How to Put Your Sourdough Starter on HOLD, and Revive It 

TOM. When do you collect your Nobel prize? For 3 years I've trawled through the SD community trying to find the answers to my questions. Here they all are. Thank you. Thank you for doing the work. Thank you for sharing your discoveries and thank you for educating us. ❤

THIS IS THE TOTALLY BEST instructions video, not only guy knows what he is talking about, but best explanation and instructions!

I am a massive advocate for drying the starter. My starters (spelt and rye) were never in the fridge. There is a school of thought in Slavic lands that the low temperature kills certain LA bacteria, and yeast predominates. In the past, they always used the same wooden barrels, keeping that starter covered in flour until the next baking. Many people (Poles, Russians) either spread the starter thinly and dry it or dry it out by adding flour and crumbling it. I used both, and I keep different starters with different drying techniques; all work excellent. I know it is not popular, but I guess science is behind it. People develop their starters with super high LA and no yeast even (Russians)-fascinating topic, as always.

Tom i love your videos and all the information you give. Since watching them my starter got stronger and my bread looks much better. I also know much more about what to do in critical situations and how to inspect starter. Thank you so much for those explanations and for your knowledge you share. Not many people do it these days. Once again thank you, thank you, thank you ❤❤❤

Very helpful. Thanks for not having music competing with your voice. I think I actually saw a smile, just momentarily, a slight one. Careful! You’re slipping! :))

Thank you for the detailed info. Not discarding from a weak starter was a revelation.

I've made very, very, dry, golf ball sized, starter balls and stored them in the freezer and used them after a year. This method will take 3-4 days to bring back to life. Add some heat (80F) to help it along.

I have also started dehydrating my discard instead of throwing it away. Some of it I actually took and May little packets and paper towels, and gave it to my neighbor because he had a bunch of leaves that he needed to compost. Let me tell you! In two days, his leaf pile was smoking!

where is the choice for 'like video, hand with thumb up icon' ? I only see choice for thumb down hand. Video was very thorough.

I really do like your "NOOO" video :D Actually, I learned a lot. And, sure I did some (mostly all) mentioned mistakes

Love the scientific approach you use in getting your sour dough starter ready for a long sleep. But, and there is always a but somewhere. When you made the stiff starter, how long after feeding did you wait before you put the starter into the refig. Immediately, or did you let the yeast get a great meal from the fresh food before putting it in the refig?

Germans would keep the starter mixed with as much flour as possible into a ball. The ball was stored at Rt inside the flour bag. This can last a very long time

Thank You !

Excellent video!!!

One of the things I love about your videos is bringing able to come back and review. Every once in a while I have to revisit the institute to get back on track. Thanks Tom

Priceless!!!!!! They should have millions of views!

I have been baking sourdough bread since May 2020 and have been refrigerating my starter as I only bake every week o r two. I generally try to take the starter out of the refrigerator weekly and feed it even if I am not making bread. Your videos are helpful in understanding the science of the feeding cycle.

Another clarification… the feeding from 2nd to 3rd - was that a peak to peak feeding?

Great info, thank you

So glad I found your channel, at last I understand WHY my starter behaves like it does. Very helpful, thank you so much.

You can tell who paid attention in biology class and who didn't. On that note, a GREAT sourdough book would have a simple chart or table showing the reproductive rate of the three organisms from a single cell just to pound home the reality about culture build/rebuild times. I've revived year old dried up rye pumpernickel starter from the fridge more than once.

Very thorough. Thanks❤

I love your methods! Thanks.

An excellent video. Thank you very much!

I’m so glad I found your videos you make this so easy do you understand. Thank you so much !!

Been baking for 18mths now and hit the wall the last wks with what proved to be serious underproofing, learned that through your great vids with analysis and experimentation. Extremely Well documented and explained. It helps heaps and re-energizes to look forward and bake great loafs again !

So informative, I really am learning so much from your videos. Thank you.

Finally someone explaining the little details. ❤

What I do is baking weekly/ freezing fresh bread and keep starter in a fridge close/above to zero Celsius. Day before bake, I mix my starter fresh, leave it to rise, use most in the mix and put the rest back to fridge. I adapt ratios according to the state of cold starter acidity. Before putting it back, I just clean sides and cover of the vessel.

