[seanhunter]

It's pretty hardy and goes dormant. You only need a few alive to grow a healthy starter back when you need it again, so every now and then I make an extra amount, mix in a little more flour than normal, spread it in blobs on an aluminium foil-covered baking tray and stick the whole thing in the freezer. After a few hours I come back, pop them off the foil and into a freezer bag.

When reviving, I try to use two blobs from two separate bags just in case one has died. I put them in tepid water for a bit, then add flour and mix and I'm back in business.

My starter was given to me by Dan Lepard[1] (the end-boss of breadmaking) during a sourdough masterclass that I was given as a present. I thoroughly recommend this as a present if you have a friend or loved one who is interested in making bread btw. It's fantastic and you get payback in tasty loaves for many years.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Lepard

[achamayou]

If it's just a few weeks, I've found the fridge to be fine. It will take a couple of feeds over 48h to re-activate completely, but it's otherwise ok.

If you start from scratch, you can get going in 3/4 days if you're willing to throw in a bit of honey or maple syrup at first (1tsp). Without it, it does seem to take a week.

[lostlogin]

Mine lives in the fridge and works just fine. A month or two in the freezer once by accident was fine too.