Stop Wasting Time & Flour Maintaining A Sourdough Starter. This Strategy is Way Better

It's time to stop wasting so much time and money on the way we feed our sourdough starters. There is a cheaper, easier, and more effective way. No more discard! If you bake sourdough relatively often this method will slot into your baking schedule easily.
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#sourdoughbaking

[@sdm6900]

You can dry your sourdough to always have a back up. Take some 50g of active starter, spread it thinly in parchment paper, and let it dry at room temp until it becomes super dry, then crush it and store it in a tight sealed jar. It can last years.

[@tracyparks533]

Would you mind outlining what you do when you go back to use that dry starter?

[@C00ltronix]

@@tracyparks533 I grind my dried up starter to sort of flour, then add some flour (the hart bit take ages to dissolve), and then add 100% water. The amount of dried up stater does not really matter, more is faster and less is slower.

[@herbie759]

So cool

[@remedyministries]

I don't have a sour dough starter. I really wish I could buy some of this dried sour dough starter!! Someone should market it, the same way as packaged yeast! It would make it a lot easier for some of us (ok "me") who are just learning or don't bake a lot!! When I get the time or urge to bake bread, I can't wait a week or 2 to make a starter for it!

[@DANVIIL]

I did that in 2010 and restarted the dried out starter in March 2020 and it is still working great. I stored it in my freezer in a plastic bag.

[@hackptui]

For occasional bakers, the absolute easiest thing to do: dry it out and freeze it. I just used some 27 month-old starter and it worked perfectly. Just make a batch of starter, let it rise until it's at its peak, then spread it out onto parchment paper, put another parchment on top, and roll it out until it's tissue-paper thin. Unpeel the two parchment papers, and let it completely dry. It should flake off in chunks. Crush that down into as fine a powder as you can get, bag it and freeze it. When you're ready to bake, just pull out however much you need to make a batch of new starter (5-10 grams starter powder + fresh flour + water) and you're off to the races. Your starter will never grow mold, you don't have to worry about feeding, and you'll have scads and scads of starter for the rest of your life.

[@CulinaryExploration]

Cheers!

[@alexanderkempf9828]

About how much water and flour do you add to the said 5-10 grams of starter powder?

[@hackptui]

@@alexanderkempf9828 You'll want to hydrate it back to the same percentage that your starter normally is. I use whole wheat flour, so it's 100% hydration for me. Ie, 10 grams of starter power + 10 grams of water + however much flour and water you use for your levain.

[@siewheilou399]

How about sugar and salt for the bread?

[@hackptui]

@@siewheilou399 I use standard baker's percentages for sourdough bread. Lately, I've only been doing 50% whole wheat, so my recipe is 50% whole wheat, 50% bread flour, 85% water, 20% starter, 2% salt. The percentages are all by weight of the total flour in the dough.

[@adamcauble3674]

Yes! I keep mine in the fridge, nearly empty, just "scrapings" as you say. Take it out a day before using it, and feed it exactly how much I plan to use for the bake. No extra feeding, just use it and back into the fridge. No discard ever, lasts for a month or more. Starter going strong now 7 years later.

[@ZEN-qb1lu]

Same here. Best no waste method

[@AePa4859]

Wow!! Great idea!

[@marlenepopos12]

How did you create your first sour dough stater? Most methods use alot of flour.

[@adamcauble3674]

@@marlenepopos12 There’s a method using raisins and honey and water which ferments, then you strain the “wine” into some flour and that’s all it is! Got the recipe from a cookbook by a baker lady in New York City.

[@d.jensen5153]

@@marlenepopos12 Day One of my new starter consisted of mixing 9 g of whole wheat flour (that I ground myself) with 9 g of water and putting it in the smallest container I owned. Why does King Arthur do it differently? Really?

[@eloutjenn5605]

I am a very old woman (85 yrs!) who is a very NEW sourdough wannabe! Your advice on maintaining my new starter is so helpful. I thought it was requiring a lot of flour to keep my starter going. Your advice about using small amounts of flour sounds good!

[@CulinaryExploration]

I’m pleased you found the information helpful. I hope you enjoy baking sourdough

[@huntstyle]

I love that you're still trying new things at 85!

[@leesa9615]

You’re a very YOUNG 85❤

[@TSis76]

You're not old til you're at least 89!❤

[@wholeNwon]

Hope you are still doing well and baking up a storm.

[@lunasmama84]

I leave the "scrapings" in a ball on the bottom of a jar and just put a lot of flour on top of it, and stick it in the fridge. I can leave it in there for months. When I want to use it, I feed it the day before I plan to use it, and feed it again a few hours before use. Then when I've prepared my dough, I stick another tablespoon ball in the jar and cover it with flour, back in the fridge for next time.