Great video. I will print out all of the transcribe text as there is lots of info in this. Thanks ❤

Thank you for all of the amazing history and your knowledge I’m trying to make some sourdough starter now.

My starter is now over 20 yrs old. I keep it in the refrigerator at about 34 F. I try to remember to feed it every week but I have sometimes forgotten. BTW It's a white flour starter. If it has hooch, I stir it in because I don't want to alter the hydration. I recently came across, what for me, is good advice. When it's time to refresh, I take it out of cold storage, give it a stir to redistribute the yeast then leave it at room temperature until it shows signs of life--could be 6 hrs or more depending on the room temperature. I then feed it & wait an hour or 2 until it starts to bubble then back into the fridge. When I want to make bread, I take what I need & feed that twice before starting the bread. I also use this opportunity to feed refrigerator bound starter with whatever amount was removed. Also if I'm making, say a sandwich loaf, I use the Tartine method twice before using it. I've also found it a good practice to allow the bread bound starter to go a bit past peak before proceeding--yeast is just starting to be hungry & raring to go.

I'm getting so much info from you. Thank you! I think you are my sourdough guru! I just go straight to RU-vid and you for all my baking questions and tips. I hope you read these, thanks again for all the hard work you put in.

I loved the long explanation. Exactly what I needed to learn to make the correct decision on what my starter needs. Thanks to your excellent instruction, I passed the Pop Quiz and I think I will retain the knowledge.

Last time I refrigerated my starter I did everything wrong apparently. I left it there for several months, it starved, I kept discarding the weak starter, took several weeks to strengthen it. This is very useful for the next time.

My 2nd time viewing. Still absorbing great techniques. I'm sure I'll be watching again! So much great information.

Thank you so much for the tip on composting discard. I gave some to my neighbor who needed to compost whole lot of leaves. It worked beautifully!

Should I stir the starter, then take necessary amount for the baking? Or I just take from the top?

Iam really enjoying your channel,,can you tell me where you got the heating mat from my kitchen is so cold that would work great,,just love watching all your videos

Is there a reason why you don't make a starter of greater volume than 50g? Or, what is the rationale for 50g rather than, say, 150g? Why?

Tom you know something.. just a question one of my family asked me why you make this yeast and make efforts to do this .. and in the market you will find a fresh or even dry yeast.. And if any one asked you like this question what is your answer? And thanks for your efforts in all your videos .. i nearly watched them all.

Great intro music! I forgot my starter from about a year pre-Civid, recently fed and by second feeding it doubled in size!! 😁 And.. I’ve dehydrated some which our daughter recently rehydrated and used for some beautiful gluten free bread.

Hello from 🇨🇦 .....Love your videos!... yes... they are long but full of very detailed and valuable information ! Thank you! I have question for you ... After feeding sourdough starter 1:1:5 ratio for refrigerator storage, do you keep your starter at room temperature on the counter for a specific time? or do you put starter in refrigerator right after feeding ?

Is fresh milled hard white flour fine for feeding my starter? Any adjustments to be made for the bread recipe if using fresh milled flour?

After removing the starter that I need for a bake, i spread a coating of wheat or rye flour over the top surface and put in refrig. Will last up to 3 - 4 weeks.

Great presentation. Thank you. Thanks, too, for tip to dehydrate some as a backup. Question please: How quickly can I change feeding to all whole Grain Flour? I’ve resumed milling my own grains and won’t be buying any flour from store when current AP is used up. Thank you. New subbie ❤

Great help. What water do you prefer? New to your channel and just starting to watch all your vids and don’t recall you mentioning.

I went on vacation while i was still developing my new starter. Room temperature lingers at about 68 degrees in our kitchen, so the process had been going slowly for about a week. I put my starter in the fridge, and came back a week later and it looked great. So I started feeding it twice a day and discarding again not realizing that my starter was still not very strong and brought it to a new low point. It is currently sitting on the counter, I haven't fed it for 18 hours and it's risen about a centimeter, and it is very gently bubbling on the top. Discarding starter is over rated.

It seems to me that there is some greenish mold at the jar wall at 6:18. Look at 11 'o clock.

Are you suppose to store it in the fridge in an airtight container?

