The Fresh Loaf

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White rice flour starter?

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

White rice flour starter?

I bought some rice flour last week and I am wondering what I can use it for.  I have been doing sourdough breads for two months.  Each loaf turned out beautifully.  I am thinking to give white rice flour a try to see if I can make a sourdouogh stater out of it.  Has anyone tried it? 

This is what I have done so far...

day one: 2 T rice flour and 2 T of fresh grape juice

day two: 2 T rice flour and 2 T of fresh grape juice

Today is day three, and I will be add another 2 T rice flour and 2 T of grape juice

So far, the mixture has separated, like you let the constarch/water mixture sit for a minute and all the starch sits on the bottom and liquid on top.  So nothing is happening at this point. 

For those who have made rice flour starter, please give me some insights.  How long before the flour and grape juice mixture will show some signs of life?  When do I start to half the mixture and begin a regular feeding schedule?

 

 

PaddyL's picture
PaddyL

There's absolutely no gluten in rice flour so I don't see how you could make a starter out of it.

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

Thanks Paddy.  I thought I saw it here someone had made a rice flour starter.  Could it be brown rice instead of white rice?  Hmmmm...

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Chances might be greatly improved with brown rice.   But one does not need gluten to make a starter.  One does need the outside of the grain where more yeast spores are located, the less the grain has been processed the better.  White rice has gone through all kinds of processing to remove the outer brown parts.

Is the pH of the grape juice low enough to help your starter?

If the grape juice is fresh pressed, then I would be a grape starter.

Mini

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

In that case, this one wouldn't be a rice flour starter.  I do use freshly pressed grape juice; I will be happy regardless it's a rice or grape starter, as long as it works.  I've just looked at the mixture and it didn't look as separated as before.  I have better hope now.  Thank you very much, mini! 

Mike Avery's picture
Mike Avery

When we were starting the bakery, we troed some gluten free breads, and tried to make a rice starter.  We learned we couldn't really do wheat and gluten free, so we dropped it.

 

The rice starter smelled like something had crawled into it and died.  It smelled like something decomposing.  I susoect it doesn't have the right critters on it.

 

I'd suggest starting with a wheat starter and feeding it with rice flour.

 

Start with 1 tsp of wheat starter, add 1/4 cup water and 3/8 cup rice flour.  12 hours later, feed the same amount.  Thereafter, every 12 hours discard 1/2 and feed as before.

 

In less than a week, you'll have less than 1 part in 10,000,000 wheat flour and less than that amount of gluten.  Each time you feed it again, the amount of residual wheat flour will be cut in half again.  These amounts are well below the levels considered safe by the celiac/sprue association.

I don't know if that would be useable, but I think the oddsa re better than starting with rice.

 

Mike

 

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

Thank you so much for the suggestion.  I will try just that.