"sourdough" novice looking for help

[Biz Markie]

Made my first Wild Yeast Starter by following instructions in Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads book, using the Mash method.
So it's a whole wheat starter, 75% hydration I believe.

I've refreshed it once and used it twice in some recipes.  It works great, etc.

My problem is I don't understand what to do with it if I don't intend to use it for a while. . .until who knows when.

I find Reinhart's book lacking in what really to do to keep it healthy for the long term, other than chucking some in the trash every 3 days and refreshing it.  I suppose if that's what I need to do, I can, but it seems really wasteful if I'm not using it regularly in recipes.

So can I just let my small amount of active starter just sit in the fridge sorta indefinitely?  Can I freeze it?  Or can I go longer between feedings/refreshings than what Reinhart seems to be suggesting?  (he says at one point "when the starter gets low, between 4 days and 2 weeks, refresh it. . ..."  I just find this confusing with previous statements saying the mother must be used in 3 days.)

Help!  Thanks!

[TXCraig1]

Feed it and stick it in the fridge. I should be fine for months unattended.

The only thing is that the longer it is in there the more dormant it gets (up to some point anyway). If you go for some time (~ a month or more) without using it, it might take a couple days to come back to full activity.

You might get Ed Wood's Classic Sourdoughs book to learn more indepth.

CL

[Biz Markie]

Thx for the quick reply!

So you're saying give it a full "refresh" (as Reinhart puts it) first?

[TXCraig1]

Thx for the quick reply!

So you're saying give it a full "refresh" (as Reinhart puts it) first?

I don't know what that means. I'd get it very active and right after it starts to fall, dump about 1/2, and feed with a like amount of ~50:50 flour and water. It should be like a very thick batter. Add some more flour to get it there if necessary. It can then go into the firdge for a long time.

CL