A dutch oven test would be interesting. Specifically Staub vs others (Le Creuset?) because Staub has the self-braising lid. I've read reviews where people noticed moister food when cooking. Maybe their lid will help with a better rise

The dehydrating thing is actually a thing. I kept mine in the freezer for a year before needing it. Spread it thin so it’s easy to rehydrate.

Great video Tom. I went out of town last week for 4 days. But I only put one of my 2 starters in the fridge, the other I left in Proofer at 74 F with a 1-3-3 feeding. I did a 1-1-1 feeding on the fridge one. When I got home I took the fridge one out and let it get to room temp and fed 1-1-1 it doubled in 4 hours. I fed the one in the Proofer 1-2-2 . I already have a dried starter in pantry just in case. Next time I will follow the regimen you described in this video and see how it works out

Newbie here. So much information to digest and sift through. I was given some starter, 4 yrs. old, that came from the refrigerator. I'm not ready to bake, so I placed it in the refrigerator. I think I need to feed it weekly, but am unsure as to how to do this. Do I divide and feed both portions? The current starter has about 1/2" of hooch on the top. Do I pour that off? Can I take some out and feed, at room temp, to use for bread? And feed the remainder to put back in the refrigerator. I know this can't be as complicated as I'm making it. Thanks for any advice.

Great info for future use. Did notice you put your wet spoon into your flour. Not a problem?

I have a question regarding my current situation with my starter. On 10/26, I didn’t have enough time to feed my starter like I usually would’ve. The day before, I had fed it at a ratio of 1:2:2 and when I checked it, it had not fallen all the way down (room temp 70F and starter is 6 months old). The next day when I went to feed it, it had fallen all the way down and it’s gluten was broken down. I fed it, checked it the next morning (after 12 hours), but it did not rise a single bit. I was collecting some starter discard earlier in the week when my starter was functioning, so I decided to feed a portion of discard and create a back-up starter. I immediately noticed that it had a yeastier smell and it rose like expected after a 1:1:1 feeding. However, my original starter did not rise much after 24 hours. Now, my original starter is doing better, but I’m still trying to get it under control as it seems a bit weak. The back-up starter I made has more of the expected yeasty and fruity smells, but I found that the original starter has always had more of a subtle yeast smell, sometimes barely even that. Im questioning if I should throw away the back-up starter I made, or the original starter I made. The backup starter seems stronger right now, but I don’t want to throw away the original one. I am unable to maintain two starters at a time. Also, what could be the possible explanation for this happening to an established starter? I think I definitely impeded the recovery process by feeding it when it had no bubbles on top and only rose a bit. Now I know not to do that! Thank you for reading and for creating these videos.

Great video Tom, question I’ve been keeping a stiff starter because I keep it on counter and it doesn’t peak during the night. Is there a problem continually keeping a stiff starter.

You might also try to be clever and tare the scale on the container and sourdough starter, then discard and since you've been monitoring your feedings etc, you know exactly how much you had, so you can just monitor the negative weighing until you're satisfied. However, I would always have significantly less starter left in volume than I expected, and I'm willing to make the conclusion that all the CO₂ released is so significant that you're left with even tens of grams less sourdough starter than you have added in flour and water. So using two containers/cups/whatever is almost obligatory, unfortunately. Unless you do the smart guy move of labeling the weight of the jar. That being, in case you're discarding it into compost. These tip videos are really helpful though, it's so difficult to jump into a new thing, especially when it's a living thing, and understand the biology/mechanics enough to be auto-regulating with the care. This is very similar to plant or animal care in many senses, you don't just do the default rule of thumb - you have to observe and react. At least if you have difficult conditions that make the rule of thumb advice not work like miracle. And being more technical minded, it really helps to understand the "rules" rather than have blind recipe. With that you're always ready to deal with the situation, especially now that you give the "alcoholic - yeasty - acidic" scale and how to manipulate each.

You are helping me so much!! My starter is only a few weeks old and I’ve been keeping my starter in a 78-80° spot thinking i was it getting going but i have noticed an acidic smell and tha ought that was just part of it. I follow Baker Betties 1:3:3 feeding ratio so i do discard a lot!! I feed whole wheat flour and use distilled or filtered water. My starter rises wonderfully every day but i have not been able to use to leaven a loaf yet. I will put it in a cooler spot but what else would you recommend I change?

