Continuing the theme of using leftover starter:

This morning I added 3 ounces each of flour and water to 3 ounces of starter.  This evening I used 3 ounces to make a preferment for tommorow's bread.  I retained 2 ounces of starter, fed it and put it in the refrigerator. 

The rest of the starter I mixed with Bisquick until I had a "drop biscuit" like consistancy. Plopped it onto the spider and smoothed it out with the back of a wet spoon.  I put it straight into the oven at 450.  The main purpose was to have the biscuit to make bread pudding  (see off topic post if interested) but it wouldn't do not to test it before going to all that trouble.

A little butter and orange marmalade for me and grape jelly for my wife.  It was truely delicious.  The crust was nice and crispy.

Been Googling the heck outta Stiff Starters when i first stumbled across the term. All my life, thought there was ONLY a LIQUID starter........silly me!

I have read everything google sent me to here, plus wild yeast. and STILL have questions. AND abit of confusion.

I read in one place that a liquid starter will give you the most sour. and i read STIFF is more sour. I have vacationed several times in San Fran, and have found i really like a REAL sour bread. YUM. I also read in places that all starters go THRU the san fran stage in their development. ?

also, i have read on SEVERAL ways of maintaining these different starters. From several diff. web sites. 

can you spell CORNFUSED !

i have yet to read a thread on maintainging diff. starters all in ONE thread !

i just started a stiff starter, and its proofing(?) atm.  Rising nice, and should raise to twice its size in 8 hours i have read, that it should. And when it domes, and starts to collaspe is when you want to use it.

am i on the right track so far?

but i don't bake 2-3 times a week. Lucky to do that a month. Tho want to change that up. So i let my stiff starter dome, i guess.  I have read that i should keep it on the counter top, and feed several times so the starter gets its legs under it. So when i feed, just pinch a piece off, throw the rest away, and feed? Never have really read on how to maintain a stiff starter, when first starting it, let alone how often to feed it. and WHEN do i know its okay to put in the fridge. I know the extensive manner to get it ready to use, once pulled outta the fridge. Its these first steps i am cornfused about.

let alone, WHICH starter will give you the MOST sour of a loaf?

Thankx for your time

wd

I tried the instructions from King Arthur's website this evening to make a pancake/crumpet from sourdough starter.  It came out pretty good, a little tough but they tasted good.  I removed four ounces as I would to feed it.  Added 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and baking soda.  It foamed up nicely.

After it was cooked I put a little butter on it and cut it into eighths. I put orange marmalade on one "stack" and maple syrup on the other.  The syrup was better.

I think I will continue to make at least one every day and accumulate them in the freezer for Sunday breakfast.  I wouldn't mind getting a couple of English Muffin rings and try that also.

My starter (Larry) is a pain in the butt so it (he) may not be long for this world. 

I am baking my first loaves of sourdough and following the LaBrea Bakery book. I have a great starter that is over two weeks old and the bread looks fabulous when I put it in the oven. The problem I am having is with the baking times/temp...it is suggested in the book to start at 500 then knock it down to 450 after putting the bread in. After 5 mins, you are supposed to close the oven and leave it for a full 20 mins at 450. After 20 mins, you are supposed to cook it for an additional 25 minutes. However, when I open the door after 20 min. to check it it looks burnt. The crust on my last loaves were so tough I could barely cut through it. What am I doing wrong? I am about to cook my last loaf for the day so if anyone has a suggestion, please let me know!

Thanks--Jen

Hello everyone.  I am relatively new to bread and starters--I just completed my first mini-baguettes the other day and they turned out to be fairly scrumptious. After pouring through the forums, I have found one question that I found pertinent to my current situation.  I am currently nurturing a starter that is now just over 1 week old.  I am feeding it about a 1:1:1 ration (really need to get a scale-i.e. find money for one) twice daily with Gold Medal UAP.  It is currently doubling in volume at about 6 hours.  is this about what I should be expecting?  Is the protein content in this flour too low for the starter/should I try making it with bread flour?  Eventually I'd like to get some Bob's Red Mill or KA, but I think I need to prove to my wife that I am serious about this before buying "special" flours.  Thank you all for your help.  I am excited to continue to delve into the wonders of freshly baked bread.