[@telldpablo]

I had my starter in the back of my fridge for approximately 4 years. There was about a 1/2" in the jar. Turned into about 50/50 liquid and solid. When I fed it as an experiment before throwing it away it can right back to life. Doubled in size in a few hours. I was blown away!

[@XxYwise]

My mom's been doing that for 50+ years ❤

[@animatedintrovert]

I second this! Mine stayed healthy in the fridge for 4 years including a move halfway across the country. I also have some dried in the pantry stored in a jar near my commercial yeast. *edit to add that it had not been opened or fed or thought about for 4 years

[@ruthenders6663]

my great grandmother before the time of fridges, rubbed flour into some sour dough (remnants after baking) and kept these sour crumbs in jar covered with cloth in meat safe🔥🔥

[@toddmussman8486]

Yes, I use this method for the last couple years and have let scrapings go for a couple months no problem. Worst case scenario you might have to feed twice if it sits too long. My starter is 27 years old and very strong though.

[@PotatoMC1]

omg 27 years old! That's amazing :)

[@awaitingthetrumpetcall4529]

_"My starter is 27 years old and very strong though."_ Wow. It's part of the family.

[@jimbonsf]

That's amazing.

[@kristenrabeler8727]

Wow! That's an adult child. Did you name it?

[@amandavanhijfte8290]

Wow - impressive!

[@lewybowling970]

This past year I didn't bake for over 7 months, I kept my starter on the fridge the whole time and did not feed it. I was afraid to take it out and feed it but I did and it was completely fine!

[@KevinNicholasFleming]

This is exactly what I do. You barely need any starter in order to make a new batch. All you need is the live culture. I also never refrigerate mine. Sometimes I let my starter sit on the counter for days on end without feeding it, and let it ferment until it looks putrid, then I discard that and use the scrapings to start a new batch, and I swear it makes the starter tastier and stronger. My theory is that putting it under stress by almost killing it off actually makes it stronger and actually gives it more time for new cultures to develop. When my batch of starter is fully active, I play calming music for it, in hopes that the musical vibrations alter the crystalline structure of the water molecules in the starter, therefore making a more structured bond in the dough. All theories, but it's super fun to experiment. Thanks for the videos!

[@miming3679]

Wtf are saying sourdough starters are saiyans?

[@zvezdoblyat]

​@@miming3679 they're saying live organisms react to sound

[@annedoupe112]

Nice one thanks for sharing, what doesn't kill you ....

[@cutabove9046]

For long periods of not baking simply freeze you starter in ice cube trays and pack the cubes in a plastic bag afterword.

[@sandrastitt527]

What a super great idea

[@danielf_swe]

I have been using the scraping method for quite some time now and I love it! No fluor waste and I’m always ready to bake within 6-8 hours. Thanks for a great channel! 😃👍

[@0xbad]

That scraping method from Bake With Jack helped me a lot also! It makes sourdough baking so much easier. Usually I bake every 2-3 days and the longest period without feeding was about one week so far and the starter was nice and active.

[@ChocolateTampon]

I've done the scrapings method for a while now since seeing Jack do it. I'd left a jar of scrapings in the fridge and forgot about it for over a month. It had dried out but I added a little water and shook the jar, left it for an hour to rehydrate it. I then fed it and it had almost doubled in size in 24 hours. After one more feed it was healthy and ready to use again. I was amazed and the bread was just as good as previous loaves.

[@kelleydiva3587]

Very helpful! What a great video! Been doing this same process for probably a couple of months now as I was getting frustrated wasting a lot of flour and space in the fridge keeping jars full of discarded starters.

[@walkingrighthere3851]

I've maintained the same starter for a couple years now. I don't even measure. Like you, I leave a couple tablespoons in the jar after making bread, throw in some water and flour, stir it up and throw it in the fridge. When I'm ready to bake, I pull it out of the fridge, (it doesn't even look very active) make up a batch and bake. I've had very consistent beautiful and delicious loaves every time. I credit Elly's everyday sourdough channel! I think we make it too hard and fussy when it's really not.

[@khowe1747]

Thank you for the link to Elliy's. I appreciate it!

[@mariannebecker5132]

I started my sourdough bread journey with Bake With Jack, so I was happy to hear you reference him. It’s true. You do not need to keep a lot of starter on hand. Just feed your scraps, and you are good to go.

[@vickyb9900]

Thank you for this video. I definitely will try the sourdough starter again! I tried it during the pandemic and I wasteed so much flour trying to get it started and maintaining it and I wasn’t making bread more than a couple times a month. I bake bread all the time and I haven’t been making any sourdough bread since then. But now, with your methods, I will definitely get back into it!

[@nazaraki]

This is such a lifesaver tip! My sourdough starter is homemade, and the method I followed took a *lot* of flour. I worried a ton about how I'd be able to maintain a starter and if I had just wasted my time (and money) because I didn't have a lifestyle that allowed me to dedicate more time for baking. The scrapings method (and your realistic, busy home-baker approach) has done wonders to ease my baking worries!

