Starter Question

[Starkman]

Hey all,

 

Say, I'm taking notes from Cook's Illustrated's Sept/Oct 2016 edition, pg 21 with regard to using a portion of a starter for baking.

Here's what it says:

 

Eighteen to 24 hours before baking, measure out 4 oz starter from the bulk starter and transfer to a clean bowl; discard remaining starter.

Feed the 4 oz by stirring in 5 oz flour, 4 oz water, cover, let sit at room temp for 5 hours.

Now measure out amount of starter called for in recipe and transfer to another bowl; cover, refrig for at least 12-18 hours.

The remaining starter should be refriged and maintained (as instructed earlier in the article). 

 

Then, when they proceed to the recipe, they have you whisk the flour and salt (called for in the bread recipe) in a bowl, then whisk in water and the starter for baking, which has been in the fridge.

My question is, is that correct? Is the starter to be kept cold until used?

 

Thanks much,

 

Keith

[ElsieD]

I'm no expert but when I have made sourdough bread, I take it out the morning of the day before I plan to bake.  I take say 2 ounces, and feed it.   Feed againat night.  The starter I am going to be using to bake does not go back into the fridge.  It stays on the counter until I bake the next day.  

[Starkman]

Well, that's what I thought, too, ElsieD. Thanks.

[paulraphael]

I don't think you can generalize about all starters. The different strains of yeast and lactobacilli behave differently. I use an Italian starter (Ischia Island) which is robust in most ways, but not when it comes to cold. It goes dormant very quickly at fridge temperatures, and takes hours to wake up. So this method wouldn't work for me. I'd tell you how I do it, but I have no way of knowing if it would be relevant to your starter. 

[Starkman]

Well, as we noted in here, Paul, I think that a room-temp starter, if anything, even if it isn't allowed to stay out for great lengths of time before use) is more common than using cold starters. That's really what I'm seeing as a consistency, no matter the starter.

 

Actually, I'm beginning to think the starter noted in the article for baking includes the error of being said to be kept cold; the baking recipe is too blatant in the other direction. I'll have to see if I can find out.

 

Thanks much.