I am loving your video and the science and your recaps too. I have time to digest all the info. My questions: 1. After it’s back to mature status, do you go back to 1:1:1 feeding? 2. What if you’re trying to revive a starter that wasn’t prepped for a slumber… not a stiff starter? Thanks! I look forward to more videos and knowledge!

Would this method work best too for a 14 day old starter? I’m going on vacation for 5 days and I’d have to leave most of it in the fridge but I may just take some in a smaller jar to maintain

So glad you’re posting again! Question: I have a very very active starter but only bake with it once a week on a Saturday. Since I’ve moved and had a lot on it’s been slightly neglected. Do you think the starter would favour room temp but risk only being fed every 48h, or going in the fridge Saturday night and coming out on Wednesday and feeding it daily till Friday evening when I make my levain? I know ideally I’d feed it daily at room temp but that’s not happening atm so need the best way to preserve its strength when I’m being neglectful

I'm not sure what happened with the tarter when you get to bake bread you reuse it after the leave? Feed 1-1-1?

Hi Tom 👋 New subscriber here and I'm finding your videos very insightful and entertaining. (Love the dad jokes!) I'm an avid home baker but have yet to delve into the world of sourdough breads. Before I dive in, is it possible to make soft sandwich breads and rolls like I make with commercial yeast? My family favors enriched breads and the sourdough breads I've tried in the past haven't had that soft, tender crumb. It would be helpful to know before getting emotionally attached to a starter I've nurtured, only to be disappointed with the results of the finished product. Thank you!

Thank you! I really think you should experiment with different feeding ratios. I’ve been doing 1:10:10 feedings every 24 hours at 68F and it peaks in about 12-16 hours. I find this cycle to be ideal for me. If i want to do long term storage I’ll do a 1:15:25 dry feeding and put it in the fridge. With all of that food, the cold temp, and the dry mix, I’ve never seen it complete the full life cycle and produce any hooch. I’ve only pushed it 3 months though so idk how long it could last.

If my starter only rose for 30% then fell back down its original size, should I discard and feed it again?

I want to ask here about when i want to bake . When you talk to make a test for the starter and i took a sample to make atest on it !! And after 4 hours reached the maxiumum.. what to use for baking the new sample or the old one ?

Thanks for the many helpful videos, I have a question, after the 4th round of stretching and folding, my dough became more and more liquid, so I baked it because I thought it was already overfermented, but baked it looked extremely underfermented. what can be the reason that the dough became more and more liquid?

I started a starter yesterday, my day 1, using your directions. I will be leaving for a work trip on day 11 and will be gone for 4 days. What should I do to take care of my starter on Day 11 before I leave? What do I do when I return 4 days later? Thanks!

Hi Tom. What if your rehydrated starter attempts only yield a slight rise but nowhere near double even in 24 hours. Strong alcohol smell, no hooch showing. Thanks….

Tom!!!! I need your help. Leaven in oven overnight with light on. Temp this am is 98 F. It is bubbly and soupy rose about 25%

Can I keep starter in the fridge if I only bake once a week? If so, how best to feed prior to baking? Do I duplicate this method (that would mean going to 1:1:.5 after each baking?)? Best 🍞!

Newbie here and you got a new sub!! What if it's been in the fridge for only two days? 😅What would be the process and proper ratio? It's currently going on day 11. Day 7 is when I had placed it in the fridge. I would like to try and make a bread on Friday or Saturday.

I really like your video, it's been very helpful! But every time I tried this peak-to-peak feeding my starter gets super weak, it takes much longer to rise and doesn't even double in size. Even if I make sure that it started to deflate a bit before feeding it. It only rises normally if I let it collapse completely. Do you think that's a problem or it could be normal?

In re. erroneous discarding/re-feeding: doesn’t one also end up with an overpopulation of nasties compared with yeasties and lactic acid bacteria, which we were being so patient to burn off when we made our original starter?

What to do if my starter left for 49 days? Had been fed 30g starter, 30 flour and 15 H20. I added the 15 of H20 and it did not rise and is still quite liquidy after 16 hours. Do I discard and feed?

