Re: Storing starter? ? ?

Will wrote:
Sam wrote:
... they are put to sleep to be re-awakened.

This is the part that I no longer subscribe to... that cold acts as a
benign preservative, that the culture simple goes dornant. I think the
cold skews it to yeasts and less to L.B.'s. In my case, I had
something like 6 starters: rye, red wheat, white wheat, one from King
Arthur, one from Kenneth, one from kamut even. Even with decent
rotation, I was using each every third week.

It was you who suggested that I focus on one starter and develop it's
potential instead of micky-mousing with old ones. You were right. It
was good advice.

That's not the point as far as I am concerned. You think there is selection of one SD critter over another based on temperature when you store them in a fridge and/or "something else" may take over.

please look at those lines:

http://samartha.net/SD/docs/DW-post1-4n.html#061
http://samartha.net/SD/docs/DW-post1-4n.html#066

both are growth rates for a researched LB and yeast.

the LB has 0 growth rate at 4C - that's 40 F - I don't expect to grow something below that temperature either
the yeas has 0 growth rate at 8 C - that's 48 F - I don't expect to grow something below that temperature either

The fridge temperatures which have come up here are 35 F - below the 0 growth temperatures above.

I don't think you can have a selection/promotion of organisms by temperature when nothing grows.

Your other point that "something else" grows in the fridge:

Why would "something else" grow at low temperature when "nothing else" grows at decent growth temperatures outside the fridge and lots of germs added with flour?
The deterrents - as I wrote before - don't just go away by cooling .

There may be a cooling period, where a starter put in the fridge starts cooling down and some change of proportions may happen - who knows.

The effect of this will be factored in into your result when you do the same routine over and over again - putting a ready starter into the fridge, take it out, run it through the same stages and put a sample back.

What you are seeing in different behavior/results with your starter is probably because you use a different routine and maybe have a more vital starter with this.

In your initial answer post, you stated:
The various critter
populations adjust. The stuff that adapts to cold, acidic conditions
multiplies and the stuff that likes heat fades away.
I still think that nothing much changes nor anything "fading" away in a fridge storage of up to 2 month. And should there be a minor change while cooling down - that's eliminated by factoring it into the routine.
If the germ counts are reduced by longer storage, it just will take longer to get them back.

As long as both methods make good bread, who cares?

Sam



.

Relevant Pages

  • Refrigerator Sourdough
    ... putting it in the refrigerator for storage purposes. ... concerns about your starter culture getting out of whack from being ... offended by being asked to leaven bread at room temperature, ... fridge, though, with the loaf going in the oven cold. ...
    (rec.food.sourdough)
  • Re: Sourdough starter temperature question
    ... Given that sourdough LONG predates air conditioning, ... hardy and temperature is not that big a deal. ... The result is your water temperature. ... Various sourdough starter recipes give conflicting ...
    (rec.food.sourdough)
  • Re: Sourdough starter temperature question
    ... Given that sourdough LONG predates air conditioning, I think it's pretty hardy and temperature is not that big a deal. ... Ideally, you want your dough around 78F, as most bakers agree that is about the optimum temperature for dough development. ... Most of us have more control over the water temperature than room or flour temperatures. ... Various sourdough starter recipes give conflicting ...
    (rec.food.sourdough)
  • Re: Maytag 2005 refrigerator MTB1896AEW too warm
    ... here the kids and the wife like to overload the fridge shelves forward ... slightly and you know what happens next to the temperature. ... fan blowing into its propped open doors from the kitchen tabletop. ... Is the condenser fan running and the condenser clean? ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Starter perk up
    ... My latest starter came from a friend in Maine, and when I recieved it, ... My method of storage was to take it out of the fridge, ... needed leaving just a 1/2 teaspoon or so, refresh it, ... and I switched it to AP flour. ...
    (rec.food.sourdough)