If you're the proud parent of a sourdough starter as much as you love tending to your wild yeast culture, you know there will come a time when you need to take a break. Whether it's because you're headed off on a multi-week vacation, you're too busy with other responsibilities, or you just don't feel like baking for a while, you don't have to stress about making a sourdough starter, as long as it's done right. stored. Rest assured, your refrigerator—and this guide to storing sourdough starter in the refrigerator—has you covered.
…you don't have to stress about feeding your sourdough starter, as long as it's stored properly.
Here's a pragmatic guide to feeding your starter so it stays healthy in the fridge—and how to revive it when you're ready to bake again. The steps are straightforward, but there are a few important parts that will help ensure your engine doesn't dry out or mold while it's resting.
But more importantly, how is it possible to store a sourdough starter in the refrigerator for a long period of time?
Can I store a sourdough starter in the refrigerator?
Yes, you can save yours the beginning of sourdough in the fridge! A sourdough starter is very elastic. However, the cold temperatures of a typical home refrigerator can be stressful for your newbie. Being in the fridge won't hurt your engine, but it does mean that once you take it out, it usually takes a few meals at room temperature to get back to full power.
Read on for my tips for quickly and effectively reviving a sourdough starter. First, let's see how to put it in the refrigerator before a period of time away.
Storing a sourdough starter in the refrigerator, step by step
It is best to store your dough starter in a sealed container to prevent it from drying out. I like to use the same jars I use it to maintain my engine.
Here are my steps for storing a sourdough starter in the refrigerator:
- Start with your baked (unfed) sourdough starter and give it a boost (discard baked starter, add fresh flour and water). It may help to reduce hydration, but it is not mandatory. For example, with my 100% hydration sourdough starter, I'll usually feed it 10 to 15% less water than normal to stiffen it.
- Place the lid on top and close. Set a timer for 1 hour.
- After an hour of fermentation at room temperature, place the jar in the refrigerator for up to three weeks without feeding.
Is a liquid or solid starter motor better for the refrigerator?
I've found that a stronger starter, or one with less water compared to all-purpose flour, can handle cold refrigerator temperatures a little better than 100% hydration. Reducing the water can help keep it from over-fermenting while in the fridge, and as with a solid. yeast, has proven to be more resilient for me. Less water in the mix ultimately prevents excessive acidification and spoilage.
What exactly is a solid sourdough starter? By stiff, I'm referring to a starter with less water than flour, usually between 45 and 65% hydration. For example, if a beginner has 100 g of flour, there will only be 50 g of water.
While many sourdough starters are kept at 100% hydration—equal amounts of water and flour—it's also possible to keep them at another hydration ranging from about 45% to over 100%. Hydration can affect the flavor profile, fermentation activity and other characteristics – a topic for another guide in the future.
How long can I keep sourdough starter in the fridge?
In general, I have found that a starter will keep for up to three weeks in the refrigerator without feeding. Two weeks is easy; three weeks is a bit difficult, although not impossible; but for anything over three weeks, I usually will dehydrate my starter.
A dehydrated starter is simply when all the water has been removed, resulting in a dry powder. Since yeast and bacteria require water for metabolic activity—fermentation—dehydration places them in a vault state of lethargy. You can learn how to dehydrate your engine in the guide linked above.
Can I store a sourdough starter in the refrigerator?
Unlike many foods, which can be refrigerated to extend their life, this logic cannot be applied similarly to sourdough starters. In testing, I have found that very low freezer temperatures can adversely affect the balance of bacteria and yeast in a sourdough starter. Instead of freezing, use the refrigerator for up to three weeks, or dehydrate the starter for longer storage.
While it is possible to get a starter to come back from freezing, when I tested this it took almost a week of feeding and regular care before I started to see signs of enough fermenting activity to use it made sourdough bread.
How to revive a sourdough starter from the fridge
Reviving a refrigerated sourdough starter is easy, the key is to keep it warm and give it regular feedings to nurse it back to full strength.
These are the most important things you need to do to revive your engine from the fridge:
- Heat the mixture on the kitchen counter (or in another warm place)
- Feed him at least once a day, preferably twice (once in the morning and once in the evening)
- Marinate your starter for at least a full day before using make sourdough bread
Note that when you are reviving your starter, fermentation activity may be slow during the first or second feeding after coming out of the fridge. If you don't see a lot of bubbles after the first feeding, try some whole grain rye flour with the next feeding. Whole rye flour has high nutritional value and minerals that help promote fermentation.
So many foods definitely produce a lot of beginners throwing up. Fortunately, you can use the tossing from your starter anytime to make quick tossing recipes like this one lemon poppy seed crispbread OR engine exhaust scones.
Here's how I revive my starter in the fridge:
- Take the cold starter out of the fridge and let it warm for 1 hour on the counter (top left image, above)
- Take a clean jar and pour about 20g of the initial saved into the new jar (top right image, above)
- Add fresh flour and water to the starter in whatever ratio you usually keep the starter, mix and let it ferment on the counter for 12 hours (bottom left image, top)
- Repeat the feeding process once more and let it ferment for 12 hours
- Use to make a leaven, mix directly into a batch of bread dough or continue to feed the starter as usual
For example, this would be the sourdough starter revival schedule I use if I get home from vacation on Monday:
| day | Initial location | action |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, coming back from vacation | freezer | We take it out of the refrigerator, let it warm up for 1 hour and then drop it and feed it. Let it ferment overnight on the kitchen counter |
| Tuesday | Kitchen counter | Feed the starter in the morning and in the evening |
| Wednesday | Kitchen counter | In the morning, make a levain to bake with that day or continue to feed it at room temperature |
Can I use my sourdough starter straight from the fridge?
I don't like to use my sourdough starter straight from the fridge, even if I used the fridge to store my starter regularly, but especially after a long period of time away. I get much better sourdough bread – in terms of taste, volume and texture – when my starter is kept at room temperature and fed regularly. When I take it out of the fridge, I give it at least two servings at room temperature before I use it to make bread.
My fridge motor has a hole in the top
If your engine has clear fluid on top that smells like acetone, this “hook,” as it's sometimes called, can be safely flushed down the sink. It is normal to see this build-up on top of a starter, especially if it is at a high hydration level and refrigerated without feeding. If the liquid is dark, it should still be OK to use, but see the FAQ section below on how to proceed.
Check out our roundup of The 21 most common sourdough starter problems with solutions for more.
Holiday Sourdough Starter FAQs
Do you store your sourdough starter in the fridge in an airtight container?
Yes, I like to use an airtight container to ensure nothing gets into the original sourdough jar and to prevent the mixture from drying out.
Once in the fridge my sourdough starter has a dark liquid on top, is that ok?
Yes, just pour the dark liquid or flour from the top into the compost and keep the starter under it in the jar, then feed it as usual. However, if you see signs of mold (cloudy white, pink, or red), I would throw the whole engine away and create a new one.
How do you store a gluten-free sourdough starter in the refrigerator?
You can store your gluten-free starter in the refrigerator in the same way as a gluten-containing starter. The same fermentation principles apply: Colder temperatures reduce fermentation activity, and a home refrigerator is cold enough to keep a gluten-free starter on hold for up to three weeks.
What is expected next?
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For more tips on keeping your sourdough starter strong and healthy, including a process for exactly how I feed my starter each day, head over to our the ultimate guide to keeping a beginner sourdough starter.
