Sourdough

Sourdough bread (for anyone who doesn’t know) is made with a starter of yeast, flour and water that ferments for a day or so. Then you mix it into the bread, or add flour a couple of times, let it grow and then mix it in.
In theory, you can save a small portion of the starter and leave it in the fridge, then use that as the basis for the next batch. A century or two ago, this was very popular because saving starter was easier than having a reliable supply of dried use. That’s no longer the case, of course, but starter is still popular because the bread tastes so good.
I made a sour rye bread last week, using the book Secrets of a Jewish Baker. So naturally it was a Jewish rye bread. Very good, light and flavorful. And I had starter left over.
The trouble is, I don’t do sourdough often enough to make it worth saving the starter in the fridge. If I were passionate about sourdough, or running a bread store, or baking for a family of six, maybe. But that’s not the case. It’s just TYG and me, and she isn’t much of a bread eater.
This time I did reuse the starter, making a potato rye bread that just came out of the oven. Sourced from the same book, though I discovered almost too late the recipe had an error—although the ingredients list salt, it’s not referenced in the instructions so I only caught it at the last minute. Trust me, bread with no salt is awfully bland.
Although I still had a cup of starter left, I tossed it. I feel vaguely guilty, but it’s not as if I’d have any trouble whipping up fresh starter—I just have to plan a little in advance.