A bakery in Boise made me rethink my sourdough starter schedule

I visited a place called Crust & Crumb while visiting my sister in Idaho last week. The baker there told me he only feeds his starter once a week and keeps it in the fridge, which I always thought was a lazy way to get weak flavor. He gave me a sample of his country loaf, and the tang was incredible, way better than my daily-fed starter at home. He said the slower fermentation from a cold starter actually builds more complex acids over time. I've switched to his method for the past five days and my latest batch is already tasting deeper. Has anyone else had good results with a weekly feeding routine instead of daily?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_brown237d ago

Read a discussion on a bread forum a few months back where a guy tested his fridge starter against a daily fed one side by side. He sent both to a lab for acid profile testing and the cold one had way more acetic acid which is where the tang comes from. Mine went flat for the first week after switching but now it's just as active as before when I wake it up for baking. I let it sit out about 8-10 hours after feeding before it goes back in the fridge, seems to do the trick. The flavor difference is real though, never going back to daily feeding now.

mark_smith5922d ago

Wait, seriously? So you're keeping it in the fridge the whole week and only pulling it out to feed it once? How long do you let it sit out after feeding before it goes back in the cold? I'm worried mine would just go to sleep and not be active enough for baking day.

jackson.kim22d ago

Go to sleep" is a bit much, mark_smith59. It's a jar of flour and water, not a pet.