Weekly Feeding & Hooch

txsourdough
I aquired my starter from one that my grandfather kept and used for close to 60 years. He typically would use it 1-2 times a month and kept it in the fridge when not in use. The weeks that he wasn't using it he would NOT feed it. Is there a benefit to feeding it each week? Also, as my starter is stored in the fridge it will develop a layer of "hooch" on the top. Should this be drained off, or just simply stirred in before using he starter? Thanks!
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Merrid 2011 April 21

I keep mine in the fridge and don't feed it while it's in there. I bake about once a week and I do give it a bit of a feed before I put it back in the fridge - and I don't have a big hooch problem. If I haven't baked that week, the starter doesn't get fed but it hasn't keeled over yet.

You can just stir the hooch back into the mix - it won't hurt your breadmaking at all.

Panevino 2011 April 22

I throw out the hooch.  If you make your starter a little stiffer, it's less likely to develop that hooch layer.

Merrid 2011 May 4

So it's not really about making it stiffer, just feeding more often. Flour = food, water = accessibility of the food.

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