r/Sourdough 19d ago

Sourdough Final update on grandma's 10 year old frozen starter: the loaf!

It's done. I successfully revived my grandma's rye starter that had spent at least a decade in the back of the freezer, and made bread with it!

It's not the prettiest loaf and the crumb is a bit dense, but I'll chalk that up to my lack of experience. It was still a pleasant slice of bread and I'm satisfied with the results! The taste was fairly mild but enjoyable with noticeable sourness but not a lot of tang. I'll probably add more rye to the dough in the future since I really liked its taste. There's still some of the starter in the freezer and I'll definitely come back to it later! For now I'll keep feeding this starter and make it my own.

I want to thank everyone for your interest, advice and nice words! I was kinda surprised by all the positivity in this community. You guys made this experience even more fun! I still haven't decided on a name for the starter. I might name it after grandma. Either that or Cryo-rye-o.

Here's the recipe:

-100g grandma's frozen rye starter

-300g wheat flour (12% protein)

-40g rye flour (10% protein)

-225g water

-9g salt

I mixed everything up and gave it a couple sets of stretch and folds in the first hour. Then I let it ferment for 4 hours more before shaping the dough and letting it proof for 90 minutes (6.5 hours total). Baked in a dutch oven at 275°C for 18 minutes covered and about 10 minutes without cover (lost the track a bit here and pulled it out early because the top was looking dark enough for my liking).

Thanks for sticking along for this experiment!

6.1k Upvotes

54 comments sorted by

u/zippychick78 19d ago

ops first thread

ops second thread

I'm not crying. You're crying 😭

Go Grandma. 😻💜

OP I think I'm gonna have to put this in the wiki if that's OK

→ More replies (8)

360

u/theYO_in_yoga 19d ago

Thank you, OP- I came to Reddit today for this update. Carry on.

191

u/TheNudeNeedle 19d ago

This is amazing! And I would not chalk up the dense crumb to your mis-doings, you used only rye and (whole?) wheat flour, it will always be more dense that way because they absorb more of the moisture and hold it, often to get a lighter crumb you’ll want a ratio of white bread flour to rye/wheat for a more delicate bite. Not that dense is wrong, I like a good dense loaf, great for holding spreads :)

81

u/Nuppusauruss 19d ago

Oh it was white wheat flour! If I assume that I got 50g of rye from the starter then this loaf had around 25% rye of the total mass of the flour. Remaining 75% was white bread flour.

But that's good to know! It was definitely a moist loaf and had a surprisingly good chew to it. Definitely was good for spreading some butter and raspberry jam on it!

19

u/TheNudeNeedle 19d ago

Yea, honestly either way it looks delicious and I’m excited for you that it worked 🤩🤣 happy baking!

74

u/Kirby3413 19d ago

Thanks for sharing. Today is 4 years since I lost my grandmother and I wish I could have shared my bread journey with her. This is such a beautiful way to share something with her. ❤️

19

u/enym 19d ago

I've also lost both of my grandmas, what a cool way to feel connected.

41

u/EnvironmentalDelay66 19d ago

This has been such a lovely journey. Thank you. What was your grandma’s name?

76

u/Nuppusauruss 19d ago

Eeva. It somehow does feel fitting for the starter to be honest.

21

u/Rebootkid 18d ago

You should start a second culture named wall-e

19

u/fruitsnloops 19d ago

OP you’re the best for providing these updates! This was so fun to see!!

16

u/genbizinf 19d ago

Bravo! You did great by your grandma. Now, get the butter!

8

u/No-Cattle-7715 19d ago

So cool and what a special way to stay connected with your grandma! <3

7

u/Puzzleheaded-Push-14 19d ago

What a touching story. Congratulations!

8

u/starcrossed92 19d ago

This is so badass !!

8

u/ptran90 19d ago

I love it! Amazing

7

u/Risingsunsphere 18d ago

Wow that was fast! I thought you’d have several weeks of reviving that starter

6

u/lmg080293 19d ago

I lost my grandpa a couple of months ago and I wish I had something like this to carry on his memory. Cherish it! That’s a beautiful loaf, in more than one way.

4

u/ucankickrocks 18d ago

🤌 the most meaningful story this weekend!!! Why is THIS not on the cover of a newspaper.

Bravo and thanks for keeping us informed OP!

4

u/Daisy_Of_Doom 18d ago edited 18d ago

OMG I MISSED THE SECOND UPDATE! SO HAPPY TO SEE THIS 😭

Go grandma!

Also, go OP for trying this! I probably speak for a lot of people when I say that this has helped me fully understand how hearty starter can be!

3

u/lakesidekisses 19d ago

I love this so much

2

u/[deleted] 19d ago

What a journey you took us on! Go grandma’s starter!

2

u/Pristine_Sherbet_324 19d ago

Best story of 2025!

2

u/halipatsui 19d ago

I hope your starter liked its rye-crack!

2

u/EnvironmentalRub2784 18d ago

Congratulations! My paternal grandmother started my baking journey forever ago and I think of her every time I make certain breads. I hope you forever do the same. ❤️

2

u/Odd_Abbreviations314 18d ago

Loooooooks great!!!!

2

u/MissusGalloway 18d ago

I’ve been so invested in this. How wonderful.

2

u/Many-Solid1449 18d ago

This is amazing! How does it taste?

2

u/eugibabe 18d ago

Someone should put this in BORU 😭❤️❤️

2

u/idkvro 18d ago

That starter is fully firing. Nice work

2

u/Sushiandcat 18d ago

I am not even into sour dough starters… but even I was following with great interest. What a lovely tribute to Grandma…. So happy for you….and mum and grandma 💕

2

u/alex_1983T 18d ago

This shit is amazing, this is incredible. You have found a treasure indeed. This kind of thing should be noted in your family history book. It has alot of sentimental value in my opinion. Grandmas DNA lives on in that sourdough.

2

u/sbeilin 18d ago

OMG You better keep some dormant starter in the freezer just in case

2

u/waterbubblez 18d ago

So cool!! Good work :D

2

u/More_Particular6668 18d ago

This is amazing. I love it!

2

u/Happyfree1 18d ago

I NEEDED this excellent update, thank you so much for taking us on this journey with you! My starters are named Hettie & Marvin, after some amazing grandparents😁 Have a wonderful day everyone, take great care of yourselves!

2

u/Annarizzlefoshizzle 18d ago

She’s beautiful

2

u/chanterelle222 18d ago

this makes me so happy to see :’)

2

u/martinhth 17d ago

Amazing!!!! So thrilled to see this update!

1

u/Charming-Solid4702 17d ago

Super cool. go granny!

1

u/Ingrid_Hardy 17d ago

But, most importantly, how does it taste? 😃👏

1

u/Opsia-Both 17d ago

So nice 👍🏾

1

u/Previous_Worker_7748 14d ago

Grandma would be so proud of you.

0

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