Don't Feed Your Starter!!! Perfect sourdough from 5-month-starved starter.

[@mercedesaschenbrenner9352]

Probably nobody is gonna read this but, in the interest of geek fraternity I’d like to let all know that I have revived an 18-month-old starter. I’m pretty happy!!! 😃👏🏼

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

That's great!!

[@gypsygem9395]

I'm glad to hear this as I'm about to revive a 4 year old starter that I made using Ben's instructions during the pandemic! Wish me luck!!

[@mercedesaschenbrenner9352]

@@gypsygem9395 how did it go?

[@innaf5836]

@@gypsygem9395 let us know how it went please

[@jacquespoulemer]

I guess I'm also nobody, hehehe. that's wonderful news for we Lazies who just let things go. Cheers to all from Mexico

[@curiousuniverse438]

Okay... not gonna lie... I watched this entire video with a sharp eyeroll thinking it could not possibly produce a good loaf of bread. I followed your instructions exactly, gave it the couple of days in the fridge for good measure, and thought for sure I'd be back here saying I was right all along. I was not right all along... or even a little bit for that matter. It was the best loaf of sourdough bread I have made after nearly two years of trying to follow these KZbin bakers with the most complicated, time consuming, organic flour wasting recipes on the entire interwebs. This will definitely be my go-to recipe from here on out. I used whole wheat flour and wish I would have used a mix of WW and white bread flour for a little more lightness, but it was absolutely delish! Thank you!

[@itsmezee-zee1840]

Hi! Kinda new to this and want to try this method only thing is I don’t hear him say if where the dough rises… do you put it in the fridge or leave on a counter until shaping… I appreciate your reply ☺️

[@heyitscin]

@@itsmezee-zee1840from other videos, he does first rise on the counter.

[@drj7723]

Mine too. I used his starter recipe with the pineapple juice and rye flour….. then this bread was AMAZING

[@jonieward5827]

You have just saved my sourdough bread making life!!! I knew baking sourdough didn’t have to be this complicated since our ancient ancestors didn’t have all of this modern technology and equipment. Thank you- no longer a slave to the dough 😂

[@justincase1575]

I make mine in one day. I let it set for an hour then work it by folding. Put It in warm place and let rise. When doubled I put on pizza stone with cold oven and put in oven and turn to 450 deg.f. With stainless pot upside down over dough. When oven gets to temp I leave in ten more minutes. Then I remove pot and insert my temperature probe. Leave in oven till 210 deg. Internal temp. Works out fine for me!

[@rjbrewer09]

🎉

[@Alaskaraised]

Agreed!!

[@maxietamie]

Beautiful thank. I could made sourdough bread ❤❤❤

[@christinacarter9824]

This made me cry knowing I just tossed out a 20 year old starter because people told me it was not good anymore!!😭 It looked EXACTLY like yours!

[@jaquirox6579]

Trust no one.

[@Cookingwithsteveg]

Love your statement, “Who wants a loaf of bread with a bunch of holes in it?” “You can’t spread butter on a holes!” I’ve always thought that!

[@teslarex]

Great video! Looking forward to using my old starter.

[@suzipuzi2001]

Ditto!! 😆

[@Retiredinruraljapanvlog]

YES!!

[@susanna1207]

I can not believe it 😮 just cut my bread, baked according to your recipe and used my 24 month, YES 2 years old starter who was “starving😂” in the fridge. It stayed 50 hours at 22 degrees Celsius before baking. It is soooooo delicious. Thank you so much for your inspiring videos 🙏

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

I think this is a record, at least for this comment thread!

[@MB-dk5dz]

This make SO MUCH more sense to me than the conventional methods being used. I have been grumpy and reluctant to keep trying and now I know why, the other methods didn't make logical sense. I will give this a try. Thank you!

[@egg1871]

SAME! I just posted the same thoughts. Makes so much more sense!

[@marlon7156]

OMG you got my subscription! This is God sent. No more wasting flour. I can now ignore the bread and treat it what it is - just water and flour. I'm even going remove the name from my starter and stop having a personal relationship with it. *Thank you for your knowledge* 👍👍👍👍

[@chrisblanc663]

Just out of curiosity… what did you name your starter?