[@Rosakru]

I've been using a modified version of Bake With Jack's system for about 3 years now. I often run experiments with my starter and have used as little as 3 grams of scraping to create four wonderful 850g loaves. I've also recently brought back to life 65g of a neglected uncovered, and dried out starter that was left in the back of my fridge for 5 months following a motorcycle accident that left me unable to bake for a time. My approach is always of minimalist ways and I'm never precise in my measure of ingredients. I'm relying on the feel of the dough when I mix it. My results are always fine. Simple is best, is my motto.

[@barbaraconnolly9000]

My starter is now 2 years old. I don't feed it regularly, I often run it down to almost nothing and then pull it back up. I often bake with unfed starter if there is enough in the jar and then just feed the leftovers. I have found the starter has got stronger by doing this. I love having some starter in case I want quick flatbreads, or to use in a cake. Starter is about so much more than bread. Crumpets, english style muffins made quickly amongst other things. I love having a sourdough starter, one of the best things I did in lockdown.

[@xx-xt4rg]

I'm very excited about this system. I too wanted to bake it but did not want to deal with the daily feedings....cant wait to try thanks

[@AdamGreen1]

I stumbled on the same method through trial and error over the last six years. Works brilliantly.

[@Christen-G]

I dehydrated several trays of fed starter at 95 degrees, and store it in a sealed jar. Rehydrate @100%, feed and rest overnight and it’s ready to go. I can easily share starter this way and I’ll never run out. Anytime I need to replenish the stock of dried stuff I feed the active starter to the desired volume, wait for peak activity and dehydrate more. If your starter is very sticky, thin it out to pourable consistency with water. Since all of that water will evaporate anyway it doesn’t matter how much you start with - it just makes it easier to pour/spread onto the trays. Crepe batter is about te consistency I find easiest to work with.

[@bradfordjeff]

You can freeze a blob of it and revive it when you're in a baking mood. It takes about two days to get a good batch going from frozen.

[@HeavenlySoapsSuch]

I do the same thing with my milk kefir grains. I freeze some in the milk kefir and take out of the freezer when I need it. Works great!

[@OAPerez40]

Well done! I'm always up for any plan that excludes waste! We can't afford any kind of waste these days! 👍🏽

[@walterbobrowski4761]

I followed your book recipe for long term storage (mixing starter with flour) as I was gone for a month. Then I vacuum-sealed several sets. Very easy!

[@jsmith8797]

Our gabled house has a video about keeping the starter for longer (she learned it from her German mother). She makes sure to add flour on top of the starter, don’t mix , place in fridge then feed it the night before you’re ready to use. Btw thank you, thank you, thank you for simplifying the process for me, less stressful.

[@fathersonandskillet]

We usually bake sourdough twice a week, keeping about 100 g in the fridge at any given time. The night before we bake, we use 80 to make the 250 to 300 g needed for that day's baking and the other 20 gets a feeding to make 100 g, which goes back in the fridge in the morning. A piece of tape with the last feeding date on it serves as a reminder if we skip baking, but even after two weeks the starter still acts OK.

[@janenichols3880]

I love this concept! I gave up previously due to so much discard! Will try again!

[@gracieosornio9291]

gamechanger!! thank you for your excellent videos and valuable tips

[@kawasakisxi1]

Massive appreciation here from a new baker .....im learning a lot from channels like yours

[@CulinaryExploration]

Cheers Total Clarity :)

[@darylphuah]

I had a starter kept in the fridge unfed for 3 years. Took it out, fed it and it came back to life. Save your flour and just revive your starter before your next bake.

[@trishapomeroy9251]

Truly BRILLIANT! Thank you so much! This is exactly the kind of information I need.

[@vickiephilpitt7697]

Wow, thanks for this video. I stopped my sourdough starter years ago because it took up so much space, time, waste and flour but this method sounds like I can restart and then bake without all that discarding. 30 years and someone finally came up with "a better mouse trap". 👍

[@MagdaFoldi]

Love your info here. Over the years I have learned that a good starter needs little to no maintenance. Just two days ago I took out a jar of starter from the back of my fridge that i have neglected for almost one year. It had an inch of brown hooch at the top. I smelled it and it was good, no mold or anything funny on it. I poured off the brown hooch, mixed it up and gave it a quarter cup flour and same amount of water. After a while it had some more hooch rise to the top, I poured that off and fed it again. It developed hooch again but very little so again I poured it off and fed it. I left it on my counter over night and it was beautiful and bubbly in the morning. Basically under the hooch the yeast had gone dormant having nothing to eat. Yeast is pretty hard to kill. The only problem you can run into, is if some how mold spores get into it, but that becomes pretty obvious not only by the obnoxious smell but dark brown or black patches. Then you discard the whole thing. So I have learned that if you have a good strong starter to begin with, it will not fail you in the long run. I am not suggesting leaving it unattended for a year of course, but I am trying to let people know that this new idea of constantly feeding and discarding is unrealistic. You should not be discarding any of it. I come from an eastern European background. In the villages women made bread in large wood basins. After shaping the five or six loves of bread, they would scrape the left over scraps from the bottom of the basin and keep that for the next batch of bread. Some women left it in the basin and pored warm water to dissolve for the next batch. There is no need whatsoever to discard so much good flour. The only time it is acceptable is when you first make your sourdough starter.

