October 31, 2010 - 10:32am
A question about San Fran Sourdough Starter from Sourdough International
I just received my packet of San Francisco Sourdough Starter from Sourdough International. The instructions call for a proofing box for the first five days. Is this absolutely necessary? I have a Styrofoam cooler but don't want to have to run to the hardware store and get the light socket, etc. Anyone have luck growing this starter without constructing the proofing box? I don't want to experiment with this starter since it's pricey.
Thanks for your input!
Trish
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My starter came from King Arthur Flour Company. It was about a tablespoon of dried sponge. I am assuming your starter is the same. Here's the instructions I used to get my starter established...nothing but flour, water, a bowl....
1. put 1/4 cup lukewarm water into container in which starter comes and shake. Empty the contents into a large mixing bowl.
2. add 1 1/4 lukewarm water and 2 cups flour (the flour you will be using to feed your starter in perpetuity) [I use plain AP flour]; Mix water, flour and starter until well combined.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit on counter for 8 to 12 hours. You will notice bubbles on the surface after 8-12 hours.
4. After it has sit for 8-12 hours, stir the mixture and then discard half (down the sink). Add 1/2 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup flour. The mixture will be fairly thick, like pancake batter.
5. Cover bowl again with plastic wrap. Let sit on counter for 2 to 4 hours. It should become bubbly.
6. Stir the mixture again. Discard half again. Add 1/2 cup lukewarm water and one cup flour. Stir. Will be lumpy. Lumps ok. Cover and let sit on counter for another 2 to 4 hours.
7. The starter will be bubbly but maybe not as bubbly as before. Now pour the mixture into a covered container in which you will store it permanently, preferably made of either glass or ceramic. If you use a glass jar, punch a few holes into the lid with a screw driver.
You'll read a lot of who-ha about ambient temperatures and the like but it's all subjective. Sourdough isn't really that finicky. If it were, there wouldn't be cultures that have lasted over 100 years.
Just feed your starter on a regular schedule; only feed flour and water. Since I bake bread every 10 to 12 days, that's when I feed my starter.
A scale in grams and ounces in a must. I typically use 290 grams of starter for my baking. I replace 150 grams of flour and 150 grams of water into my starter jar.
Your formulae may be different...it's just a guide.
Good luck
Unless you want to fund your plumber's kids' college education and his retirement plan, don't dump your starter discards down the sink! As other sadder but wiser posters here have noted, it's a great way to clog the drain lines but not a great way to get rid of excess starter. Better to put it in pancakes, or the compost pile, or the garbage can....
You can also maintain much smaller quantities of starter, if you wish. That also cuts down on the quantity of discarded starter. Lots of TFLers maintain only an ounce or two (less than 50g) of starter, building up quantities as needed for specific bakes.
Paul
And it was really simple to get it up and going. I've had it for about 3 months now and in fact, it's sitting on my counter right now. I just fed it in preparation to make a pre-fermement and it's very active - it usually doubles in two to three hours. That's why I was questioning all of the instructions for getting this SF sourdough starter going. I think I paid $16.00 for this little packet of starter and I just don't want to goof it up. I wanted to try the SF starter to see if I could get a little more tang in my bread.
Trish
I can't imagine that the SF starter is any more difficult than the KA starter. It reminds me of the old saying: "Beware of endeavors that require new clothing!"
As for tang...mine's got plenty. It just gets better over time. Three months is not very long. My starter's been fermenting for about two years.
Here's something else you can try to pump up your "tang." Buy a container of plain yogurt and drain it in a coffee filter (or cheesecloth, or paper towel, whatever's handy) placed in a strainer. Let the whey drip into a bowl and use that whey liquid for your bread instead of (or to supplement) water.
The yogurt left in the coffee filter can be used in the same way you use cream cheese. You can leave it plain or flavor it to spread on bread or crackers.
I may give this a try. If nothing else, we could end up with some yummy cream cheese which we consider one of the four main food groups around here =).
Trish
Ed Wood, founder and owner of Sourdough International, argues that a warm environment--89°F-92°F--favors the development of bacteria, over development of the yeast in SF sourdough culture. Furthermore, microbiologist, Michael Gaenzle, has scientifically seconded this argument in erudite scientific papers which are found in numerous places on the WWW.(Google keywords "sourdough Michael Gaenzle".)
I've been using a Sourdough International culture--Ischia Island culture--for about a year, in two configurations. One I initially started in my oven, with the oven light on, and carefully monitoring the temperature. I found I needed to turn the light on an off and on to keep the oven temperature nominally at approximately 90*F. Retired, i have time to fuss over such details, but, at night I let the oven cool to room temperature while I slept. Additionally, as I recall, the initiation directions only required 24 hours at the elevated temperature, not five days. Subsequently, I learned that my microwave oven maintains an internal temperature of 86°F with the door cracked slightly, to keep its light on.