[@annaugustine1882]

😂

[@chrisblanc663]

I was wanting to get into sourdough baking, but every video, and especially the “easy sourdough” videos, one directed people to get a calendar to help them keep up with every kneading, made it seem impossible, unless you devote a day and a half attached to the kitchen. I work outside the home with fairly sporadic scheduling, and thought it is impossible to do sourdough outside the weekend. You bring the common sense back into baking like no one else I see on KZbin. I am convinced they are all gatekeepers posing as educational content. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

[@maryannedeering1663]

I personally do not think that the holy bread is more beautiful . I don’t get why the craze over it. Love your videos.

[@xXturbo86Xx]

You're a lifesaver my man! I'm sick of all these feeding schedule bullshit.

[@alexandriabeauvoir]

thank for this. The last thing I want to do is be confined to my home JUST because I need to feed my starter 24/7. Now I can go on vacay with ease :)

[@julianachandler2975]

“Ease and flavor” my kind of chef! Omg the sour dough starter that I’ve wasted in the past! Thanks for revolutionizing sour dough baking for me! Yay!

[@talldave1000]

I owe you an apology. I had put a comment up here a few days ago that I tried making this and ended up with a slaggy mess. Turned out my measurements were off and I did not have near enough flour because I was reading my scale wrong (duh). I re-did it again and it turned out fine. It looks like some good dough forming now. Just wanted to set the record straight.

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

No apology necessary, accidents always happen! Let us know how it turns out!

[@annunacky4463]

Nice to be able to admit a mistake. Make it right. Congratulations. Teach Congress that.

[@scorpiocj1960]

I Love You Too Ben!!! I made two batches because I have a white discard jar and a wheat discard jar. My white dough was very wet as well. I drilled down into your post hoping to find gram measurements since apparently i can no longer read English. Haha🥺😢😭 But, I have faith and hopefully in a few days we are going to be eating some awesome loaves of bread!!

[@controlerg]

What a great dude. Always nice to hear someone own up to a mistake and admit he is human.

[@mercedesaschenbrenner9352]

Aw!!! That is a very nice message!! Thank you for your honestly and humbleness. God bless you! 🙏

[@samuelmadsen]

I was about to throw out my 3 year old starter after not feeding it for 3 months, but you had me going to the kitchen right away to get started on this beautiful loaf. I always LOVED the more rich and sour tasting breads with just a salty butter spread, but feel a lot of sour dough bread in my area is just all about the holes and not really the flavor. Thank you!

[@ianmcdonald8648]

your "all about holes" is not just about sourdough. It's in the icecream, the manufactured honey comb, and.... ideologies, including politics, and BIG business.

[@egg1871]

I just want to say THANK YOU! My brain was thinking what yours did! Like, if it hasn’t been fed then wouldn’t it feed off the flour that’s in the bread recipe?? It made no sense to me to use an active starter and you confirmed that! You have saved me SO time much and anxiety lol. Love your content and I hope you’ll continue to put out more videos like this! I’ve learned so much 😊

[@MsK-xm7vw]

OMG, you are one of the best and most comprehensive teachers I've ever seen. I'm 60, was in the education system, and homeschooled until High School. I'm impressed! I've only just found you, am just starting my sourdough journey, and have subscribed. You and I darling, will make beautiful bread together. 💕

[@seajayami]

Interesting- i plan to use some of these tips especially not discarding starter, and not feeding religiously. Thanks

[@vittoriabakes]

I'll have to try this out. I've been using the 'scrapings' method (from Bake With Jack) for the past year and am loving it. I keep only about 15 grams of my starter in a pint mason jar in the fridge. When I want to bake bread I just take it out and feed it the amount I'm going to use and leave it to double or triple. Then take out the amount I fed it, which leaves about 15 grams of freshly-fed starter in my jar. And back to the fridge it goes. I've left it in there for a month before and it still pepped right up after feeding. I feed it from cold with ~90 degree water when I do. It's a great method. I love the methods that don't use discard.

[@flowercook3915]

Vittoria Bakes This is how I do it too,just keep it in a pint jar in frig

[@dougweller]

How do you get 15 grams so accurately?

[@flowercook3915]

That's the beauty,it doesn't have to be precise,but 15 gm is about a tablespoon. I've also weighed me empty jar,so I can weigh it with the starter in it and know how much that is(OXO kitchen scale with pull out screen so you can read it with a large bowl)

[@stacisrainbownursery7825]

What do you do if the liquid forms on top while not being fed that long ? The “ hootch” . Thank you 😊

[@al.m765]

@@stacisrainbownursery7825 it's fine to just mix it back in!

[@joleewhite972]

I finally started using my starter straight from the fridge after weeks of neglect. The results are just incredible!

