I recently split my sourdough starter and brought half on a trip to the beach for two weeks (several states away, different climate). I fed this starter and baked with it. I also fed my starter at home once midway (long story why I went home during my vacation, but be assured i didn’t drive all day for the starter in the fridge
So, now I’m back and have two good starters. Ive baked with both since, though not at the same time nor with the same white/wheat ratios. But both yielded great loaves.
I’m wondering if you expert bakers/microbiologists think i should keep the starters separate to have two different types of loaves? Am I wrong in thinking the beach one is different after only two weeks in a new foggy coastal place? Will the beach one just evolve back to be like the inland one anyway?
This is not a crucial baking concern here, but I’m curious about other people’s experiences and opinions.
Consistent with the philosophy of “do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good”, I have given up on even trying to bake the “perfect loaf”. I am content that I have a starter that works and that the bread I bake is flavorful and has all of the nutritional value of whole grain sourdough bread. I am persnickety about two things. My current starter was developed with locally grown, whole grain Kamut and I maintain it with that flour. The second is that I don’t like the idea of wasting food. Thus, I only maintain enough starter such that all of the discard gets used for something edible. If not a loaf of bread, I use the starter for pancakes, waffles, crepes, naan or pita. I do not bake enough to be able to maintain more than one starter without wasting a lot of discard.
All that said, even if it is different now, I’m guessing that the “beach” starter will revert to type after a few feedings, unless you treat it very differently from the original. Were I in your predicament, I would either pick one of the two or make a new starter by starting with an equal amount of each and then doubling. In either case, I’d take the rest, feed it with some buttermilk and flour and make waffles in the morning.
Thanks for your reply and insight. I also have been leaning toward the theory that the beach starter will revert to its new environs soon anyway. Love the point about perfection being the enemy of good. I also need to remind myself that “control is an illusion” lol. Waffles or banana bread here I come!
I live in Tasmania, Australia and my starter was given to me by a local here. Then I went to visit my son in San Francisco and, whilst there, I went to Tartine where I managed to get some starter. I wanted to take some of the famous San Francisco strain of bacteria to take home.
So, once back in Tasmania I fed it and made bread and it was a little more sour and slightly lighter in colour. I kept my old starter for a while but in the end they were indistinguishable. I kept the SF one going and left the other. I don’t know if the SF bacteria is still in there but really, who cares?! It was fun and I make great bread and it makes a nice story.
I have 6 starters, one is gluten-free, and one is currently dehydrated. I alternate bakes with them and keep track on my calendar on the fridge when I use them. I keep all my starters in the fridge and only take them out to bake. I feed them three times (12 hours apart) to build them up for a bake and I never discard. I grow, use, and put about 1/4 to 1/2 cup back in the fridge until the next bake. They sit happily in there until the next bake (can be as long as two weeks).
Side note: My starters are form all over the world and even though I have had them for some time now they all behave differently and smell different. They are all fed the same flour, with the exception of my starter from Alaska - it gets a bit of rye with the all purpose flour.
Wow - that sounds like an amazing laboratory you’ve got going in your fridge.
What kind of flour do you use for gluten free?
And how do you not discard? Do your bread recipes call for a lot of starter? Or are you making many loaves at once? Or are you making waffles and other stuff with it? (or all of the above?)
Thanks for sharing!