[@Yupppi]

Big word, this is basically how some starters stayed in the family for century or two and became sort of legendary, were spoken about on how good their family bread was.

[@rcraig9655]

Great video! I have used Bake With Jack's scrapings starter, and it worked fine, as yours did. Now however, I make a 300 gram starter, and will leave it at times in the fridge in excess of two months, and then feed it twice, back to back. It works really well, and no constant feeding!

[@inocenciotensygarcia1012]

I no loved it!.I’ve been practicing baking bread for a month now,and I will try out your method. Thank you very much.

[@sunriseboy4837]

Love your work, brother!

[@Simplycomfortfood]

Great video Phillip. I just took my starter and placed 25g and added 55g of flour and 55g water. We have these 16 oz plastic deli containers that we buy from Amazon. It is the perfect size for the amount of starter.

[@amigaucho8229]

excellent presentation keep up the good work, thank you

[@fatmakahraman780]

I was struggling to maintain my routine for baking sourdough bread because of very hard feeding and kneeding schedule. Your videos have inspired me!! It is so much easier now! Thanks a lot for your videos!

[@CulinaryExploration]

You are really welcome, I'm pleased the videos are useful for you. Enjoy your baking :)

[@stefaniemiller7819]

Thank you so much for your response in your last video! The suggestions you made really helped and the last loaf I made was perfection! The best loaf I’ve made since switching off store bought flour and yeast! Thank you so much!

[@CulinaryExploration]

That's great news Stephanie, pleased I could help :)

[@kirstyjohnston4779]

I have been using the bake with jack scraping method since I started, I was lucky to find him within a month of my sourdough journey.

[@harrya7221]

Great video again, bro. I've used this method throughout my sporadic baking over the years. Key tips I have for this method. Try to refrigerate the starter as you have, but try to get it in the fridge just before it peaks, keeps the acid levels lowers, and gives the yeast a better environment to rest. Feed about every 3 days if not using it to keep it active for when you do what to pull it out and bake like you have. I also found that even after 5 months of being left in the fridge, it is a great way to start again building a lively starter quickly and keep its complex flavour. To do that, just take it out of the fridge, feed as usual, may take a few feeds to become as strong/active as desired. Hope this makes sense and helps a few people keep their bread rolling.

[@DANVIIL]

I've left my scrapings that I fed with 10 grams of flour and 10 grams of water, mixed it up and sprinkled a tiny bit of flour on top and left it in my frige unfed for 4 months. I then feed it 2xs at room temperature and it's ready to bake again. A German lady told me about the "sprinkle a little flour on top" method. The starter will start to smell like cinnammon & works great & no waste.

[@markfrankel9345]

Thanks for the good video. I saw the the same on Bake with Jack; glad you gave him a shout out. I feed in small quantities (40g) daily; just a routine at this point. But I keep a backup in the fridge. For longer storage I do a low hydration mix for the fridge, usually 50%. The starter in a low hydration mix peaks and exhausts itself more slowly. Combine that with the cold of the fridge, it last for months and only needs a couple of days of feeding to be back to full strength. Ever couple of months I just replace it. I also dried a portion as a really long term storage back up.

[@MrArthoz]

Have you tried the "old dough" or levain technique? Townsends channel spoke about how people used to keep old dough in dried form that keeps for years like a piece of thick cookie. Just crumble and mix with water to reactivate it. Could be a good experiment for long term storage. Also Towsends spoke how in ancient times people use unwashed dough bowl continuously as it cause the bread to rise but they can't explain it. Like how in the book of Exodus in Bible they spoke of how they had to eat unleavened bread because they have no access to the dough bowl. It is in a way, the scraping method.

