"If you're not going to use the discard immediately, store it in the fridge." Even if you don't plan to use it, consider saving some discard in the fridge anyway! Stored discard saved my starter.

Early in the pandemic, I bought some starter on a whim from my local bakery when they started doing grocery delivery. Fast-forward a little over a year, I took a break from baking during the summer, and forgot to feed it. By the time I remembered, it had pink slime, so I threw it away. BUT the container of discard that I also forgot about wasn't tainted, probably protected by the layer of alcohol. After a few feedings, it came back to life, and is still going strong.

I now use the small-batch method (https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2018/10/30/maintaining-a-smaller-…), so I only have a couple of tablespoons of discard, but I always keep the most recent one in a separate tiny glass jar just in case.

• Reply