The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Refreshing the starter

PaddyL's picture
PaddyL

Refreshing the starter

If I use my buttermilk sourdough once a week to make bread, and keep it in the fridge between bakings, am I right to assume that I only need to stir it down in the interim?  It still looks quite lively, hasn't separated much at all, and is quite bubbly.

Mike Avery's picture
Mike Avery

Personally, I am reluctant to use anything in sourdough other than water and flour.  I am especially leery of having long term dairy ingredients as dairy can go bad.  Still, if it works for you, OK.

 

If I have my starter in the fridge for a week, I feed it a few times before I use it to make sure that it is lively.  If I don't, I get inconsistent results.  A week is about at the border of where I'd feed it and not before use. 

 

As to stirring down the starter, why bother?  Just stir it before you use it.  I find the less I mess with it in the fridge, the happier both my starter and I are.

 

Mike