I keep seeing sourdough starters all over socials. How can sourdough starters be many years old. Don’t you need to use the starter to make the bread? ELI5!
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A sourdough starter is simply a live culture of bacteria and yeast.
Imagine the culture of the sourdough starter as if it were a family.
After 100 years, the original family members (grandma and grandpa) may no longer be alive, but the “family” is still alive because their grandchildren are still around.
As long as you keep that “family” happy (feeding the starter with flour and water), they’ll keep having more and more children, and the “family” will stay alive, even if the original individuals die.
At any time, you can use some that culture ie: “the family” to create bread. When the bread is baked some of the “family” dies, but ultimately some of the family will persist in the starter.
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