# Two Sourdough Questions



## mdboatbum (Sep 5, 2012)

Feel free to skip to the questions in bold print

I've been cultivating a sourdough starter for a couple weeks. I call it "Sour Grapes Sourdough", as it's the product of natural yeast from the Nation's Capital during these bitter economic times. Plus, there's no shortage of hot air and gas in this city, so I figured it'd be a sure hit. No commercial yeast or fruit added, just flour, sugar and water to start it, then daily feedings of flour and water. It's doing really well. Obviously it hasn't had time to develop a really deep, sour flavor, but the bread and pancakes I've made so far have had a very distinct yet subtle sourdough flavor. Anyway, since I'm going through a good bit of flour feeding this little beast, I figured it was time to move to the fridge to cut the feedings down to every 10 days or so. My question is *does the starter continue to produce gas even when in "suspended animation" in the refrigerator? I have it in a crock with a tight sealing lid, similar to the lid on a Grolsch bottle, and I'm wondering if I seal it am I risking an explosion? *I really don't want to leave it open in the fridge, as it might pick up off flavors and would definitely dry out. I've had it in there with the lid closed but not latched (this leaves a 1/4" gap between the lid and the crock) for about 24 hours, and there are still bubbles on the surface. My other option is a Mason jar with the lid on but not tightened, but i really like the crock and would prefer to use it as long as sealing it won't be creating a potential bomb.

Second question: *How do I go about drying the starter in order to send it to friends? *I think it would be fun to send a few grams of the dried starter to friends and family around the country, but I have no idea how to do this. Do I just spread a thin layer of it on some plastic wrap and let it sit out until it dries, then grind it up?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give this novice bread maker.


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## scarbelly (Sep 5, 2012)

I can answer the first question for you - We have had our sourdough starter in a container with a plastic lid and have experienced no problems with the lid popping off due to gases. We also let it sit out on the counter once a week for a day before we use it to warm up to room temp and experience no problem with off gassing.

Here is a great bread site with a tutorial for dehydrating starters

http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/


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## mdboatbum (Sep 5, 2012)

Wow!! Thanks. I went ahead and sealed up the crock. That link was great, told me just what I needed to know. I'll be drying some out later this week!


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## mdboatbum (Sep 9, 2012)

Just a little update. Took the starter out of the fridge last night in anticipation of baking a batch of sandwich bread later today. Fed it last night and again this morning. It's really starting to develop a wonderful aroma. It's not as "lively' as I thought it might be, but after each feeding it does bubble up and increase in volume. Anyway, this morning, rather than discarding the half I removed for the feeding, I decided to make sourdough biscuits. Used about 250g of starter added to 250g of self rising flour (didn't feel like waiting hours for them to rise) with about 75g of butter cut in. Added a half tsp of salt and just mixed it all up in the bowl. Divided into 10 "balls", which I patted down in a greased 10" round cake pan. Let them rise for the 15 minutes it took to preheat the oven, then baked for 20 minutes at 425˚. Had one with butter just after they came out of the oven, then made up a batch of sausage gravy for brunch. At the risk of sounding like a braggart, these were some of the best biscuits I've ever made. Light and fluffy inside with just a slightly crunchy exterior. I was afraid they'd be a little tough with the gluten from the starter, but they're actually quite tender. The flavor's awesome, rich and buttery with a nice tangy finish from the sourdough.













biscuit1.jpg



__ mdboatbum
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biscuit2.jpg



__ mdboatbum
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biscuit3.jpg



__ mdboatbum
__ Sep 9, 2012


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## scarbelly (Sep 9, 2012)

Congrats those look tasty


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## jrod62 (Sep 9, 2012)

looks great !!!

going to have to try to make some.


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## mdboatbum (Sep 9, 2012)

Thanks, they were really pretty good for a first attempt. And ridiculously easy. If you don't have a starter ready to go, you can just mix a cup of warm water, a cup of flour (ap or bread flour, not self rising) and a teaspoon of yeast in a bowl the day (or 2) before, cover it lightly and leave out on the counter. It won't be exactly the same, but it'll be really close.


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## daveomak (Sep 9, 2012)

Mdboatbum said:


> Had one with butter just after they came out of the oven, then* made up a batch of sausage gravy for brunch.* At the risk of sounding like a braggart, these were some of the best biscuits I've ever made. Light and fluffy inside with just a slightly crunchy exterior. The flavor's awesome, rich and buttery with a nice tangy finish from the sourdough.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Soooooo ?????   Where is the gravy ?????


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## mdboatbum (Sep 9, 2012)

DaveOmak said:


> Soooooo ?????   Where is the gravy ?????


Haha!! Sorry, the pics were kind of an after thought. The leftover gravy was put away by then. It was just your basic sausage gravy. Browned off a pound of sausage then added 2 TB of flour. Stirred that around for a couple minutes then added 2 cups of milk and a whole bunch of fresh ground pepper. One of my favorite meals.


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## daveomak (Sep 9, 2012)

Mdboatbum said:


> One of my favorite meals.  _* Mine Too.......   *_Dave


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## smokinhusker (Sep 10, 2012)

Looks great! I have a similar starter that I use for sweet breads, cakes and sticky buns. I'll have to try the biscuits.


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## oregonsmoke (Sep 13, 2012)

Thats interesting, I never knew you could dehydrat sour dough. I might have go try that biscuit recipe out sounds nice and easy.


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## smokinhusker (Sep 13, 2012)

Here's a couple links for drying sourdough starter:

http://www.breadtopia.com/drying-sourdough-starter-for-long-term-storage/

http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2009/05/06/drying-a-starter/

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/17692/can-you-dry-sourdough-starter-preserve-it


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## kagy (Sep 19, 2012)

Mdboatbum, a long time ago I learned that pressure within an yeast culture can inactivate (not necessarily kill) the culture, so I store my starter in a mason jar with a lock-type lid, like one you describe as a "Grolsch" bottle, but I simply remove the rubber gasket.  A starter will most certainly remain active in the fridge, but since the jar isn't air-tight, it'll gas-off without picking up odd flavors from the fridge.

Thanks for the link re: drying starters.  Great idea.


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## mdboatbum (Sep 19, 2012)

kagy said:


> Mdboatbum, a long time ago I learned that pressure within an yeast culture can inactivate (not necessarily kill) the culture, so I store my starter in a mason jar with a lock-type lid, like one you describe as a "Grolsch" bottle, but I simply remove the rubber gasket.  A starter will most certainly remain active in the fridge, but since the jar isn't air-tight, it'll gas-off without picking up odd flavors from the fridge.
> 
> Thanks for the link re: drying starters.  Great idea.


Awesome, thanks for the info. I'll pull the gasket off the crock right away.


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