I fed the elevated temperature starter on KA bread flour and water, feeding it each time it peaked, and began to collapse. I also did a second initiation fed on first clear flour, fed on the same schedule, but at room temperature.
I continue to maintain both starters, a year since their initiation. I maintain 150g of each in the refrigerator feeding both every seven days. I feed 50g of each starter 50g of flour and 50g of water (1:1:1 ratio). I allow the one initiated at the elevated temperature, fed with KA bread flour, to mature for eight hours in the microwave oven (86°F) with the light on, for 8 hours before I return it to the refrigerator. I feed the second on 1st clear flour, allow it to ferment at room temperature (~75°F) for eight hours before I return it to the refrigerator.
I build formula-ready starter in three builds, over 24 hour, feeding every eight hours, increasing the volume of the intermediate starter by 1/3 each build, and finishing with the preferment amount called for in the formula. When I use the room-temperature seed-starter I build at room temperature. When I build with the elevated temperature seed-starter, I build in the microwave oven at 86°F.
The elevated temperature starter produces bread that is tangier than the room temperature starter, and requires about 1/3rd more final proofing time than the room temperature starter. This is a consistent observation over a year of weekly bakings.
I recommend you check the internal temperature of your microwave oven, with the door, cracked enough that the light remains on. If it's in the the range of 86°F to 92°F--I suspect it will be--thats your instant proofing box. If the temperature exceeds 92°F crack the door a little more until the temperature stabilizes around 90°F.
David G.
Ed Wood, founder and owner of Sourdough International, argues that a warm environment--89°F-92°F--favors the development of bacteria, over development of the yeast in SF sourdough culture. Furthermore, microbiologist, Michael Gaenzle, has scientifically seconded this argument in erudite scientific papers which are found in numerous places on the WWW.(Google keywords "sourdough Michael Gaenzle".)
I've been using a Sourdough International culture--Ischia Island culture--for about a year, in two configurations. One I initially started in my oven, with the oven light on, and carefully monitoring the temperature. I found I needed to turn the light on an off and on to keep the oven temperature nominally at approximately 90*F. Retired, i have time to fuss over such details, but, at night I let the oven cool to room temperature while I slept. Additionally, as I recall, the initiation directions only required 24 hours at the elevated temperature, not five days. Subsequently, I learned that my microwave oven maintains an internal temperature of 86°F with the door cracked slightly, to keep its light on.
I fed the elevated temperature starter on KA bread flour and water, feeding it each time it peaked, and began to collapse. I also did a second initiation fed on first clear flour, fed on the same schedule, but at room temperature.
I continue to maintain both starters, a year since their initiation. I maintain 150g of each in the refrigerator feeding both every seven days. I feed 50g of each starter 50g of flour and 50g of water (1:1:1 ratio). I allow the one initiated at the elevated temperature, fed with KA bread flour, to mature for eight hours in the microwave oven (86°F) with the light on, for 8 hours before I return it to the refrigerator. I feed the second on 1st clear flour, allow it to ferment at room temperature (~75°F) for eight hours before I return it to the refrigerator.
I build formula-ready starter in three builds, over 24 hour, feeding every eight hours, increasing the volume of the intermediate starter by 1/3 each build, and finishing with the preferment amount called for in the formula. When I use the room-temperature seed-starter I build at room temperature. When I build with the elevated temperature seed-starter, I build in the microwave oven at 86°F.
The elevated temperature starter produces bread that is tangier than the room temperature starter, and requires about 1/3rd more final proofing time than the room temperature starter. This is a consistent observation over a year of weekly bakings.
I recommend you check the internal temperature of your microwave oven, with the door, cracked enough that the light remains on. If it's in the the range of 86°F to 92°F--I suspect it will be--thats your instant proofing box. If the temperature exceeds 92°F crack the door a little more until the temperature stabilizes around 90°F.
David G.
Sorry, didn't mean to post it twice.
D.G.
Sorry, didn't mean to post it twice.
D.G.
I've got the SF starter, and I use one of the italian starters, too. I decided to build a small proofing box, but one that uses water and a fishtank thermostat/heater to keep the temperature stable. I've since grown the size of the proofing box, and it's useful to keep the starter going in the winter, and useful to proof dough, too.
You can also just find a place that's got decent stable temperature qualities. Perhaps by using a microwave as an enclosed environment, and then adding a cup of boiling water to it every couple of hours.