Gravity & Grain

Yet another reason my husband spends most of his time unsure of what I spend most of my day doing

I’m in an unhinged place of baking bread WHENEVER the mood strikes. This means using all forms of hydrations and recipes but that can be problematic if I ever run out of Mother Barloaf.

On March 7, 2026, Mother Barloaf birthed her son, Frodough. He lives in the fridge. Not for any nefarious purposes but the Prodigal Son may one day have to take over his mother’s job.

When can I put a starter in the fridge?

DO YOUR RESEARCH!
Just kidding, could you imagine. (I do recommend researching always).

I did some research (I watched three TikToks and asked ChatGPT).

The easiest method I found to sustain Frodough was:

1. Initial separation from mother starter (30G)
2. Feed 1:3:3 (I made this measurment up, but it’s around what I would do)
3. Leave it on the counter to rise (1-2 hours depending on your house temp)
4. Once you see it has started growing a little, then put it in the fridge.

You will see that it will rise over the next day and then fall back down. Then feed as needed.

How often do you feed a fridge starter?

I like to feed my fridge starter every 5-7 days because I almost always have Mother Barloaf on the counter.

This is MY OWN choice which I found works with my starter best. Some people fridge feed once every two weeks, some once a month.

The easiest way to practice a fridge starter without wasting is take some active discard, portion it into two containers, put it in the fridge and feed them separately.

If you’re like me and that sounds like too much work, just take a chance and shove it in the fridge. Feed it when “your gut tells you” (ironically relevant).

Won’t it die in the fridge?

The microscopic freeloaders living within the jar thrive off warm temperatures. Once matured, a starter kept at room temperature can ferment as quick as 2 to 4 hours (all temperature dependent).

When you put it in the fridge, it immediately slows down the fermentation process. A lot. So you can be just as lazy as your starter.

I keep my starter in a mason jar with the lid turned upside down and not fully sealed so the air can escape.

For my own records, there is a note on the front of the amount Frodough was fed along with the date.