Every Christmas Eve, I bake about 50 loaves of bread and deliver to friends and family.  I've been doing this for about 25 years.  I have a bad back, and I cant seem to take the long day of mixing and baking anymore, so I've moved to naturally fermented breads over the last few years.  Generally that's been a help as I easily have my dough ready for shaping and baking in the morning, pushing half the work into the day before.  Now, I'd really like to push the shaping to the night before as well, dealing only with baking the day before Christmas.

I'm currently working on this year's recipe, and plan on going with an onion pumpernickel.  I have the flavor profile under control, and my first test run went pretty well.  The 2nd not as good as I believe the dough overproofed and was too slack as it went into the oven; didn't get the height I was looking for.  Crumb was fine, just not an appealing final shape.

For purposes of discussion, I'm using KA flours, about 23% pump, 23% dark rye, 54% all purpose. 70% hydration. Starter was about 5% of flour weight.  This last batch I even raised the salt a bit to about 2.5%. (you can find the full recipe HERE )

I'm looking for suggestions to help the loaves survive a long (maybe up to 12 hours until the final loave gets baked) final proof and still look shapely coming out of the oven.  I also had a problem with the dough sticking to a well floured couche after such a long proof.  I'd rather not reduce the hydration much as I liked the crumb, but realize that may have to be the final solution.  I'm thinking of moving the all purpose flour to high gluten, or even clear, to survive that long proof.

While I'm no stranger to using a starter, there are obviously members here far better versed than I am.  I believe I might be able to add some strength by increasing the percentage of starter as well.  I'd really appreciate any/all suggestions.

--Warren

Aloha everybody!

Well the starter is 2 weeks old now and looks pretty stable. I was concerned at one point and was feeding 1:3:3 twice a day for about 3 days and just this morning cut it back to 1:2:2. Don't ask why as I really don't have a clue!! What I would like to ask for at this point is a recipe for a simple SD sandwich dough that I can make in a regular loaf pan. I'll also need the steps to "prep" the starter or the explanation of "hydration" to get the things going as well as possible. I guess what I'm asking for is to have someone hold my hand and walk me though the next few steps with baby steps so that it will sink into this thick scull of mine! I've been teaching myself to bake bread by going to one of the online recipe sites and reading the recipe, reading ALL the reviews that are posted, and then making the bread incorporating the modifications that other suggested. It has worked out well for about 24 assorted loaves of bread... so far! I've read a lot on this site (and others) and watched a lot of video and sometimes I just get a bit overwhelmed and confused. I'm using scales and would like to stay with recipes that are by weight so that I might get a little bit better consistency. There is still so much to learn but I do want to understand what I'm doing a little better.

Hope I'm not asking too much here!

Mahalo,

Royall

Recent humourous and downright slap-stick tragic events have led me to ask all our fellow sourdough addicts  -  What is the most weird/funny/tragic/humourous/sad/outrageous/unfathomable etc,etc, events that you have experienced or done while trying to get a new starter up and running?  Especially given all the time and dutiful care we give to nurturing a new culture from flour and water. What is the silliest or most tragic thing you did that killed off your starter before it had time to say it's first bubble?

When I pluck up enough courage..........I'll tell you the sequence of things I did!  (Laugh!)

Comedy/Tragedy/Melodrama awaits!

Cheers.

Marie

I've run the gamut of challenges switching my bread baking from my home kitchen to a little house in a Tuscan hill town.

Check out my blog at http://patriciagreathouse.blogspot.com/ to read about it.

Thanks!

Patricia

I am on the last day of initiating a starter...my first one ever!  The problem is:  from the very first day I have found separation of the flour and the water.  I stir it each day, and it comes together well, and there are definite bubbles.  I feed it, and it comes together well, but when I open the container the next day it has separated once again.  I can't believe this is normal, but I have not been able to find any info on this.