[@elizabethheyenga9277]

I bake with Einkorn and learned to use a stiff starter and make a levain for most of her recipes. That is normal to me. It isn't as stiff as a cookie but you can adjust up or down with ease. This feeding a starter daily and getting buried in it is wasteful and a bit nuts to me lol. I leave it up to 3 weeks just because I bake a lot (and pizza dough uses 60 grams) but it could go months, I have no doubt

[@alohachristine]

I love your Bible reference. I am going to research this a bit more. I study the scriptures (both the Bible and the Book of Mormon), but I had never closely considered the concept of bread as you are sharing here. I am going to go watch the video you are referencing if I can find it because I can see some amazing spiritual analogies as well as bread history! I saw on another video that you can put it on the dehydrator or freeze the starter, but I haven't experimented myself yet. Thank you for your comment. :)

[@alohachristine]

I think I found the video you are referencing. :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnuUgYF6o9amnKM

[@Bear-cm1vl]

Admittedly, the problem of constant feeding is one of the reasons I have not baked Sourdough any more than I have. My work schedule is unpredictable and emergency calls often change plans with no time to respond, combined with an infrequent baking schedule and maintaining a starter was a chore I was not interested in. This method sounds like a great way to maintain a starter for the 1-2 weeks between Sourdough baking I would prefer. Thank you.

[@Schatzie301]

Been there, done that! This is genius. Works perfectly for me.

[@cyndwinzeler3417]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! for me, this honestly is a game changer!

[@sc2loki]

Thank you sir for your incredible work and content. It's one of the top sourdough channels out there, in my opinion. You're clear and concise and I really appreciate all the work that goes into the production. Keep it up!

[@CulinaryExploration]

That's really appreciated Andy, thank you

[@secilyanik7555]

Always thought the daily feeding idea was crazy and I think it puts off a lot of people start baking sourdough breads. I have about a cup of starter that sits in the fridge. Currently bake once a week and if on holiday, I may not bake for 3-4 weeks. Before I refresh the starter, I take it out of the fridge to get to room temperature, for about 8 hours, and refresh using a tablespoon of this with 100% water. Always get a nice bubbling starter - how long it takes is most influenced by the temperature is my experience. I make sure there is about a tablespoon leftover to join the mother in the fridge and if I didn't refresh for longer, I usually make a bit extra.

[@kurtstreeter7853]

The "required maintenance" of sourdough starter was the most significant barrier to sourdough for me for way too long. I wish I knew this years ago.

[@rowanellis8259]

Discovered this out of pure laziness. My Starter went 2 months in the fridge, wasn't a problem. Scoop the grey shit off the top, take a teaspoon from the bottom of the Jar. I make about 200 gram of starter and bake with 150. So 50 gram stays in the fridge.

[@kathleenmoody747]

You are absolutely amazing.I have followed your directions and am now at the scrapings stage,making and the baking is so good. I can’t believe I have finally made delicious sour bread. Following you has made it so easy. I love it.😄

[@CulinaryExploration]

Nice one Kathleen, I'm pleased you are enjoying your baking!

[@rachelmiller8323]

Amen! Bake with Jack taught me all about this!

[@GregPerkins]

That's what I do for my weekly bakes. I keep ~30g of starter from the prior bake and add 80/80 g of flour and water in the late evening. It works well. Lately the bread I'm making is 85% hydration and 87% whole wheat bread flour, 800g of total flour for 2 loaves.

[@barbaralarsh6009]

Thank you, thank you. I stayed away from making sourdough because of the discard & maintenance. So excited to try your efficient process. Blessings

[@CulinaryExploration]

It's pretty straightforward Barbara, I think you'll enjoy it

[@KatrinaYancey780]

Same here. I wanted to learn sourdough bread making few years ago, but the flour waste got to me and I stopped. I'm glad to learn that there's another way. Thanks for sharing.

[@vintage6346]

I'm just getting started with sourdough. I'm so glad I found this video. I hate being on a hamster wheel where I can't stop a project. Apparently, when God created yeast for us, he didn't expect us to be the slave of the yeast.

[@HWLee-vu4hv]

I also use the scape method but with a small alteration. I feed the scrape immediately before putting it to sleep in the fridge, this will prevent from drying out. When it is needed, just take it out from the fridge to warm up.

[@foreverwantingpie]

Hey this is essentially what I do! I use a larger container and make two loaves once a week. Never dries out, it just gets that dark tinted liquid eventually that you pour off. I've left it in the fridge for like two months and it still works well enough the next morning.

[@misskitty999]

Okay I watched this video which compelled me to watch a few more of your videos. I’ve been making sourdough for about 7 years (using the same starter! It’s like a family pet now). I have one tried and true recipe but it has olive oil in it and my husband is okay but not in love with the taste and texture of the bread (means more for me!). I have tried one or two other recipes that just didn’t work out so I was leery trying your recipe but thought what the heck let’s give it a go. The feeding the scrapings of the starter is genius! Since I have plenty of my old faithful in the fridge I use your technique by putting about a tablespoon of our ”pet” in with your measurements. Perfection! And your recipe yields a loaf my husband can’t get enough of! He said you should know it has “Saved our marriage” (which isn’t true because we’ve been married forever and I can’t get rid of him!).