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

Welcome to the easy life.

[@doreenmoore2043]

You are my hero, Ben Starr! I’ve been wanting to learn to make SD bread. I bought some 9 year old starter and was going to use a recipe I saw on KZbin and then I found your easy SD recipe!!! After my first 2 loaves I made my husband buy a cast iron Dutch oven for an early Christmas gift. Each loaf is better than the last. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

[@rcampogan]

This whole artisan bread making got out of hand. Humans have been making bread for thousands of years, and I doubt they had such strict methods....so glad to see someone debunking all of this and saying its gonna be ok!

[@gretchenamirault829]

I never discard and many times don’t feed it before making bread. I usually make bread once a week or so. I always have great results. Glad to see you do this as well.

[@joshlipp8800]

went to first semester of college came back and my starter was better than ever!

[@DENISEJACKSON88]

I can't tell you how happy I am to have discovered this video. I have been baking a LOT of sourdough loaves this year and after baking around 20 the week before Thanksgiving, I was getting burned out. I tried your method and had the best loaf ever! Thank you! I tried to add a photo but not sure how to on here.

[@richardchan8471]

❤Tried mix yesterday and bake just now. Great o sprung

[@munao8453]

I became so discouraged with trying to bake a "perfect" (meaning large air holes) loaf of sourdough all I have been baking for the last 4 months is sourdough discard recipes!! I am so glad to see this! It just seems soooooo ridiculous to try and become an artisan baker at home- all I want is to bake an easy loaf of sourdough to feed my family~~ Thank you for this video!!

[@mariannesouza8326]

😀👍🏼🍞

[@voidremoved]

Same here... I am surviving on sourdough pancakes.. It almost seems punishment when i force myself to make a loaf of bread. By the way, it is silly to fuss over making a "perfect loaf" then I eat the thing in two days. Its not like we want to hang them loaves on the wall forever. Come see my perfect loaves everyone!

[@JC-dk7nb]

If you are used to german sourdough breads that are eaten as a staple food.... there is no lange holes in them. That is something that mainly other countries aspire to.

[@JVSwailesBoudicca]

@@JC-dk7nb I prefer a closer crumb, the air holes can't be eaten !!!!

[@JC-dk7nb]

@@JVSwailesBoudicca for a german it is simply impractical to have large holes an then watch your toppings (especially nutella and jam) drop on your lap while you are eating. 🤣

[@kendleortiz7627]

Your eyes are always so compelling. I love to watch you explaining your methods and the science behind it. The enthusiasm just exudes from your beautiful eyes. Continue on sir, continue on.

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

@@kendleortiz7627 *blush*

[@joysgirl]

This confirms my suspicions after neglecting my SD starter. I found that it easily came "back to life" if I fed it after ignoring it for "too long." I'm all about efficiency and practicality and you demonstrated both with this validating video. Thank you, you've changed my method of baking SD from now on and, yes, holes hold no flavor.

[@rachelbarton2299]

Are you KIDDING me?? I've been lied to my entire life? I can't believe no one has told me this secret 😲🤔 thanks for the amazing info!!

[@skr2560]

Hey Ben... I've been baking sourdough bread since 3 years now with different techniques... made your recipe now 5 times... sourdough used right out of the fridge, not fed in a month or more... well what can I say.... Best bread ever! No stress, no slapping, folding or whatever... just pure pleasure, full flavor and... as you said... NO airbubbles without taste!!! This is, how a bread should look and taste like we'd say in Germany!!! Perfect... my all-day recipe for ever!!!

[@myriamdegreif7177]

It is true!! I tried it and I have the most beautiful loaf of bread ever! Now I make 2 breads every week with supermarket flower and we love it. This is the only recepie I use. I tried for several weeks to make sauerdough bread and used a ton of recepies it never worked until I found this recepie. Lots of love from Antwerp, Belgium, Myriam

[@priscilapenzo2434]

One year later I don't follow any other method than this. You made sourdough bread (and pizza) very accessible for me. Thank you!

