Sourdough (rec.food.sourdough) Discussing the hobby or craft of baking with sourdough. We are not just a recipe group, Our charter is to discuss the care, feeding, and breeding of yeasts and lactobacilli that make up sourdough cultures.

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Default refrigerating the starter


In a message dated 10/07/07 12:55:31,
writes:


>
wrote:
> >
> > In a message dated 10/06/07 22:50:20,

> writes:
> >
> >
> >> > I am new to sourdough bread making and have just initiated some
> >> > starter. My directions say to cover loosely for the first day that it
> >> > is out at room temperature and then to refrigerate. I have the starter
> >> > in a mason jar that can be closed tight with the little rubber gasket
> >> > thingy. When it is ready to be moved to the refridgerator is it ok to
> >> > close the jar all the way or should I plan to keep a loose cover over
> >> > the top?

> >
> > Do NOT seal the jar!
> >
> > There is a possibility that the yeast will continue metabolizing the
> > nutrients in the sourdough and generate carbon dioxide gas even at
> > refrigerator temperatures.* Greater danger exists when you remove the
> > starter from the refrigerator WITHOUT releasing the lid and the yeast
> > increases its production of carbon dioxide gas.* That, coupled with the
> > decreased solubility of the gas at the higher temperature increases
> > the risk of an explosive decompression of the gas when you finally do
> > open the lid.*
> >
> > WHOOSH ----- foam, over a goodly portion of the kitchen!

>
> Yeah, sure - the slime is sitting in the glass for a while after opening
> the lid, waits until you look away and then .... jumps out and spreads
> itself all over. You are right - those starters are learning new tricks
> all the time. If you have one of those - probably genetically mutated
> and gotten smarter - why don't you offer it here to share.
>
> for: brenwa@removespam....
>
> 1 - don't panic! (as it is written on this very popular guide book)
> 2 - very rarely happens, if at all and depends very much on circumstances
> * ** (starter, flour, hydration, amount, how you open the lid)
> 3 - if you think chances increase that something significant may happen,
> have
> * * somebody with a camera nearby to take a video,* it's a great experience
> * * and you can tell other's from experience what actually happened, rather
> * * than theoretical mind-****, blog it, tell your grandchildren, show off
> * * and all that.
>
> Sam
>

I have risen to samartha's challenge, not to the extent that I would like,
and not in as sophisticated manner as he suggested, complete with video camera.
But I did take pictures of the result with my digital camera and have posted
the pictures on a blog for all to see.

I refreshed my usual starter (190% hydration) yesterday, and placed 2 cups
(18 oz.) in the refrigerator in a one-quart jar, not tightly sealed.

I took a portion of the refreshed starter and added additional flour to give
a starter of 100% hydration. I placed 27 oz. of this in a wide-mouth,
one-quart, canning jar, and tightly sealed this. The mark was made on the jar to
indicate the top level of the starter in the jar, and placed the jar on the
second shelf of my refrigerator, temperature 50 deg. F.

Fourteen hours later, I opened the refrigerator. The pressure in the jar
caused the lid to buckle and to leak starter on to the shelf, the shelf below,
the door of the refrigerator, and all the way to the bottom of the
refrigerator. See pictures #1 and #2 on the blog:
http://polymerssourdough.blogspot.com/
Note the dent in the lid in picture #1.

In picture #3 you can see the results of my opening the jar on the kitchen
counter. While it didn't go "WHOOSH" when I opened the jar it did make a
sound, "POP", and the starter continued to overflow the jar as seen in the picture.
The temperature of the erupting starter was 50 deg F.

Picture #4 just gives a better view of the dent made in the lid.

Now, imagine the effect of the pressure, had the sourdough been more strongly
confined in the jar. And suppose also that I waited until the contents came
back to room temperature.

Fortunately, my wife was still in bed and did not see the mess I had made in
the refrigerator.

The 100% hydration starter wasn't all lost. I made some Silver Dollar
Pancakes for breakfast with it.

As I said earlier, my starter is normally 190% hydration (equal volume flour
and water). I keep 2 cups in a one-quart jar and use a plastic bag to cover
it. I also keep a spare jar and use them alternately. You can see one of
these jars in the background of the first picture. The high hydration keeps
the starter from foaming up as did the 100% hydration starter.

Now, as "samartha" so cogently put it, "You are right - those starters are
learning new tricks
all the time. If you have one of those - probably genetically mutated
and gotten smarter - why don't you offer it here to share." I will, indeed,
offer to share this starter ("probably genetically mutated and gotten
smarter").


Resident Conservative Curmudgeon

Ford



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