January 26, 2007 - 9:33pm
How many starters have you had at one time?
A bit tongue in cheek, I know. (: I currently have 3 starters, all from different recipes, going (they're in my oven overnight, to combat the cold winter temperature drop). I have a SourDoLady OJ starter (my OJ has added calcium, so I don't know if this one's going to work), a firm starter a la Maggie Glazer, and a "seed" starter from a blog I follow (The Underground Baker - http://undergroundbaker.blogspot.com/).
The first one that makes it to completion gets to flavour my first sourdough loaf!
How many have you had going at once?
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How many? Too -- as in "too many." (This works better as a verbal joke!) Right now on my counter I have just refreshed (A) my faithful 100% hydration starter that I began in Illinois, moved with me to Florida, and then moved to New Jersey. Also (B) one of Hamelman's starters. And, (C) a Reinhart whole-wheat starter. Since I don't discard the old batch until I'm sure the refreshed batch is okay, I still have some each of (A), (B), and (C) in my fridge. That's six little jars. Cue Patsy Cline's "Crazy."
I have three, white, wheat, and rye, just the basic flour and water. I wanted to experiment with all three. I'm not a white bread person, preferring wheat or rye breads. I've posted the results of my white attempt, but that was the last of several attempts at sourdough (I think my third attempt). Wasn't perfect, but better. As I wait for the white and rye to be ready, I have just this minute put my wheat bread in. I just learned something too. Before I got the response to my post about wax paper, I put my loaves on wax paper, not thinking it would stick. No, I did not put cornmeal on it first :-( They're in the oven now....I continually crack myself up with the brainless things I do. Anyway, I'll post pics of them when they're done. By the time they're cooled, I should be able to do something with the rye.
Sorry I got sidetracked ;-D
Steph
Three. A white flour starter that I made about 9 years ago. A rye Starter that has been in my family for 6 years. And finally a very firm starter that I just put together last week.
I used to have three: Barney (white flour starter), which gave birth to Arthur the whole wheat starter, and then Rhonda Rye, whom I started up from scratch.
Barney bit the dust in May. I just stopped making white sourdough, except only occassionally and, in those cases, I just build up some white starter from a bit of Arthur or Rhonda. I keep Arthur at 50% hydration in the fridge, though I usually bake at 100% these days. Rhonda stays at 100%.