[@joletty1793]

You are a godsend for us simple sourdough bakers!!!! Thanks a million for making this joyous baking experience so simple with our lovely, loyal little sourdough buddies in the fridge!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤😋😋😋😋🥰🥰🥰

[@jakemacleay]

Hallelujah! Agree 100%. Had a long neglected fridge starter, all moulded over. Picked the layer of mould out, gave it a feed, perfect loaf the next day

[@donniejay8348]

I love this video! Ive left my starter as long as 8 months without feeding it and it's always been fine. I DIDN'T know you could make a loaf with it right away though. I've always taken mine out the night before, fed it, left it on my counterop overnight and used it the next day or two. I'm super excited to try your method the next time I forget my starter. I can only imagine how good it tastes! I agree about the big holes. I make bread to eat it and have it taste good; I can't eat air lol! Thanks for the video! 😀

[@lorenaguerrero6953]

I have stayed away from sour dough because of the monotonous upkeep… your method rocks and seems perfect for my lazy cooking routine! I am on day 1 of your sour dough starter recipe now - wish me luck!

[@snipnstyle]

My HERO! I finally baked my first loaf, following your instructions, and it’s perfect!

[@rebekahfragasso9034]

You are a sourdough bread genius! Thank you. Feeding and kneading my starter has become daunting. Also, I quickly became overwhelmed with trying to use up the wasted starter. It hurt to throw it away and waste $. I appreciate this video. Thank you again.

[@GOODLifeMOODS]

I just baked my loaf tonight using your recipe.... I am impressed! I let my dough sit in the gallon bag for 48 hours, then it proved on my worktop for 9 hours (it's winter). The end result is pretty darn good... I wish I could share a photo.

[@johannabarbera7645]

When you put it in the bag, does it sit on the counter or in the fridge? Thanks!

[@reneestevens2526]

I would imagine the “old ways” of constantly feeding starter was due to lack of refrigeration, and a need to always be making bread bc you couldn’t just buy a loaf. So, the starter had to always be “active”. With the advent of refrigeration, and the ability to just buy bread any old time, bread making almost became a lost art. With your starter series, and your tips on feeding it, and the simple bread skills I’m looking forward to making my first starter. I also agree that nobody wants giant holes in their bread 🤣🤣🤣

[@leafster1337]

that makes sense

[@johnestes2982]

L😸🤭koi From w I’ll Iolikokikkk I’ll

[@ianmcdonald8648]

just before watching this vid, I was watching OurGabled Home... lady was talking about multiple generational recipe, that saved a bit of the s dough and put in more flour, mixing it up till it was dry as. I don't think they had fridges back four or five plus generations ago in Germany. I think the very dry material, would keep well outside a fridge. one would need to experiment., but the lady doesn't feed it... unless she rarely cooses too.

[@paulwarren6062]

Some people like holes in the bread, it's not just about looks. High hydration doughs and holes makes the bread lighter and have more crisp. It's not as doughy and you don't feel stuffed eating it. But it depends, some breads are traditionally dense and heavy, while others are light and airy. I love a Italian breads with massive holes in, but I also love German breads that are like dense bricks. There are thousands of types of bread out there.

[@jocelynesurdin2833]

I've been trying to make sourdough for about a year. A lot of blood, sweat, tears, aggravation & yes some successes but I started to feel it was taking over my life😢 You have come to my rescue you💃💞 I want to thank you from the bottom of my weary heart. Seriously this is a game changer🤗 2021 is looking to have a fabulous start. 🥳

[@consciouslypure2176]

I actually do the same and thought that no one would believe me that it works so well against all the rules, so I’m glad to see I’m not the only one! :)

[@mattymattffs]

While I don't follow your exact system (I use a stiff starter), I appreciate that you're pointing out that you don't need to do all these wasteful feedings to get great bread!

[@jamesw3450]

Just fed my starter after 8 months of being starved, even it has not been in the fridge for the last month or two, amazing how it comes back to life.

[@jeantemplemeyer366]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. I am so glad I found you!

[@cornfloats7004]

You are so smart! I've felt so guilty about how haphazard I am about feeding starter. I've had ups and downs using "mal nutrition starter" for a while, but more ups than downs. Now, you've taught me that it can and should work all the time! I thank you , Sir, and you've made a subscriber out of me!!!

[@davidpavett8376]

I found this video super helpful. I'm a near novice. I made my own starter about six months ago and have been a bit of a slave to the associated rituals since then. I started cutting corners and making 'mistakes' that simplified things. But with this video Ben Starr cuts through all the crap in one go. Excellent! Thank you very much.

[@harryfarber6435]

That “Hooch” was an interesting addition to the diet’s of travelers on the Oregan trail. There was a group known as the “sourdoughers” that were kept separate from the rest of the wagon train when they would bivouac. They DRANK that liquid and it made them crazy. It had an alcohol content of about 15%

[@jaquirox6579]

😂😂😂😂😂😂 The many ways humans have fermented and consumed foods, is just fascinating. I do a lot of small batch fermentations myself. My favorite so far is blueberries. Though bananas and pineapples were really strange and great too. :)

[@suzipuzi2001]

Wow, interesting!

