I recently began to revive what looked like a dead started that i had started about 2 weeks ago and had left in my fridge. I took two tbsp. of starter and mixed in 1/2 c. of flour and a little less than 1/2 c. of water, I covered it loosely and let it sit out on the counter for about 24 hours. Each day for the last 4 days I have thrown out all but 1/4 c. of starter and mixed 1/2 c. of flour and a little less than 1/2 c.
Sourdough as purfume-free Facial Mask:
I made myself a cup of java and was flipping over my 75g sachet of liquid Natur Sauerteig and there states (it was on the second of a two package deal) that sourdough cleans and promotes circulation! "An old secret recipe." Sounds interesting, I read on.... (I am translating for y'all)
I’m finally getting around to posting Maggie Glezer’s firm sourdough starter recipe. For those of you having problems with your starters you might wish to give this a try. Most people here are using batter-style starters so it might be interesting to see if there is any discussion on firm starters. Plus I need help in learning to convert properly for use in recipes which don’t use a firm starter and there are always questions that come up.
I have been maintaining a King Arthur Flour sourdough starter since I received it as a Christmas gift. I have been discarding a cup and feeding it a cup of flour and 1/2 a cup of water once a week and refrigerating it quite soon after the feeding. Due to some starter sticking to the wisk and spoon I use during the feeding, as well as the container before I clean it, the starter has been decreasing slowly. Now, if I discard a cup of starter, I will have very little starter left with which to work.
I noticed in another thread Mac said a mix of whole wheat and rye is generally the best for starting a starter. In Mike Avery's comments he says more people have had leuconostoc problems with whole wheat in the initial starter mix, and I had the same experience myself. Also, some authors say that whole rye in particular may carry more of the right organisms.
So, I have had starters going off and on, and have made a lot of mistakes (including saltless loaves.. yuck!) but I have a simple question that I bet gets lots of answers: What kind of container do you use for your starter? What size? What materials? Detailed answers please ;)
-Loafer
a.k.a. Toby
columbia
