Comments on: Drying Sourdough Starter For Long Term Storage http://www.breadtopia.com Bread Baking Instructional Videos and Baking Supplies. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:09:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Ruth Hurst http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/comment-page-2/#comment-41781 Ruth Hurst Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:37:48 +0000 http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/#comment-41781 I have by mistake stored starer in the bottom left drawer of my desk... 1 year & 2 months later, I found it... That drawer never gets looked into.... BUT that starter is ALIVE!!!!! It's the 1847 Oregon Trail, guess those old roots go deep. It revived very well, although I have to admit that to date, it does not have the flavour of "Eric" that I have been tending to for a year now. Maybe it's just my local bacteria & yeasts. I am being patient with it. It has a very sweet rather than sour smell. The bread tends to be a tad bland. I hope it develops a good flavour and scent - but after 2 weeks of daily 12 hr feedings, it can't compare to my little batch of "Eric" that blossomed nto a full flavoured lovely SD starter right out of the gate.... Just to be safe, I keep a batch of frozen batch of dried "Eric" in the freezer. Hope this helps. I have by mistake stored starer in the bottom left drawer of my desk… 1 year & 2 months later, I found it… That drawer never gets looked into…. BUT that starter is ALIVE!!!!!

It’s the 1847 Oregon Trail, guess those old roots go deep. It revived very well, although I have to admit that to date, it does not have the flavour of “Eric” that I have been tending to for a year now. Maybe it’s just my local bacteria & yeasts. I am being patient with it. It has a very sweet rather than sour smell.
The bread tends to be a tad bland.
I hope it develops a good flavour and scent – but after 2 weeks of daily 12 hr feedings, it can’t compare to my little batch of “Eric” that blossomed nto a full flavoured lovely SD starter right out of the gate….

Just to be safe, I keep a batch of frozen batch of dried “Eric” in the freezer. Hope this helps.

]]> By: Rose Williams http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/comment-page-1/#comment-41777 Rose Williams Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:08:47 +0000 http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/#comment-41777 I have a doubt... Is it necessary to keep the dry sourdough mixer in the freezer/fridge? Is there any method to preserve without refrigeration? Thank you so much for your help. I have a doubt… Is it necessary to keep the dry sourdough mixer in the freezer/fridge? Is there any method to preserve without refrigeration? Thank you so much for your help.

]]> By: Breadtopia http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/comment-page-1/#comment-38235 Breadtopia Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:34:22 +0000 http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/#comment-38235 Hi Dejitaru. That's really interesting and surprising about bread in Japan. Those little ovens sound like they could be big hit here among home bread baking enthusiasts. Thanks for the write up. Hi Dejitaru. That’s really interesting and surprising about bread in Japan. Those little ovens sound like they could be big hit here among home bread baking enthusiasts. Thanks for the write up.

]]> By: dejitaru http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/comment-page-1/#comment-38058 dejitaru Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:34:55 +0000 http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/#comment-38058 Hi Eric, thought i'd share some recent experiences. we just spent an extended period of time in japan. which involved not only long-term-storage for my starter, but some long-term-storage for the bulk of our belongings. ;) i didn't want to lose my starter, as i had been baking with it for quite a few years now. found your videos on drying and reviving starter, tried it out, and i was baking bread in japan the whole time. thanks! we're back now, and i still had some of my dried starter left, (starter that made the trip there and back) so, i tried reviving it here. no problems. took about 4 days until i had nice amount of lift and a nice sweet, yeasty smell. (about the same amount of time it took in japan to revive) i only make 100% whole wheat bread, and my starter is 100% whole wheat. no problems at all reviving with just whole wheat flower and a little sugar. japan was very interesting as far as bread making goes. the sheer variety of wheat flours available was mind boggling. one store i went into must have had about 20 different wheat flour blends all for specific purposes. (baguettes, sweet bread, croissants, etc.) and all with the gluten content clearly labeled on the package. getting whole wheat or flours made with different grains was a bit trickier... japan is still very much a white-bread country, as far as bread goes. japan also has these great little convection ovens (about 1.5 to 2 times the size of a microwave oven), many of which have steam injection systems! i don't think that that feature was intended for bread making, but it sure helped out with the crust. :) another thing that never ceased to amaze me was the quality of the bread in japan. getting a decent baguette just about anywhere was extremely easy. even some of the big French boulangerie like Maison Kayser and Paul have opened up shops there. you could almost forget that you're in a country that considers rice as it's main carbohydrate. ;) once again, thanks for all of the videos. they've kept me happily bread making on two continents. Hi Eric,

thought i’d share some recent experiences. we just spent an extended period of time in japan. which involved not only long-term-storage for my starter, but some long-term-storage for the bulk of our belongings. ;)

i didn’t want to lose my starter, as i had been baking with it for quite a few years now. found your videos on drying and reviving starter, tried it out, and i was baking bread in japan the whole time. thanks!