[@mkshffr4936]

Funny you should mention... I have been thinking about trying my hand at baking and I ran across a video on Jon Townsend's 18th century cooking channel where he makes a "bacteria bread" that is kind of a sourdough without the need for a starter. One simply mixes flour salt and water into a dough and let's it sit for at least 20 hours before baking. I like simple so I like the idea. As long as you know you will need it a day or two in advance it sounds like a good approach.

[@joanlund4461]

Thank you, yes I had two jars of starter in my fridge until I watched your last video ( jack and his scrapings) so much simpler and no waste! Your Bread recipes are the best 🇨🇦

[@CulinaryExploration]

Cheers Joan, pleased the vids are helpful

[@maybee...]

Thanks for sharing, I've always wanted to have a starter on hand. But didn't know much about it.

[@dien2no423]

Thank you, Phil, for your excellent content and videos! I have been using Jack's method for almost two years and bake two loaves every 10-14 days (I do not feed the scrapings in between baking intervals). As he recommends, I have always used fresh ground organic rye for my starter. However, it appears you are using white bread flour for your starter, so I am going to convert my starter to strong white bread flour (SWBF) on my next batch (simply by using the white flour in place of the rye flour), just to see the difference (i can always go back to rye flour and vice a versa). Thanks again!

[@rianajansevanrensburg2444]

I have been using my rye flour starter now for a couple of months as I only bake 100% rye flour bread. Definitely going to try this method

[@TheChefLady4JC]

I've been using Bake with Jack's method for nearly 3 years now. I've neglected my starter for a couple of MONTHS to the point where it has an alcoholic hooch puddling on the surface. I just stirred it back in so as to not throw off my water to flour ratio... it becomes liquidy in appearance but that's only because of the breakdown of the gluten strands. It does not change the water to flour ratio. Anyhoo...I took 20g of neglected, starving starter and added 60g of flour and 60g of water. About 18 hours later, and viola! It was ready to go! It performed rather well, too!

[@MH-it3se]

interesting!! thanks for the starter info!

[@jerryglazman260]

Been using the scrapings method for over a year. Learned it from Jack. I've kept my scrapings (with a lid) in the fridge for over 2 weeks without feeding. Fed at bed time and then made a great bread the next morning.

[@C00ltronix]

My sourdough jar was cleaned out recently, but luckily not washed. Just added 15g flour, 30g water, took 2 hours more than usual, but came back strong as ever. This video is spot on! Too many crap methods out there!

[@CulinaryExploration]

It's amazing how resilient they are

[@simonnorthover]

Nice to see this working for you - I have been doing this same method myself for a couple of years, care of Jack’s seminal video. On a Friday night I add 150g of water and 150g flour to my scrapings jar, make sure it’s well mixed and then leave it out for an hour or two before it goes into the fridge until morning. Saturday I make my 3 sourdough loaves, and prove them in the fridge over night. Bake Sunday morning. Amazing results every time.

[@CulinaryExploration]

It was a game-changer for me Simon, love it

[@melisagarelli1221]

Me alegro el día tu clase!! Soy panadera hogareña. Y me cansé de tirar masa madre, harina... Wooow! Éste método es perfecto. Saludos desde Buenos Aires Argentina

[@nigelgericke2533]

Excellent practical advice, thank you.

[@smarsden4436]

Great video..... I no longer worry about my starter and a regular feeding regime; yes, in the early days of my sourdough journey I was quite particular with my feeding, but I took a more relaxed and laid back approach to feeding around 2 years ago and only feed it before I'm about to bake. I have never looked back since and always get great tasting (and looking) bread, with a good open crumb with this approach. As I say, I feed my starter the night before I want to use it and calculate the amount of flour & water to add so that I have around 20/30g of starter left over after using it the next day to make the dough - I store my starter in once finished with. On one occasion I revived a starter found in my fridge after well over a month of not being fed, it looked a bit off and smelt pretty rancid, but after a few feeds it was fine. In other times I've taken the starter directly out of the fridge and used it to make dough without first feeding it, yes it took longer to rise, but the bread also turned out fine. In my view don't waste good flour and time on daily feeding routines - starters are tough enough not to need it!

[@craig6063]

Good to verify what I’ve been doing for awhile. Discard and feed, what a waste. I’ve been been baking with SD off & on for 50 plus years. Always ready to learn new tricks. My hold is a 50g (50/50) mix. Baking bread weekly but other stuff too. SD breads are mold resistant in comparison to regular breads so I adapt many recipes to SD.

[@Fester_]

Thanks. I am glad I saw this video before my 1st sourdough loaf. I've been baking, eating home made bread since David Cameron said he made his own. Oct' 2013 ??

[@sjulliette]

This is great! Just what I needed.

[@CulinaryExploration]

It’s a great way to keep your sourdough starter 👌

[@privateprivate9285]

Kept my scrapings in the fridge for over 7 months. Used it the other day to make a lovely rye sourdough bread, it is yum! Popped my scrapings from that back in the fridge. Agree, a huge thank you to Bake with Jack! He's the lad!

