Can I Use Sourdough Starter Straight from the Fridge?

Is it really necessary to use sourdough starter at peak? Can you use your sourdough starter straight from the fridge? Here I take you through my experiment of using unfed sourdough starter compared to using active starter.
For tips on how to do this with your starter, check out my write up for all the details: thesweetsimplethings.com/can-...
Note: My starter is fed 100% whole wheat. Results may vary with different flours.
#sourdough #sourdoughstarter #wholegrains

[@muffinamy83]

I've been preaching at the "use your unfed refrigerated starter!" altar for a while now. I feed it once a week, let it go until it rises and starts falling again then give it a stir and put it in the fridge until I need it. It consistently gives me great bread.

[@thesweetsimplethings]

Exactly!! So much easier!!

[@Lifeisgood1883]

I use mine straight from fridge . I have never had a bad loaf. So easy.

[@mrycassidy]

Thank you. This is a great video. Now I will have to try this too. (Not comparing, just using it)

[@charlescresap4451]

When the starter goes from fridge to flour and water to make bread, yeast eats the flour and goes to work, making CO2 gas and alcohol. It sleeps in the fridge. It wakes up whether you call it waking up the starter or making bread. Either way you are adding yeast to flour and water.

[@dianabooth2674]

You have just answered a question I was about to search on. So Thank You. I'm going to go ahead and use my unfed starter straight from the fridge!

[@user-nh8yu2mw2i]

Thanks for your video, you have helped me heaps in my quest for a decent Sourdough, I love it when KZbinrs do these experiments and we can benefit from your experience....

[@thesweetsimplethings]

Thank you! I'm glad you found it helpful! :)

[@cattailsforlunch]

I also figured this out. I feed my starter once a week. On baking/feeding day, I take starter out of the fridge, use it cold in my recipe and feed what remains. When I notice it getting slow, I’ll boost it by feeding for a few days in a row. I hate waste, so I use this to avoid discard. I don’t even bother finding discard recipes. Also, I never measure or weigh when feeding or in recipes. Understanding technique and hydration gets you further towards good bread than anything else.

[@jroot1680]

Great video. The longest period I have gone without feeding my starter is three weeks and it still worked great.

[@lauraschroeder8177]

Great instructions. Bake with Jack just uses scrapings so this experiment makes sense. Im so glad I dont have to bump up the starter 2x, which is extra time and extra flour.

[@dlynngamble1613]

This is so informative. I learned from your experiment. Thanks so much!

[@user-yq4wg3wn7e]

Thank you for sharing your recipe!

[@terri9544]

Great video! Thank you for an apples to apples experiment and sharing your results. Very much appreciate your efforts and sharing.

[@annschuler6927]

Awesome directions and great information! ❤

[@thesweetsimplethings]

Thank you! :)

[@camelbro]

Great video and awesome experiment! Very well done.

[@thesweetsimplethings]

Thank you very much!

[@pierredurand6798]

Very well done. Thank you

[@Maroonskeleton]

On a different note, when measuring, I add the water first, then salt, then flour. So that when I happen to add too much water, I can still remove it, same goes with the flour.

[@thesweetsimplethings]

Great idea!

[@HMTWORN]

Wow! Looks like this is the simplest sourdough recipe ever. Going to try. Ty

[@thesweetsimplethings]

Hope you enjoy!

[@oa1986]

Short answer to this video: yes!

[@naomijakins9717]

I'm impressed! I'm going to try this out tomorrow. I'm wondering if I could use KA bread flour with whole-wheat flour what would be the ratio of the flour? Or do I just use the KA Bread flour and not worry about it? Thank you

[@thesweetsimplethings]

You can use whatever flour you typically bake with! Bread flour is fine, or you can mix it with a little whole wheat. Whole grain flours can add a little extra nutrition for the starter to feed off of so if you haven’t tried using your starter cold from the fridge before, adding a little whole wheat flour might help a little bit but each starter is different-yours might be great without it, or maybe it would be happy with a boost. You’ll have to see! If you’re not used to baking with whole grain flours, then I would start by just using the whole wheat for about 10% of your total flour and then you can see how you like it and increase over time

[@WholeBibleBelieverWoman]

I like the starter to take longer in order to get a more sour dough. But then I'm talking about letting it proof HOURS longer. I just saw a CRAZY sourdough video made by Stacy of a channel called something like Doug and Stacy Off the Grid. I mean, it is WILD. It came out looking very "ugly" as she put it (though I would call it Monster Bread), but she and her friends love it and it goes against most things I ever learned about how to bake Sourdough. (I think this may be her only sourdough video): Title goes something like: I HATED making sourdough until this happened

[@user-ql3sn6ou7u]

Excellent video Holly! To get me started, I would appreciate it if you could give us the Amounts of Red and White whole wheat flours as well as the amount of Rye flour used in this recipe----Many thanks in advance for your kind reply! Blessings! Judy. 😀😀

[@thesweetsimplethings]

Thanks, Judy! :) I usually use about 200 grams white whole wheat, 200 grams red wheat, then 100 grams rye when I make a loaf with all 3

[@user-ql3sn6ou7u]

@@thesweetsimplethings ...THANKS again, Holly; much appreciated!