[@shericreates]

I also was listening to someone that said they would save sourdough and use it as a “glue” in between their logs in their homes to keep out the cold in Alaska. When they needed starter they would just chip off some and restart it. Makes sense because you can dehydrate your starter for another time. Something I am going to try for sure - dehydrating that is.

[@NatureBum4Life]

Literally, it yourself out of house and home. Lol

[@samuelsmith6804]

Glad I found these videos before i started making sourdough bread. Been so easy with so much success

[@NickBair316]

This is pretty much how I do my bread as well. I have friends who have gotten into making sourdough telling me about their feeding schedule and all this work they are doing. Meanwhile my starter sits in the fridge neglected until I need it and I do as little work as possible to make a great tasting loaf of bread.

[@Morghena]

I only made my starter about a month ago and only baked 2 loaves of bread with it and I am already eyeballing everything. xD My starter lives in the fridge, I take it out the day before I want to use it, feed it to make enough starter to work with and then it goes back into the fridge when I'm done.

[@reubenk1615]

The feeding schedule and commitment to feeding times is very offputting if you want to only bake sat every other week or not that often So there's no need to feed every other day?

[@johannabarbera7645]

I’m super green to SD baking. My first three attempts failed. Albeit, the third time my fridge went on the fritz and froze everything in there. Still baked it after it thawed out on my counter. But it didn’t really rise much. The bread had a nice SD taste. So I think I’m almost there. 😅 here’s my question. With not doing discards, how do you continue to feed it? I see some say that they only feed it after they use it. But I really don’t understand that process. Can you please explain? I won’t be offended if you explain it to me like I’m 5 years old. 😊

[@BKP2391]

I just got back from my long holiday and after I have seen this video i STOP worrying about my sourdough starter in my fridge.. my life will be so flow and nice from now on😁😁😁😁

[@randymeyer8624]

This can work, kind of did it over the weekend. Pulled my neglected starter out of the frig Friday for the first time since May. Fed it once then used it. Let the dough set in the refrigerator overnight and it ended up as one of my best loaves, nice and tangy. Baked it yesterday afternoon, gone in 24 hours.

[@stepsista1]

Trying this today with my starved starter.. this is a real game changer! No stretch and folds? Cant wait to see the results!

[@sarasorensen2650]

Yours is the second I've seen about not wasting. I can't wait to try this because I don't want to waste.

[@dawn.riverstone]

This might be my life changer!!!! I'm so excited! NOW I know why I kept believing that my starved starter could be revived, and refused to get rid of it! I can hardly wait to get started! So I do have a question though...once I make my loaf, should I go ahead and feed that "starved" starter before returning it to the fridge?

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

You ONLY need to feed your starter when you get low and need to make more.

[@misterspanishteacher]

Ben Starr, I love this. I saw you on tv after seeing your vids on youtube. Love your personality and what works wisdom. Keep them coming!

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

Thanks, Joe!!

[@maryjoyisaacson4791]

Wow....I’m so impressed with this video. I’m learning so much about how to make my sour dough better with no waste and less fussing.

[@nemodetroit]

Yes - this is spot on. Feeding/discarding is a waste. Even making "other things" with your discard is a waste if you don't *really* want to be eating those products. Personally, I've got little interest in sourdough crackers or waffles. My starter also sits happily for weeks/months and it works great. After pulling out whatever amount of starter I need for a batch of bread, I just top the starter back up with enough flour/water to bring it back up to it's normal volume and then it goes back in the fridge. No discard, no waste, no daily/weekly feeding.

[@nickmeale1957]

Amen

[@davidkeefe9468]

Same.

[@danastanecek8879]

When you take your starter out of the fridge after a couple months, do you feed it first before using? Do you let it sit out before using? Thank you!

[@nemodetroit]

I don't do anything differently than if it had only just been sitting for a few days. I just mix it into my standard levain (usually 1:1:1 starter, flour, water) usually the night before I make the main dough.

[@danastanecek8879]

@@nemodetroit Thank you very much!