[@CulinaryExploration]

Top chap 👍

[@robertlynn7332]

I've developed a method over the past few years of making one large no-knead loaf per week (after it cools I cut it in half and freeze half of it). I use a single larger jar for the starter and keep a few ounces of leftover starter. The afternoon (late) before I bake I feed the jar flour and water so that it's just under half full. By about 9:30 it is doubled in size. I use about a cup for my bread dough and a half cup for a sourdough pancake batter. I put the remaining starter back in the fridge and leave the dough and the batter overnight on the counter. I form my loaf and make pancakes while it rises. Practically no waste, and I'm only feeding it once a week. Also, I'll occasionally feed the starter mid week and use that batch to make pretzels, pizza dough or bagels (these work well if the starter is in the "discard" phase).

[@ceolmorjim]

Thx so much from Michigan, USA. This is brilliant. Tried it, loved it, and am now onto my third bake using this method.

[@CulinaryExploration]

Awesome Jim, and you are more than welcome! Cheers for the feedback :)

[@anneyoung1011]

Best recipe works so well.

[@Lizard008]

I had exactly the same experience. When I started with sourdough, I had tons of discard & starter. I'd manage by mixing it with some eggs to make pancakes, but it gets tiring after a while - even though the kids are a big fan. The solution was a little planning: keep a little, feed in the evening for making your dough the next day, to bake the day after that.

[@CulinaryExploration]

You are spot on. Planning is a big part of it and something I neglected a little. I got tired of discard recipes. If I want to make sourdough pancakes or crumpets I'd rather plan for it and make a touch extra starter.

[@afjer]

I use the discard from feeding as flavor in biscuits. (Edit: I know this is cooking, but it's faster cooking that can be more easily worked into a busy schedule.) Gives them a nice punch. Equal parts discard and flour by weight measured into a measuring up. 10-20% butter to flour by weight. 1 tsp baking powder per cup of dough. Enough water or milk for the style of biscuits you want.

[@yidy1]

This was a great clip! Thanks for the info!

[@aerobill8554]

Wonderful video! Clear, comprehensive and concise. Been baking sourdough bread since start of COVID and enjoying it. This clears up one of my struggles as well. Subscribed and posted for the email subscription as well. Greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱.

[@CulinaryExploration]

Cheers for the feedback AeroBill!

[@yosoet77]

You can freeze sourdough starter in an airtight container for up to a year without damaging the starter. You don't have to feed the sourdough starter while it's frozen

[@kateandmurrayadams6927]

So good to hear your message! - I have a starter that is 14 years old. It is made from organic rye flour. I decided some years ago that I wasn't going to waste all that flour throwing it down the drain. So I've been using your method for some years now. The longest I've left the starter in the fridge is 6 weeks. When I've been away on holiday I've asked a couple of friends to also store some starter for me.-as an insurance - I've not had issues with the starter after 6 weeks!😀

[@ax.f-1256]

If you want you can even store it with even less need to look after it. Just dry it. Take a spoon out of it (or all of it if you want) spread it nicely thin on a sheet of parchment paper and put it in the oven. Turn on the lamp (not the heat itself) in the oven and let it dry. If your oven is capable of that, you can also turn the heat to 35*C/ 95*F To speed up the process. (But don't exceed 40*C/104*F, because the sourdough won't like it and might die) Then either use your fingers or a mortar and pestle and make a nice thin power out of it. Just put it in a jar, store it somewhere warm and dry and you can store it forever. You can also use that technique to store some "emergency Sourdough" culture from your original sourdough mother culture incase something should happen to it. Similar to normal dry yeast. To wake it up again you just need water and flour. Depending on your the recipe you use and how much sourdough you need, after 1-4 days you have grown back your whole sourdough culture again. Basically you can store it like that as long as you want. Even decades and ceturies, as long as it is kept dark, dry and sort of warm.

[@wadC42]

I've been using the same method, and sometimes keep the scrapings for a couple of weeks. When I know it will not be used for a while, I feed it just a little, just to cover the base of the jar, and leave it in the fridge. Has gone for couple of months in the fridge while I was moving and renovating and I didn't have fully equipped kitchen. After a few months it smelled like cheese, and looked a bit grey and dried out, but no mold or anything. Scooped out the grey and dried out top, en fed it two times before baking again without issues 😎.

[@bobby350z]

I agree with you. Watched bunch of channels, read all these books, what a waste when I am only going to bake once or twice a week. Then I started putting my small jar in the fridge and have kept in there. Take some starter from it, feed it couple of times and bake. Some people make sourdough baking look over complicated. I use Bake with Jack's knead on wet counter top method, so easy.

