HOW LONG CAN SOURDOUGH STARTER LAST WITHOUT BEING FED?

If you’re someone who is going out of town for several weeks or even months at a time and are wondering how to keep your starter alive while you’re away, then you’re in the right place. Your sourdough starter may not need to be fed as much as you think!

Sourdough starters can be tough work and you don’t want to kill it, I get it! I’ll teach you some of the best tips on how to keep your sourdough starter alive, even when you’re not able to feed it for a while.

I’ll even add in a little extra trick on how to you ensure you have enough backup starter to last you a lifetime!

How long can your sourdough starter live without you?

You may be surprised, but your sourdough starter isn’t as needy as you may think.

Depending on how mature your starter is, it doesn’t have to be fed every day. Or even every other day. Or even every week.

Before I actually used my sourdough starter (back when I was too intimidated to use it), I kept it in the fridge pretty much 24/7. And I didn’t feed it because I didn’t know how and was too afraid to kill it.

Now that I realize how easy it is, I have no problem feeding my starter, but I still only do it weekly or whenever I use it for a recipe.

You can read how I feed my sourdough starter, here.

Your starter can last a long time in the fridge, without even being fed. I’m talking weeks and even months at a time.

How to store sourdough starter when you won’t use it for a long time?

If you plan on using your starter frequently throughout the week, you may want to keep your starter on the counter.

Being in the warmer temperature of your home will make the natural yeast and bacteria happy and you’ll get a good rise. Remember, temperature is a big factor into how the starter will rise.

If you’re going to be gone for a while or you just won’t be using it week-to-week, then the fridge is your friend.

The fridge slows down all enzyme activity and essentially hibernates your starter.

Like I said, your starter can live in the fridge for a long time without needing to be fed.

What to do with the starter after leaving it in the fridge for a long time?

When you’re ready to use your starter again after it has been in the fridge for a while, simply just use it how you normally would.

You may have heard that you can take half of your starter out of your jar and set it aside as discard. You can either make a recipe out of it or throw it in the garbage.

Having discard is a way to manage the size of your starter. If you don’t have very much in your jar there is no need to discard your starter.

I will sometimes discard half of my starter if I have a lot in my jar. I find that I tend to get a quicker rise when I’m starting with less and then I feed it.

Feed your starter and let it rise. Remember, you want it to get to that thick, pancake like batter as I discuss in my How to Feed Your Sourdough Starter post.

It may take a while for it to rise since it’s cold. You can place your starter jar in a warm bucket of water to speed up the process. Make sure it’s not hot, you don’t want to kill your starter!

How can I ensure I have starter forever?

Oofta, you’ve made it to the most important part!

The next time you feed your starter, scoop out a thin layer and let it dry completely on a plate. Once it’s completely dry you can break it up and put it in a zip lock bag and store it in your freezer.

If, for whatever reason, your starter dies, then you can pull out the dried starter and place it in a jar. You can feed it and it should grow as normal.

Now you’ll have a backup starter for years to come!

I hope you found this information to be helpful and give you some comfort so you don’t feel like you’re abandoning your starter. Trust me, it’ll be just fine in the fridge. I know, because I left mine in there for months before I bucked up the courage to use it!