Sourdough Series Part 2d: Simplify Sourdough by Baking From The Fridge
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Want to work with sourdough, but don’t have the time, energy, or interest for feeding a sourdough starter and figuring out what to do with the discard every single day?
No problem.
You can keep your sourdough starter in a semi-dormant state in your refrigerator indefinitely, pulling it out when you want to use it and popping it right back in when you’re finished with it.
When and Why To Refrigerate Your Sourdough Starter
Keeping your starter in the fridge is a game changer. Fridging your starter is a great way to minimize discard, waste, and fuss.
During seasons of heavy baking, I keep my starter at room temperature so it’s always active and ready for use, but when I’m focused on other things and am baking only once or twice a week, or even less frequently, I stash it in the fridge and forget about it.
Sourdough starter will keep in the fridge in a dormant or semi-dormant state indefinitely. You can take it out of the fridge to feed it weekly, bi-weekly, or even less frequently, and you can even bake from the fridge with just the teeny-tiniest bit of it. You don’t even have to take it out of the fridge to warm it up and feed it first.
This is absolutely the best thing. A total sourdough game-changer.
How to Bake From the Fridge
Waking Up the Microbes
When the starter is kept in the fridge, the microbes gradually shift from an active to a dormant state. To build a leaven that will actually raise bread, the microbes will first need to wake up and become active again. They will need to warm up and be fed.
Conventional Methods
The conventional method for reactivating a dormant starter is to take out the entire jar of starter, warm it up, feed it through at least two cycles, prep leaven, then stick the remaining starter back in the fridge.
This method works. I’ve used it. But, reactivating a fridged starter usually requires two feedings, or more, and that leads to way more starter and discard on my hands than I really need or want.
If you’ve been hanging around here for any length of time, you know that I don’t like food waste, and I really don’t like extra steps, extra mess, and extra fuss.
I’m very good at mess and fuss—make them all the time—even so, I really don’t like them.
So when I find ways to avoid them and make my routines easier, I can’t stop talking about them.
I call this fuss-free method ‘Baking from the Fridge,’ because the prep for my bake begins when I take from the fridge only the littlest bit of starter that I need for what I’m making.
Here’s how it works:
Baking from the Fridge
Instead of taking my entire jar of starter out of my fridge to warm up and feed it, I scoop out a teaspoonful, then I put that dormant starter right back into the fridge—I do not set it on the counter, I do not warm it up, I do not feed it. We’ll talk later about how to care for it to ensure it stays healthy and viable in the fridge, but for now, I just put it away.
Next, I put that teaspoon of dormant starter in a fresh jar and let it sit for a bit to warm up.
An hour or so later, I feed that teaspoon just like I would feed any starter. I use the 1:5:5 ratio I talk about in this post. You can use measuring spoons if you want or a digital scale. I’m always partial to the digital scale, but use what you have/prefer.
After feeding, I let it sit on the counter until it bubbles and doubles in size. It can go for as long as 12-24 hours, but since I’m prepping to bake, I try to let it go for just 8-12. I want to catch it before starts to tire out and deflate. I want to keep those microbes as active as possible.
Once that little starter has bubbled and doubled, I feed it again, with a ratio of 1:5:5, discarding all but one tablespoon. We are waking up and bulking up that tiny teaspoon at the same time, so that after the next feeding, it is ready to be used as leaven in my dough. Again, I allow it to sit for 8 or so hours.
Now, a third feeding. If the growing starter is fully active and bubbly by the 8 hour mark, it’s ready to be made into leaven. You can read more about building a leaven here. If it had been in the fridge for a very long time (several months), it may need further feeding before being made into leaven. But most likely, by the third feeding, it will be ready to be made into leaven.
When your leaven is ready, you can build your dough and bake!
How to Care For Your Refrigerated Starter
Sourdough starter will keep in the fridge indefinitely. The common recommendation is to feed a refrigerated starter once a week, but a well-established starter can go much longer than that. I usually feed my refrigerated starter every 3 or so weeks, taking it out to warm it up and feed it a few times before putting it back into the fridge again. I always use the discard from the feedings for pancakes or flatbreads, so it doesn’t go to waste.
Feed a refrigerated starter in the same way you feed your starter when it’s kept at room temperature. I recommend a ratio of 1:5:5—that’s 1 part starter to 5 parts flour and 5 parts water.
Step-by-Step Guide to Feeding Your Fridged Starter
Remove starter from fridge and allow to warm up on the counter for a few hours.
Feed starter with flour and water, remembering to discard first.
Set fed starter on counter for a few hours, until it begins to bubble and rise a bit.
Return fed starter to fridge.
Important Note
When baking from the fridge, there is just one really important thing to remember. You know that jar of starter that you’re keeping stashed in the fridge, taking from it in tiny bits? Be sure not to use it all up.
When you’ve used it so there’s only a teaspoon or so left, that’s a great time to pull it out and feed it. This will refresh it and bulk it back up so you’re ready to keep rocking your from-the-fridge baking routine.
And now you’re all set to master your easy no-fuss sourdough routine. Stick that starter in the fridge. It’ll be ready for you when you’re ready to bake.
