Very interesting info. I have a question and a comment. I've been baking bread, breadsticks and pastries for a long time in my Manhattan galley kitchen, with results that have improved immensely over the years, as the experience teaches us well. For most my bread recipes I use a biga (starter), when called for. By the way let me note that we do not like sour-dough bread and therein lies my question. Does your suggestion for drying and storing starter apply to non-sour dough starters? I would image yes ... My comment is this: Having read several books on bread-baking and the making of bigas, I came across a technique that eliminates the use of commercial yeast in the initial starter. Guess what I use? After I combine the flour with warm water I instead place several red grapes in the container, wrapped loosely in foil to keep them from sticking to the biga too much. The powdery mold (I forgot what it is actually called) that clings to the skin of the grape works perfectly as a rising agent, in fact much better than commercial yeast. I leave the container on my counter overnight and next day it's bubbling over. And voila, I have truly natural biga! Let me know if you have heard of this approach and your thoughts. Thanks very much for writing an interesting blog on starters!

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