Sourdough Bakers HELP!!! Did I just kill my starter?

[anudi01]

I am all new to this sourdough thing. I just captured my wild yeast on the counter top using the method of starting sourdough that has been floating around this forum. Okay...so now today I decided to make my dough. DUHHHHH...I forgot to leave out some of my starter to keep, and mixed it all together with my flour, salt, and oil. Now it is rising on my stove top. Can I keep some of that to use as a starter for next time? What is up? And if so...how do I do it. Do I just start feeding it once again? Refrigerate it? So if you make bread regularly...you just keep your starter non-refrigerated indefinitely?

Thanks...I'm such a newbie!

[openpollination]

I'm not sure if you can keep a part of that bread dough for your starter - someone else who has tried it might be able to chime in, but I haven't done that before! Because it has oil and salt in it, I'm inclined to think it wouldn't work as well; I believe salt inhibits the wild yeast to a degree.

I make bread, pancakes, cakes, crackers, english muffins and a few other things regularly with my starter. I keep about 1/2 cup in the fridge, and about 12 hours before I need to use it, I bring it out and build it up to the amount I'll need the next day PLUS some for the fridge. So if my recipe needs 2 cups of starter, I'll build it up gradually to around 2.5-3 cups. Does that make sense? If you keep the starter in the fridge, I feel comfortable feeding it and changing it out every week, but no longer.

[JElaineB]

I have never tried it, but keeping piece of dough for next time is called the "old dough" method of using sourdough. If you saved a piece of dough it might be worth trying to use it. I found one site on this (http://www.sourdoughbaker.com.au/rec...sourdough.html) but there are others if you google.

[JMJ]

If your starter is that young, I would just start another one rather than trying to save some of your dough. I also keep mine in the fridge until about 12 hours before I want it and then feed it before returning it to the fridge. You can keep it on the counter indefinitely, but you need to feed it every 12-24 hours on the counter, and that can quickly give you much more starter than you could possibly use. The culture growth is slowed in the fridge, so it only needs to be fed every week or as often as you make bread.