Hi Tom... I'm Polish-Canadian.... I do Love Rye Bread.... I've tried several times making Sourdough Rye Bread .... it's eatable...but very dense.... I use mixture of Organic Bread Flour and Dark Rye Flour ... Any suggestions for a Lighter Sourdough Rye Bread ?

Hi! wondering what to do with my "I think a strong starter". So I fed it 1/1/0.5. First it gave me huge bubbles in the fridge which made me feel proud😊 and about a month now, it smells a little moldy and quite runny. I mix it now and then, but still smth is wrong with my long term storing. Thanks

Hi Tom, I only get the opportunity to bake every few months so I store my starter in the freezer. Normally on day one after defrosting and feeding at 1:1:1, it becomes bubbly but very liquid with no rise. I normally discard and feed daily until it doubles in volume between 4-6 hrs. This process takes between 4-5 days. From your video, I think on day one when it’s bubbly but liquid, I should just feed with no discard? If possible, please can you experiment with freezing some of your starter when you next go on vacation? As a separate question, if I already have sufficient amount of starter for my Tartine basic country loaf recipe, why don’t I just use that instead of building a levain?

My starter is so weird. I felt my starter was weak. My dough takes a long time to ferment to double. It always has good sour taste. I’ve been feeding peak to peak for days, 5 to 7 days. If I feed it 1:2:2 it takes longer to peak, as expected. I’ve done a couple 1:5:5 feedings. It takes longer at night when the temp is lower, as expected. It will barely double with in 4 hours with a 1:1:1 feeding. It never triples. I just did an overnight 1:5:5: feeding, it’s been 12 hours, it has just peaked at slightly more than double. It smells of nothing but yeast. It still seems weak to me and I’m afraid to try a bake with it. I was using 100% bread flour but I’ve since added 10% rye flour a the last couple times. Any advice?

Hi.I just wanna ask you if there an effect of. (positively. increasing bacteria yeast) enzymes could be in all purpose flour. because I notice that my starter becomes more active after feeding. With it....and l notice as much as flour or any seed's or fruit.been old not fresh. When making starter it will be active with less time.is that's true??.. thanks for another useful video 👍and don't forget to excuse my English talk ☺️🙏

If i want to bake after 2 weeks .. the equation you advise to put in refrigerator 1:1:0.5 ? Or different equation ?

Hello Tom, can you help me with my sourdough? I have dryed my stiff starter 6 months ago. I didn't placed the powder in the fridge.. three days ago i decided to wake up my starter with 100 gr of powder and 43 gr of water and put it water. Now I'm feeding the starter every 24h 1:1:0.4. At the moment no sign of life 😭😭

I don't make bread during the summer, last year I just left my starter in the back of the fridge for 3 months, never touched it. When I started to make bread again, I simply emptied the ouch, took a spoon of the old starter added flour and water directly from the tap, no measuring and half a day later I was ready to make new bread, never had any problems.

I have a 50% hydration starter I am quite happy with it, I have a question related to feeding it before using it to make bread I store 100g of it in the fridge, and before wanting to bake I take it out and feeding it (the amount of flour and water I am feeding is dependent on the number of loaves I want to bake), and after I knead the starter with the feed dough I let it do its thing outside for 4 hours. In the winter I find that those 4 hours are the time I am lacking for maximizing the bulk because I have to wait 4 hours before I can mix the fed starter with the dough, my question is can I feed the starter a day before letting it do its thing outside for 4 hours then pop it in the fridge until the next day then take the portion I need from it to bake the day after and it will still have the same effectiveness?

Been baking bread since I was 8, all kinds. I have a 400 yr old starter I brought from France some years back. So my point is, I know breads, yeasts, and starters of all sorts. Have made my own by burying it in the forest to start. My point after all the background is to say. This guy has made bread making a pain in the backside. Full of scientific knowledge and words but for me he has made it sound like a pain in the ass. He is factual to a point but it is not that complicated. Do you think for one sec the old sourdoughs would put up with all that crap ? Heck no. This guy needs a life. He admits he doesn’t even back bread per him.

We need T-shirts with the motto: Discarding and refeeding a weak starter makes it weaker!

The opening joke gets very old. Stop doing it.