"Pawnee" > wrote in message =
...

> Drying starter is really simple. Just mix some up fairly liquid =
(pancake
> batter consistency) and spread it ...

Carl Griffith gave us some advice about that. It is preserved by =
Darrell
at http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/canifree...mystarter.html

I consolidated some advice for a faster way for small amounts, at
http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/howcanis...tertosome.html

Several years ago, my wife and daughter telephoned to ask about getting
starter at Acme Mountain View. Since they mentioned that it would be
taken by air to the east coast, they were told to bring ice and a =
Styrofoam
container. It was a large amount, apparently scooped out of their =
mother
sponge. Even by the time it reached Massachusetts, it was not sour to
smell or taste. I mention that because there is still some sentiment =
out=20
there that a sourdough starter needs to be sour to be good.

(I have no doubt that a starter or mother sponge could be rebuilt from
a small amount of Acme's mother sponge, and suspect that icing the stuff
down for the brief air voyage was not essential.)

--=20
Dick Adams
<firstname> dot <lastname> at bigfoot dot com
___________________
Sourdough FAQ guide at=20
http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/sourdoughfaqs.html