we’re back now, and i still had some of my dried starter left, (starter that made the trip there and back) so, i tried reviving it here. no problems. took about 4 days until i had nice amount of lift and a nice sweet, yeasty smell. (about the same amount of time it took in japan to revive)

i only make 100% whole wheat bread, and my starter is 100% whole wheat. no problems at all reviving with just whole wheat flower and a little sugar.

japan was very interesting as far as bread making goes. the sheer variety of wheat flours available was mind boggling. one store i went into must have had about 20 different wheat flour blends all for specific purposes. (baguettes, sweet bread, croissants, etc.) and all with the gluten content clearly labeled on the package. getting whole wheat or flours made with different grains was a bit trickier… japan is still very much a white-bread country, as far as bread goes.

japan also has these great little convection ovens (about 1.5 to 2 times the size of a microwave oven), many of which have steam injection systems! i don’t think that that feature was intended for bread making, but it sure helped out with the crust. :)

another thing that never ceased to amaze me was the quality of the bread in japan. getting a decent baguette just about anywhere was extremely easy. even some of the big French boulangerie like Maison Kayser and Paul have opened up shops there. you could almost forget that you’re in a country that considers rice as it’s main carbohydrate. ;)

once again, thanks for all of the videos. they’ve kept me happily bread making on two continents.

]]> By: Breadtopia http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/comment-page-1/#comment-36860 Breadtopia Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:03:08 +0000 http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/#comment-36860 Hi Craig, Good thinking. But the dry starter would have to be reactivated first. It takes at least a few days to bring the dry back to a usable form, probably too long a time to reliably use as is in place of commercial yeast. Hi Craig,

Good thinking. But the dry starter would have to be reactivated first. It takes at least a few days to bring the dry back to a usable form, probably too long a time to reliably use as is in place of commercial yeast.

]]> By: Craig http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/comment-page-1/#comment-36858 Craig Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:28:55 +0000 http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/#comment-36858 Hi there, First of all I just want to say great video. I am currently drying some of my starter for long term purposes due to my leaving to school. But I am curious about one thing. Can the dried starter be a substitute for commercial yeast? If so I am wondering if there needs to be more of the dried starter than commercial yeast. Any comments or responses will be greatly appreciated. Thank you, C. Kadoya Hi there,
First of all I just want to say great video. I am currently drying some of my starter for long term purposes due to my leaving to school. But I am curious about one thing. Can the dried starter be a substitute for commercial yeast? If so I am wondering if there needs to be more of the dried starter than commercial yeast. Any comments or responses will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
C. Kadoya

]]> By: Sara Keeth http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/comment-page-1/#comment-36491 Sara Keeth Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:38:01 +0000 http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/#comment-36491 I have never used a dried starter but from what I read here, it sounds pretty easy. If you have some you need to get rid of, I'll take it, but I am mainly just looking for a wet starter to get going. It's been a long time since I baked regularly and I am looking forward to it! You can email me at SLKeeth AT gmail dot com. (Sorry about the funny email format, but I'm always trying to foil spammers...) I have never used a dried starter but from what I read here, it sounds pretty easy. If you have some you need to get rid of, I’ll take it, but I am mainly just looking for a wet starter to get going. It’s been a long time since I baked regularly and I am looking forward to it! You can email me at SLKeeth AT gmail dot com. (Sorry about the funny email format, but I’m always trying to foil spammers…)

]]> By: Bettie, Dallas TX http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/comment-page-1/#comment-36483 Bettie, Dallas TX Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:17:46 +0000 http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/#comment-36483 I do! Do you want some dried starter, too? Bettie I do! Do you want some dried starter, too?

Bettie

]]> By: Sara Keeth http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/comment-page-1/#comment-36481 Sara Keeth Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:12:06 +0000 http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/#comment-36481 I am wondering if anyone in Dallas has a cup of starter you would be willing to share? I am wondering if anyone in Dallas has a cup of starter you would be willing to share?

]]> By: Bettie, Dallas TX http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/comment-page-1/#comment-36101 Bettie, Dallas TX Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:34:13 +0000 http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/#comment-36101 Instead of parchment paper, I use the plastic-like liner from a cereal box. It is sturdier than the parchment and the dried starter comes off very easily. Plus, it's free! Instead of parchment paper, I use the plastic-like liner from a cereal box. It is sturdier than the parchment and the dried starter comes off very easily. Plus, it’s free!

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