[@MC-dg8bg]

i think the reason of making Levain and feed the Starter is because one want to get the Starter hit the peak for 2-3X big before use it for the Dough, but if use it straight from the Fridge , then it will not be hit the peak ...

[@thesweetsimplethings]

It isn't necessary to be at peak to make good bread. :) If you watch the video, you will see what I mean. As long as you have a healthy starter and have the extra time to give to the bulk fermentation, of course. The bulk fermentation will take a bit longer if the starter is not at peak. But the experiment in this video shows that if you forget (or simply don't want to) feed your starter prior to baking, you can still go on and bake! You'll still have great bread. Lots of people bake this way with great results. Definitely more than one way to make sourdough out there. :)

[@janinadudek8946]

Can you explain why you measure water in grams instead of mili miter? I’m European and was taught liquid you measure in milimetr

[@thesweetsimplethings]

Sure! I do most measurements by weight when it comes to sourdough, not volume because I do it all right on the scale. If I wanted to measure in ml, I’d need to get another measuring dish out (and I’m American so none of the ones I readily get here are marked by the ml). However, in the case of water, grams and milliliters are typically equal. So if I use 100 grams by weight, that is also 100 ml by volume. And this means I can use the scale the whole time and not mess with any extra dishes. Not all liquids have that 1:1 ratio though.

[@lorrainestone]

Hi, how much sourdough do you put in your loaf?

[@thesweetsimplethings]

Hello! :) I’d say usually 100 grams of starter, but it depends on how fast or slow I want my bulk fermentation to go. If I mix my dough before going to bed, then I only use 10-20 grams. But if I mix it in the morning when I can keep an eye on my dough during the day, I’ll use 100 grams.

[@chrisjensen1814]

So my starter was fed before I put it in the fridge last week and it hasn’t doubled but is very bubbly, and technically is still growing towards its peak. Isn’t that in theory a fed starter?

[@thesweetsimplethings]

Is it whole wheat? If it's whole wheat and you fed it equal parts flour & water (by weight), it won't rise as high as a white flour starter--it's just a little thicker so it's heavy. If it looks bubbly and active, I think that's great!

[@LA-oq8cc]

I was going to make ciabatta bread so I wouldn't want to mash all bubbles out of the dough.

[@thesweetsimplethings]

That’s probably a good idea for ciabatta! This recipe is not for ciabatta. This is a typical sourdough batard. Popping the bubbles on the surface stops the crust from detaching from the bread.

[@user-nh8yu2mw2i]

I wonder if you have an opinion on why my bread doesnt see to get a firm film on it after it has been finally shaped into the loaf, just prior to going in the oven ? I take it out of the bamboo bowl and put it on the silicone mat thingy and it just spreads out so quickly that it sometimes wont fit into my Dutch Oven, what do you think ? Is my dough too wet ? am I using too much water do you think ?

[@thesweetsimplethings]

Hmm, there could be a few things going on but I would say it's most likely either too high hydration (too much water) combined with not being shaped tightly enough, OR it may have over-fermented which causes the structure to break down, too. Is it very sour when you eat it? If it is more sour than usual, I'd say it's over-fermented. If it isn't then possibly would do better with a little less water in the dough.

[@user-nh8yu2mw2i]

@@thesweetsimplethings thanks a lot for your opinion, I will hone in on those specific things...

[@user-kw2dz3qy1i]

Your starter looks pretty stiff. What is ratio do you use when feeding? Mine is 1:1:1 and it's much less dense

[@thesweetsimplethings]

It is 1:1:1 but it is whole wheat meaning there is bran in it. Are you using whole wheat? White flour starters are much thinner.

[@user-kw2dz3qy1i]

@@thesweetsimplethings my starter is 50% whole wheat (from my local bulk store). I will give it a try anyhow 😀

[@thesweetsimplethings]

@@user-kw2dz3qy1i Good luck! I'm sure it will be great! Another thing that may cause starters to be more or less runny than another are the acid levels. More acidic starters can be runnier, too. Some like it that way because it can create a stronger flavor (as long as it doesn't get *too* acidic, then it could be a problem, but there is likely some variation that is a range of normal)

[@howidakamel7738]

Can l use bleatched white flour in starter and in bread?

[@user-kw2dz3qy1i]

I didn't have any luck (for my starter) with bleached flour or tap water. I use half unbleached bread flour, half whole wheat flour and bottled spring water. But that's just me...