the last 6 weeks whilst I have attempted to get a new home and baking environment set up. A couple nights ago I finally rehydrated and fed the dried flakes, and within 24 hours everything was happily digesting and bubbling away! First sourdough test bake coming up on the weekend! Now to see what adjustments the climate will force upon me...
Baked my first loaves using the starter - ~40% whole wheat, ~60% high gluten flour. Local flour in Taiwan is quite different from what I am used to, flavour primarily. Went with a higher hydration level than usual (always eyeball my loaves, and generally stick with flour, water, bit of salt, so have a fair amount of variation in end product), so made ciabatta-style loaves. Good crumb, so my yeast is active, but not even a hint of sourness to it yet. Give it time... And, now that I have a scale and a notebook, may attempt to get a little more consistent. Feel a bit shy about posting things that are not easily replicated...
Congratulations!
*Good luck on your next loaf and thanks for posting that the dried out starter technique works.
I'm not aware of any international treaties barring importation of sourdough starters. Anyone expert on this area of international law??