[@doesntmatter7788]

Thank you! I don't understand why people are over complicating this process. The first time I made starter I was 9, that was twenty nine years ago. I fed mine when I remembered too (after spending my days playing outside)so like once a month, MAYBE. I had that starter for almost a full year before I used it to make my very first loaf of SB all by myself. I wanted to wait a long time so it would be sweeter. My goal was 5 years,I was a patient child but not 5 years patient lol I'll never forget my first loaf I was so proud of it and couldn't wait to let my family have it at dinner time :)

[@jayrho1340]

You rock Ben! Thanks again for revolutionizing the sourdough world!

[@AvocatDude]

Wow this is an awakening. The laborious process described another other KZbin videos had me a bit disenfranchised with the amount of time. I have a starter that I purchased on eBay that supposedly is over a couple hundred years old that was originally from the San Francisco bakery. It’s healthy but I’ve been feeding it every day and from my understanding thus far I’ll start baking sourdough would take a lot longer. Thanks so much for this KZbin video now I’m not so worried if I don’t feed my starter every day and I’m actually motivated again and will actually begin baking sourdough bread so that stead of spending time feeding it.

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

That's great! Keep in mind that the starter you bought will evolve into your own unique starter based on the flour you're feeding, and the native microbes in your area. So expect the first few loaves to taste like San Francisco sourdough...but they will gradually evolve into Patrick Knowd's sourdough. (This has happened to me before.) Most native sourdough cultures do NOT produce the intensely acidic doughs of the San Francisco culture.

[@AvocatDude]

Interesting, thank you Ben.

[@karenlarkins2318]

Absolutely love your videos, the only reason I have had the nerve to start making sourdough, and now I'm hooked, thank you!

[@djssquibbs3295]

omgosh, I got started on Sourdough bread at the Deli's in NYC, and I just love it, now I have to learn how to make it.

[@beatrisahellstrom7604]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Totally with you about flavor vs holes. Love the simpleness of it all. Like a country-housewife had the time to fuss with the bread...

[@reneestevens2526]

@@VeluBeru you can’t eat holes though. I’d rather have smaller pockets of air and more flavorful bread than what’s considered “pretty” that I can’t eat. As far as I know giant holes have no flavor.

[@sonjahickmon5203]

Amazing education! I dislike discarding sourdough starter, even for my compost. Thank you so much for teaching me not only how to bake better bread, but how not to waste. Bravo! Sonja in SoCal

[@kerryh3918]

I followed your advice & made the most delicious sourdough focaccia….ignoring the bread for a day or so is my kinda recipe instructions & it’s by far the best I’ve ever made. Many thanks Ben for all the brilliant tips & advice.

[@sallygomez1044]

I am so glad I came across this video. I hadn't fed my starter in over 6 months, and I successfully made a very impressive loaf of bread. It came out delicious! I do always use 50% whole grain, and add more water. I don't find it compromises the texture. Thank you for showing us this can be done!

[@lilianlee4599]

If I have watch your video earlier I would not have pour my old starter into the drain😢. Thank you so much for teaching me to make sourdough bread a much easier way. ❤

[@clarktre308w]

Hey pal, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the help you have given me. I am a shithouse baker but had a few wins with pizza dough and tried to make a sourdough starter before I found your channel. I am sure there must be many more failures like me that have had success due to your input. I now have a healthy starter moving between fridge and bench which produces good enough sourdough to dish out at a sixtieth bday party! Bloody brilliant, thanks again from Aussie.

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

So glad to hear my method put bread on a 60th birthday table Down Under! I've been to Oz many times, and have dear friends in Perth. Last time I was in Perth was for a 60th birthday party, in fact. CHEERS!!

[@Theruffin]

Just…such…a…great…guy. So so much appreciation for what you do for all of us.

[@944gemma]

You are a hero. A sourdough hero. I have never, ever, been able to simply throw out food (starter). Waste not, want not.

[@garysundin8287]

Thank you! It was nice to see where one of your "experimental" starters ended up. I appreciate how you teach and like to know how and why things work. Thanks for balancing the details and the basics so well!

[@lisamurphy9824]

That FF that you do is hysterical !! 🤣 Thanks for the video!😉

[@dretech]

I love sourdough bread but I didn't know how simple it could be. Thanks for your trick, I'm definitely more confident to make one now and you have a new subscriber!

[@kathleenambrose877]

Thank you! I have great difficulty wasting starter and I feel like it has been a pet that I have to take care of constantly. I read that hooch meant I was starving it so I started feeding more and was overrun with it. I'll be trying this method!

[@Firepea]

Very timely video, got a neglected starter in the fridge, so glad I saw this before I went and poured away the hooch!

