Keeping a starter alive through winter
Cold kitchens make sluggish starters. How we keep ours awake from November to March.
A starter is a pet that eats flour and holds a grudge about temperature. In winter, a cold kitchen slows it right down, and a slow starter makes a flat loaf.
We keep ours near the oven, feed it a touch more often, and use a little warm water in the mix. Treat it well and it will outlive the winter — ours has seen eleven of them.