The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Name your Starter

AnnaInNC's picture
AnnaInNC

Name your Starter

I read that some have named their starters.  I think, I'll name mine Bubbles.

Frosty's picture
Frosty

Herman.  Not sure why.....

Yumarama's picture
Yumarama

Audrey2 (named after a famous movie plant)
Carl of Oregon
and the new twins, PJ & Wally.

PaddyL's picture
PaddyL

And her name is Brigid, after St. Brigid of Kildare.  She's the buttermilk starter.   The other one, flour and water, was named Elsie (after Linda Collister, whose general directions I followed), but she was attacked by fruit flies and had to be pitched.  I'll start another Elsie 2 when the weather cools off a bit and the blasted flies retreat.

leahweinberg's picture
leahweinberg

steve. also happens to be my uncles name. hope he doesnt find out. 

Nomadcruiser53's picture
Nomadcruiser53

Bob and John Dough

AnnaInNC's picture
AnnaInNC

too funny,  lol  ;)

alabubba's picture
alabubba

I named mine Glen. I am a family guy fan...

DonD's picture
DonD

I have read in a book about starters that they can react to the mood of the inhabitants in the house...

I guess we better not upset them!

Don

Yumarama's picture
Yumarama

be sure to sleep with one eye open.

arhoolie's picture
arhoolie

I dunno, it just seemed like a "Fred".

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

I don't have a name for my starter... should I sleep with one eye open as well? LOL

Dragonbones's picture
Dragonbones

Bubbles and Belgie (the latter was given to me last week by a Belgian friend; I didn't name them until that point since I didn't have to tell them apart).

Wild-Yeast's picture
Wild-Yeast

The Blob . . . ,

+Wild-Yeast

P.S.  Young Frankentstein?

boathook1's picture
boathook1

I know a woman who named her starter "OLD F_RTER SOURDOUGH STARTER"... ....Claimed it was named after her late husband who,when standing up wind on a warm evening, had a similar scent... [?]

Marni's picture
Marni

 I was always talking about whether the starter was "happy" or not while it was just starting.  When it really took off and became part of the household, my daughter just started calling it Happy.  "Mommy can I feed Happy?" 

Marni

Janedo's picture
Janedo

Mine's Bob... for Sponge Bob. He's almost three!

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

I am struck by the preponderance of male names for your starters.

David

sephiepoo's picture
sephiepoo

I currently have two starters, since I killed Mama a few months ago - she really had to go, unfortunately!

One is named Toxic Ooze, for the smell that she had and still does have! When Toxie was a burbling baby, if you took the lid off the container you were almost sure to be knocked to your knees.  She still smells like that when she's feeding on the counter :) Toxie makes a wonderfully sour bread though, the sharp tangy kind that gets you right behind your molars

The other is named Boozy Baby, also for the smell :) It was straight booze right from the start! When she was only a month old, it was all I could smell! DF has a very strong tolerance for booze smells, and kept saying he couldn't smell anything at all ;)

suave's picture
suave

I  stick with the school that says you shouldn't name things you kill and eat.

DakotaRose's picture
DakotaRose

Our is called "Pet" and is 5 years old now.  It is funny when anyone asks my girls if they have a pet and they tell them yes and it lives in a jar in the fridge, but when we feed it we let it sit on the counter for a while.  That usually gets some very strange looks, but not as strange as when they tell the person that Mommy used their pet to make the bread.  Then I have to explain that "Pet" is our sourdough starter.  LOL

 

Blessings,
Lydia

boathook1's picture
boathook1

Hi there....

Can you tell me if your 5 yr. old starter is more sour today than when it was born?

I'm seeking a REALLY SOUR starter to cultivate.... I'm also very new at this...

 

Boathook1 [Joe]

DakotaRose's picture
DakotaRose

No our starter hasn't become more sour over time.  Which if good beings most people who buy from us at the farmer's market aren't looking for really sour bread.  Or I guess I should say really tangy bread.

 

Blessings,
Lydia

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

I've noticed I tend to use names of months.  The "July" starter or the "November" starter, for when I put them to sleep or brought them out of hybernation.  Then it ends up being just "Rye" and that seems to be enough. 

I run into mixed feelings when I bring back a starter from travel.  I have an old one there and a newer refreshed one.  Then I have to choose.  I will often perk up the old one, test them both and if they behave themselves end up combining them.  Then they take on the oldest name, "Austria."  I suppose it would be more accurate to add  "WIFI"  (with foreign influence) and play mental games with the wireless members of the family.

:)

hsmum's picture
hsmum

Sourdough Sam.  Not sure why...  I always picture a salty scruffy-bearded old feller from the Klondike era. 

I have to agree.  It is interesting how many of the names are male.  Mind you, I have been (pleasantly) surprised how many bakers on this forum are male.  I wonder if it reflects more on baking or on enjoyment of technology.

Karen

hc's picture
hc

Not my starter, which is nameless, but the clone I sent to a friend in DC a few weeks ago at about 40% hydration and packed with an old medical ice pack. It survived.

Wild-Yeast's picture
Wild-Yeast

David, Not sure the "Blob" has a gender. "Young Frankenstein" post script was meant to intone the line; "Alive, It's alive, It's alive" . . . , If you remember the brain was from Abby Normal (according to Igor)  which really confuses the heck out of the gender issue . . . ,

+Wild-Yeast

P.S. "The Thing" ? . . , and let's not forget "Hooch". . . ,

Debra Wink's picture
Debra Wink

I named my first white starter after someone misspelled "It's alive!" as alvie. So, I called it Alvin. He kept company with Harry-the-Whole-Wheat, and a rye named Fast Eddie. Now I just keep a white one, and don't really refer to it by any name, although my husband calls it Frankendough. It's fitting :-)

DonD's picture
DonD

You guys out there in breadland are a riot!!!

Don

SourFlour's picture
SourFlour

My original starter is named Blarf, but I now also have Dulce and Sour Blarf.  Eventually I will get whole wheat and rye starters as well, but that would be too much for me now.  Blarf, my primary starter has also had tons of babies and grand babies.  Here is his family tree:

http://www.sourflour.org/blarf-family-tree/

I like the idea of people naming their starters, as it gets them more involed, and helps make bread making fun.  If anyone would like a Blarf Baby, I can ship them; just let me know.

Danny - Sour Flour
http://www.sourflour.org