[@quilterbme]

I made bread this week using this method and it was amazing!! Due to work issues, I actually waited 48 hours before I could bake it. It is the best sourdough I have ever made and I am thrilled to have found this method! Thank you!

[@Smokearoonie]

This solves a whole lot of problems. Thank you!

[@aunttrishm.171]

I appreciate that you have this out there. I never feed my starter unless I am needing more or using it and I sometimes go months between feedings. 👌

[@thewordofgog]

Great video. I gave up on 'conventional' sourdough as I found it too much of a faff. Now I normally make no-knead overnight bread which gives us what we want, ease and flavour but I'm keen to find an easier sourdough method. Happy to have found your channel Ben!

[@alfontana6242]

Ben, Great Video!!! I would never have believed it you could bake a beautiful loaf of bread with that old starter. I just entered the world of sourdough and will begin baking as my starter is now matured and doubles in size in 4-6 hours. Ben, you have the best sourdough videos on the planet.

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

Thank you SO much!

[@ldrobarts]

So true! I have left starter in fridge for months, months, maybe even over a year.....lots of liquid on top, great smell and worked just fine with a feeding. This timely boring business of feeding a starter every week or so, so not necessary.

[@rosennlynnliberty03]

Thank you for all your knowledge. I’m not nervous to do sour dough now 😀😀

[@tonyhughes1958able]

I have been feeding my starter after I use it then after it has been out for 12 hours and is all bubbly I just put it in the fridge until needed again, as I bake about 2 times a week it is never in much more that 3-4 days but if I'm away for a week or 2 it has never been an issue. I have never had to discard any starter. I also agree that all this aiming for large bubbles in the bread is just for show, I use bread tins and make sandwich loaves as you Americans call them, although it is just flour, water, salt and starter nothing else. the taste and texture is far superior to shop bought bread which we have not bought since I started at the beginning of the year. I even managed to get flour to bake all through lock down here in the UK, mostly white but some whole wheat as well. Supplies are fairly stable again now so all's good in the baking world :-)

[@yuliebc]

OmG Ben! I couldn’t believe myself I baked a perfect loaf of sourdough from starter that I didn’t feed for over 4 months! It’s crunchy outside n so soff inside and it’s mild sourness which I like. So yummy! I wonder why it’s less sour? I failed twice when I used freshly made starter and it’s way more sour as well. Thank you so much! Appreciate your videos! ❤

[@thibaultlecouls4764]

Great experimentation ! Am baking home bread since the first quaranteen aswel and I kept learning and improving through empiricism (and doing a lot of mistakes through that process, but improving my general knowledge). I noticed as you did I had a lot of flexibility with the feeding of my sourdough. Great work !

[@Geers7Omoorstay]

Ben, it is nice and reliable to watch a video of yours. In my country, there is an old adage that says (after my translation): "He who knows, knows, and he who doesn't, is boss;" in a clear reference to those people who are hired to ensure that workers actually work but without knowing about the very work.

[@gina7236]

Everytine i make your recipe my family and I love it! Thank you Ben! 😊

[@CourtJester888]

Your embracing laziness has gotten you another sub, good sir.

[@mossimossi2]

This is an excellent video. In the beginning of my sourdough journey I used to watch all these videos of people throwing away starter and it just pained me so I decided to just ignore them. Nowadays my starter lives permanently in the fridge. I may feed it, I may not before a bread. I may wait until it rises to its max height, I may not. I really don't care. I just 100gr starter in my 500ish gr flour loaf, refeed the starter just a tiny bit and back in the fridge. I waste ZERO flour. Also when in the fridge it just goes into hibernation so indeed it doesn't die. It's a bit like it's an inert state in the grain when you make the starter. The other foodgeek (the danish one :D) says he just keeps it outside the fridge and doesn't feed it. I guess as long as it doesn't grow anything funky in there it's ok to use. Keep up the great work!

[@heartartindia]

Thank you for expressing my truth about the huge holes fad.. My thoughts exactly😂in a ciabatta yes but not sour dough❤

[@flfbsphatboyblue8970]

Beautiful! Always had great success using your method. I use no other now.

[@DonnaChastang]

0:23 I am so excited to see your starved starter. It looks just like what is in my refrigerator. I was wondering if it was ruined or even if it was safe to use. Usually I baby my starter but with the holidays I just shoved it in the back of the refrigerator, now it’s time to bake some more and I was questioning the viability of my millet starter. I bake gluten-free so the results will be a little different, but I imagine the idea of the starter with the acetone smelling hooch will be just about the same as in your video, thank you for saving me weeks of revamping my starter.

