On Fri, 27 Jun 1997 eschmidt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Michelle Leberte asked how to care for a sourdough starter. I keep my
> starter in the refrigerator (NOT the freezer, which may kill the
> lactobacilli responsible for imparting sour flavor)....
I don't do sourdough myself, but I have heard of using the freezer for
long term storage of the culture.
I have 2 very long messages about sourdough saved (from the eat-lf list,
3 years ago). I'll post the most relevant part here, but if anyone
wants them, I'll send them privately...
Good luck!
Susan Lehman
UNC-Chapel Hill
The relevant information....
If you use a bread machine, I recommend (for information
alone, I haven't tried any recipes yet) "World SourDoughs
from Your Bread Machine" by Ed Wood and Donna German...
If you do not use a bread machine, I'd suggest "Sourdoughs
from Antiquity" by Ed Wood. This is considered by folks I
know and by the rec.food.sourdough crowd as *the* bible
on sourdough.
From the FAQ question#15
For long term culture storage, store your culture in dried powder form.
Ed Woods book doesn't tell you how to do this right out, but I sort of
discovered it on my own. Actually I believe it is an old trick.
Spread a three foot long section of wax paper on the Table WAX SIDE UP.
Smear one tablespoon of fresh culture around evenly and thinly over the
surface of the wax paper. Let it dry overnight, and then scrape the
dry flakes into a bowl and crunch them (Mortal & pestle style) into small
pieces. Put the powder into a labeled zip lock bag and press the air out.
The culture forms spores when it starts to dry out. The culture will
store in a zip lock bag at normal temperatures like this for 6 months.
It will store even longer in the frezer.
I find that a zip-lock bag is very convenient way to carry a culture when
traveling or moving. Make sure the bag is labled and don't flaunt those
little bags of white powder!
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