TO: Debra Wink....RE: Sourdough Nutrition: active starter VS dormant-discard

Hello Debra,

I'd very much appreciate your input and guidance on sourdough nutrition, as well as reviving a dormant sourdough. 

1) I keep my SD Starter in frig for many weeks, often several months, without feeding b/c I bake bread so infrequently, but I use that discard/unfed sourdough in recipes for pancake batter, naan, cheddar twists, muffins/quickbreads, etc…according to the recipe and they turn out good....I think!....b/c I have nothing to compare it to, but it generally tastes fine/good/delicious. I’m wondering what nutritional benefits might still be present in longtime-unfed sourdough or are the good bacteria expired and are only present in freshly fed active sourdough starter?

2) When preparing to bake bread, 3days in advance I start feeding with 5g SD at ratio 1:1:1 (SD:F:W) totaling 15g; then after active approx 6hours, put 10g back in the mother jar and use 5g of fed SD at ratio 1:2:2 totaling 25g SD; after active approx 6-8hours, then build at ratio 1:3:3 totaling 175g SD to use for recipe; any excess, I’ll use in another recipe or mix back into mother jar. After a feeding, time-wise if I'm not ready for the next feeding to watch and monitor, then I keep in frig until next morning and continue with the next feeding. This reactivation process generally takes about 2-3 days. My question....is this period of time and number of feedings sufficient to recalibrate the desired balance of bacteria and produce optimal SD Starter to make great tasting bread? 

3) I just started reading your article about the addition of pineapple juice for sourdough starter feedings. I'm curious if other ingredients were tested in comparison to pineapple juice, and what alternative ingredient/s work in place of pineapple juice?  

I first created my SD Starter in 2014 and I’ve fed it various flours (but primarily AP Flour) with episodic feedings, yet it has never turned spoiled and has always smelled fragrant like fermented fruit or sweet-tangy apple cider vinegar. 

In advance, thanks so much for your expertise, time, and efforts; I very much look forward to hearing back from you!

Patricia