[@CulinaryExploration]

Cheers Bobby, I'm pretty busy so I like to keep things as streamlined as possible. I haven't seen his wet countertop method.

[@marthamckeon278]

Glad you posted this - I do basically the same as you and have no discards whatsoever. I bake about twice a week, so use the frig as a time out like you described. I have another couple of guys I follow who even use the starter straight from the frig and let the dough rise overnight. I mean, when you add flour and water to it, it's basically just one big feed.

[@CulinaryExploration]

Exactly Martha! A life without discard is a good life lol

[@rtaveras84]

@@CulinaryExploration it depends. I intentionally create “discard” to make pancakes 😅

[@TravelinMama73]

@@rtaveras84 I guess I'm still a newbie but I too love having discard. I fry it in a pan with peanut oil and coat it with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Makes an awesome desert or even with coffee in the morning. And the sourdough waffles ....YUM!

[@lucidmaya]

@@TravelinMama73oh will have to try this!!! You fry just the discard, nothing else added till after (the cinnamon and sugar)?

[@christine7772]

Thank you , brilliant idea 🙏❤️

[@valeriegardiner3591]

Just amazed at the scrapings it’s so easy thank you have made one loaf everyday since seeing it excellent results everytime

[@CulinaryExploration]

That's awesome Valerie, really pleased the video was helpful :)

[@drevoy2944]

Bake with Jack is awesome. I use the scraping method. I have left my starter (Floyd now 2yrs old) for up to 2 months in my fridge. I take him out pour off any hooch on top and add water and flour. Boom back to life to make great bread. Sourdough rocks!!! P.s. your Channel is great 👍. Thanks for the video.

[@CulinaryExploration]

Cheers Dr Evoy!

[@helenachase5627]

If you leave the jar with scrapings open it will quickly dry out. Then store it in a cupboard. Takes longer to get ready to bake but no risk of mould

[@TheSamya2005]

I've been doing this for months now, I never need to discard any starter which I hated doing at the beginning, also work very well and get the same results.

[@Vexelpops1]

this vid is highly relevant to my interests, i tried making sourdough earlier in the year but the only thing i ended up making was way too much starter

[@TheIntuitiveBodyFoodieNetwork]

Nice content! I've been known to feed my starter & then refrigerate it for upwards to 4-6 months before I use, re-feed & refrigerate it again. It's worked for me for decades this way. Of course now I'm back to baking bread every day so even though I still refrigerate it, I make it by the quart and pull sufficient amounts out the night before I need it. Btw, you'll know your sourdough starter is potent if you drop a tsp into a little dish of water & it floats. If it sinks, it still needs more time to ferment.

[@why_sojaded]

Does it not go bad in that time? I could have introduced some bad bacteria in mine, but I fed my big starter and left it in the fridge. For a month it sat in the fridge, and it ended up smelling really sour+ had grey juice on top.

[@garyskinner2422]

Yes me also mine just never wants to die lol, I've left it for months before and a spoonful put in a fresh jar and fed bang it's up n running within hours, mines very active and strong it's around 15 years old now.

[@bluefeatherhomestead]

Wow!!! Thank you for sharing this.

[@curiousmind3710]

I am a newbie and I would not do this crazy discard ever. Keep mine in the fridge and feed before I bake. My schedule is too irregular. Glad more people "come to their senses "and don't throw such treasures away 😊

[@replicant8532]

Thanks for all of your videos. I've been baking sourdough bread since the beginning of this year and I was able to master it thanks to your videos. What you have in this video is I think an example of best looking loaf of bread ever. That's the benchmark for every sourdough loaf.

[@CulinaryExploration]

Awesome! Sounds like you are getting well with your baking. Appreciate your comments! Cheers 👍

[@RIODJENIRO1]

Just found your channel have liked and subscribed. Thanks so much for this information. Love sourdough..

[@kathya739]

Six YEARS of being FREE from the sourdough regiment! Got sooooo TIRED of fitting MY schedule around sourdough baking; the dread, knowing I NEEDED to use the starter and hating the waste, if i didn't. Elly's Everyday taught me the LAID BACK style of bread making she's been using for years. About a TABLESPOON of leftover starter, and a little water and flour. No scales, no real measuring. And uses it straight from the fridge,..No wait. And whole grains, also.

[@Hahahahaaahaahaa]

Just buy fresh bread.

[@travisedwards9983]

@@Hahahahaaahaahaa store bought bread is trash vs making it at home

[@lightabounds77]

I’m new to sourdough and after a few loaves I’ve discovered I can leave 40 grams-ish of starter in the fridge and bring it out and feed it make a loaf and put about 40 grams back in fridge. No discard ever. My starter works great!

[@ingekaivola4685]

That's what I do ... I keep about 3 ounces in the fridge and feed it when I need it. Mine is 5 years old. I bake bread (buns, mostly) or make pancakes/waffles every other week or so.