Originally Posted by
C.F.Plinker
Right now I have 4 starters in the refrigerator the youngest of which is just over 40 years old. I keep them in the plastic refrigerator bowls in amounts of either 200 grams or 300 grams depending on the size of the container. I have found that I need to either use them of feed them once every 4 weeks.
To feed them I will add 200 grams of bread flour and 200 grams of water to the starter and let the mixture rest overnight in a warm place. In the summer I can get by if I warm up the oven for 1 minute and put the bowl in to the oven. The rest of the year I maintain a little bit warmer oven by either putting a 15 Watt bulb in the oven overnight OR a 25 watt bulb that is controlled by a baseboard thermostat in the oven. I do this because the starter grows better at 75-85 degrees. The next morning I put the original amount back in the refrigerator container and refrigerate it. This keeps the starter alive and ready for the next batch.
I now have 400 grams of activated starter which is half water and half flour. Take the amount of water that is in the recipe (less the 200 grams that is in the starter) and add any sugar or salt that the recipe calls for. Mix to dissolve the salt and sugar and add this to the starter, mix well. Now add the flour, (remember that there is 200 grams in the starter) mix and knead until it is all mixed together. Add in any oil that is in the recipe and knead until it is also incorporated. You add the oil last so it doesn't coat the flour and keep it from absorbing the water or milk. Do 4 stretch and folds an put the dough back in the oven for the first rise.
After the dough has risen until it is about double in size (2-4 hours) take it out, do 4 more stretch and folds, shape it into loaves, put into loaf pans, and let it rise again until double. This will take 1-3 hours. Take the light bulb stuff out of the oven along with the now risen bread.
Preheat the oven, bake, bake and enjoy.