Question about my Starter
Hello:
I'm very new to breadmaking. I've never been much of a fan of direct method baked breads and the breads that I like, I didn't think were possible to make. Purely by accident, I found Julia Child's PBS series online and I was hooked. I bought a ton of books, read them, then went online in search of more info.
I decided to start a sourdough starter using SourdoLady's directions. Currently, it's on Day 9 and because it was very liquid, I decided to add more flour to my feeding to see if it would show more activity. I did and the starter rose all the way out of my container. I had to transfer it to a larger container. You can imagine, I was quite happy that my first attempt was a success.
Anyway, I decided to keep the starter a little more like thick pancake batter, but it doesn't seem to be doing much since I transferred everything to the larger container. Is that typical? It still has bubbles, but no froth.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I think it's ok, but I'm just not sure due to my inexperience.
Since you are using more flour and now have a thicker starter you won't really have froth, but more like thicker bubbles on top. That is normal. As for the activity slowing down, how are you feeding it? It is highly important that you dump out most of the old starter before feeding it. If you don't do this your starter will become very sluggish because all those yeasties are multiplying and competing with each other for the food. In essence, there soon is not enough food to feed them all if you don't get rid of most of it and they begin to starve. They won't necessarily die, but they won't be very active if they aren't getting enough to eat.
Thank you, SourdoLady, for your feedback.
I'm using 1/4c of starter with about 1 c flour & 2/3 c water (maybe a little more, depending). I increased to a 2 time/day feeding schedule.
Yes, I used the wrong term. As a liquid it was more frothy. Yesterday it was more bubbly and very active. Today's it's a bit bubbly, but not very active.
But now that you mention it, I can't remember dumping out all but 1/4c of starter yesterday. Then again, maybe I did. I just can't remember. If that's what I did wrong, just continue as normal, making sure to dump out all but 1/4 cup and it'll fix itself up? Right?
Yes, it should be fine after you dump and feed. Be sure that the water you are using is dechlorinated, as that can have a negative effect especially on a young, unstable starter. I also wouldn't use bleached flour. Are you still keeping the starter at room temperature around the clock? If so, you may need to feed morning and evening to keep it happy. Good luck with your starter and keep us posted.
Yes, I'm using bottled water instead of tap water and I'm using organic unbleached bread flour.
Currently, I'm feeding morning and night and it's still out on the counter at room temp. It actually looks much better tonight after the 2nd feeding. It's grown a bit so I suspect it'll be good as new soon.
Thanks for your feedback. I will definitely keep you posted. This is exciting.
I had bought some sourdough cultures from Sourdoughs International and I activated one of them. I'm not really clear on the process now. The book just says that it's ready to bake bread or refrigerate it.
Do I feed it before making bread? My guess is "no" b/c you're feeding it by adding it to the flour when baking. Do I feed it before putting in the fridge?
BTW, there's nothing to report on my homemade culture. I'm just waiting.
Yes, your starter should always be recently fed before mixing up dough. Ideally, it should have been fed and then left until it rises to its highest peak, or has just started to recede. In the case of a firm starter, it should rise to a dome and then start to form a 'dent' in the dome when it is at its peak.
You can bake with a starter that isn't at the proper stage of development but your dough will perform much better if the starter is at the right stage and the resulting bread will also be better.
Yes, I always feed my culture before storing in the fridge. First dump out most of it because you don't need to save a lot for storage. Then feed it and wait about an hour for things to start fermenting and then put it into the fridge.
Are you still continuing with the dump and feed schedule on the homemade starter? By now you should be feeding it at least twice a day if you are keeping it at room temperature. If it is showing active bubbling then you can bake with it, but it will continue to develop flavor over time.
Which SDI cultures did you get? I have the Red Sea, Russian, San Francisco, and Bahrain. I think I use the Red Sea the most.
You're a godsend, Sourdolady. Thanks for your help.
Yes, I'm continuing with my homemade culture, feeding it twice daily. It's bubbly, but nothing like what happened with the culture I bought. I'm just going to be patient and let it go awhile longer before baking with it. It doesn't have a sour taste to it yet. But it's active.
Ummm.... I also have a starter going a la Nancy Silverton's instructions. I'm feeling very experimental. Probably a bit much to take on for a beginner. Oh well, practice makes perfect. LOL
I bought the San Francisco and Italian starters. Do you find they all taste different after all this time? Ed told me that the local yeasts taking over the culture is a myth. I posted his article in one of the other threads. What's your experience?
I also agree with Ed about the myth, but many people will argue the fact. I say, beleive what you want. I know that my starters all rise at different time schedules and the tastes are subtlely different. I truly believe that most of the taste differences come with how you feed and ferment your starter and dough, though. If you don't ferment properly your breads will all be quite bland regardless of what starter you have used.
The best and most sour bread I have ever made to date was made with my homemade starter that I call Montana Wheat (made with Wheat Montana white wheat flour). It was quite by accident how it evolved. I took the starter out and fed it but didn't find time to use it so I left it on the counter 24 hours and then fed it again. I did this three days in a row before I finally found time to mix up the dough and bake the bread. I also retarded the dough in the fridge overnight before baking. It was a white bread with 1/2 cup of white whole wheat flour and the rest was Wheat Montana's AP white flour (which is actually bread flour). I haven't tried it again to see if I get the same results.
I also think that the slower rising starters make a more flavorful bread because it gives the LB more time to develop. The SF is a pretty slow riser for me. I haven't tried the Italian. According to SDI the Bahrain is supposed to produce a sour flavor, but in all honesty I havent baked a whole lot with it. I have too many starters and too little time!
That's good to hear that you find it a myth too. I'd love to have some SF sourdough to remind me of when we were living in California.
What's the Red Sea like? If I have success with these cultures, I'll probably get some more.
I've tried to contact Ed Wood with this question, but he hasn't responded. Can anyone who has his book help me out?
I've had my starter in the fridge for the past 6 days and I'm going to take it out to bake. My problem is that I'm confused by the difference between "culture preparation" on page 42 and "maintaining and reactivating stock cultures" on pg. 43. On pg 43 it mentions that if the culture has been in the fridge for more than 3 days, you give it a brief wash. However, culture preparation doesn't mention a time frame, it just says "when it's time to bake". However, the procedures are different.
Can someone explain to me the difference between these two procedures?
Tess, thank you for clarifying. I'm wet behind the ears when it comes to this stuff so you've helped to really explain things. Yes, I find his book hard to follow so I'm glad I'm not the only one.
Now I have another question. You say: If you are not baking you take your culture out of the refrigerator, let it come to room temperature, take 1 cup culture, add 1 cup flour, and ¾ cup water. Proof it for at least 1 hour at room temperature and return to the refrigerator.
When do you do that? When your culture has been in the fridge for a period of time?
I have 3 starters right now. One I cultivated using SourdoLady's recipe and the other is using Nancy Silverton's method. Now I have lots of starter, I should be able to bake starting tomorrow and test test the different starters. Wish me luck. LOL
Sure, I'd love some links. I thought I'd read that you didn't have to feed your starter for months in the fridge. I'm glad I got that cleared up.
Your starter will live for quite a long time in the fridge without feeding..it's just easier to bring up to speed if you feed weekly. The nice thing is you don't have to worry if you are gone for an extended period of time..your starter will come alive with some TLC. Check out Tess's first link up above.
Thanks Paddycake, that makes sense.