[@serenalouise]

that is awesome!!!!! so impressed by your courage to beat convention!

[@mullin2roe]

This is a great revelation as I'm new to making sourdough and have been feeding my starter every day ... I've got 2 tubs of the stuff 🤣 so the fridge will be my best friend 👍thanks

[@Limicola1]

OMG, when you started to talk about those holes, I could not believe it. I've been watching some of those videos and I see this bread with all these holes in it and I'm thinking WHAT??? That's not the kind of bread I want. I've eaten some of the finest Finnish sourdough bread in the world IN FINLAND and I never saw a loaf like that with a bunch of holes in it. Also, I notice a lot of videos on sourdough that talk about the crust and crumb and holes or whatever, but rarely talk about the taste. For me, taste is everything. That and when I put butter on my toasted sourdough, I don't want it to just leak through the bread. Love your videos. My secret weapon for making bread is put it on a warming pad. I keep my home fairly cool and the warming pad works a treat. I learned this from another video on sourdough making. The warming pad is a pad used for starting seeds indoors, not a heating pad. Just enough heat to make things happen!

[@christinaoliveryoung6019]

I tried that too with an actual heating pad and it worked great! We keep our house cool as well!

[@NickBair316]

I use a heating pad that you might use for back for the same thing. Works great!

[@umararuf99]

Big holes come from high hydration it’s called an open crumb. It’s a sign of good technique, as it captures the gases from fermentation, as well as shows that you have good dough strength and gluten development. Basically it’s more difficult to achieve and thus more desired

[@bardicayt]

Great comment! Agree about the heating pad--our house is also so cool that I also will put everything (pad, covered bowl) loosely under a comforter, which has worked great. It is good that the video gives an alternative perspective, allowing people to experiment and do what works for them in terms of the product they want and the time that they can put in.

[@makettle5340]

If you want a lot of flavor, instead of salt put a packet of dry ranch dressing

[@nicosgeo]

I take the middle road for years now. No regular feeding. Feed the starter the day before. Mix and shape the bread immediately let it rise a bit and then refrigerate. Bake directly from the refrigerator. Excellent oven spring but no big holes. No big deal. I liked the scissor scoring. Very useful information about old starter. You can also air dry starter for very long period of storage. King Tutankhamun knows very well the technique.

[@user-fd1qb7ml2j]

I love your recipe and I've made my bread from it! My first loaves turned out good, but the last two did not. I think I over proved them. My starter is from your video also. I keep it in the fridge now and not feed it often! You are so right. But mine don't seem to rise as high as yours in the oven. I think my dutch oven is too large! Thanks for sharing!!

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

I use a 5 quart Dutch oven. (The link is in the video description.) The large the Dutch, the more the bread spreads out, because the sides of the Dutch are what give it support. So you might consider getting a smaller Dutch, OR you could try scaling the recipe up 25-30% to make a LARGER loaf, so it fills the Dutch you have. Overproofing is LESS common than underproofing, and technically you can't overproof on the first rise at all, but you CAN overproof on the second. (You can FIX it, though, if you simply reshape it into a loaf again and do a third rise.)

[@user-fd1qb7ml2j]

@@ultimatefoodgeek you are correct ben, I over proved on the 2nd rise. Thanks for the info. Now I know what to do if it happens again. I will look for a smaller Dutch oven, the one I have is a 7 Q and also I have a 6Q. Your recipe measurements are perfect for the size loaf I want. Your loaves turned out beautiful, I love the old rustic look! Merry Christmas Ben!!!!♥️🎄☃️

[@HomesteadHopeful]

I'm brand new to Sourdough, thank you so much for making this process even easier!

[@jonbetts8473]

TL;DW - You can use a really old, unfed, starving starter just by making a: fairly low hydration, high salt, zero knead, long proof time dough! Neat!

[@ultimatefoodgeek]

Thanks! If there's one thing I am genetically incapable of doing, it's creating something that's not TL. :-D

[@sonjahickmon5203]

Thank you Mr. Betts. The only thing that concerns me with old starter is the acidity of the bread.

[@TaigiTWeseFormosanDiplomat]

Double the salt, got it!

[@juliedechamplain6198]

​@@ultimatefoodgeek how long after feeding your starter to make more can you use it in this recipe?