Cold Start

Refrigeration of the sourdough starter was the next thing to test; it developed one bubble on the surface, and did not rise. Then again it hasn't even been much on the rising front, which is why I've also been using instant yeast in the bread dough. Probably the starter needs a little more flour and a little less water to better favor yeast? On the other hand I'm okay with a lot of sour.

Reactivation was done with two feedings, one at 10:00 and another at 20:00 for a loaf to start the next morning, which is still less wheat than if I had fed the starter every day like usual. The morning starter showed the usual rise of not much and a bunch of internal bubble formation. Apparently a starter can go for up to two weeks in a fridge before you need to feed it, freeze it, dry it, or throw it out.

A quickbread from the remainder of the cold starter was not very sour. Probably it needed more time to develop given that the starter was coming up from 40F. Like, for more than seven hours. Or maybe the lactic acid bacteria are a warmer type?

Meanwhile, the bread:

breadplosion.jpg

I probably should score the dough, but rather prefer the wild explosions.