Accidental Sourdough Starter...
I got a new toy just over a week ago now... A manual pastry/dough sheeter/roller/brake thing. It's as old as me and just as robust (ie. stupidly heavy) Some photos of it soon, however once I'd cleaned it up I decided to have a play, as you do, so made up some dough from some inedible flour (it got wet in transit and the mill told me to keep it and sent me more - I'd kept it for play/practice with). I made 3Kg of basic 60% hydration dough which is about the same as my croissant dough and maybe a bit looser than the pasty dough I regularly make (the real reason I wanted the device).
So I had fun, got used to using it - worked out just how much it (and me and the bench) could comfortably take and that was that. I dumped the dough into a tub with the intention of having another play later, but I then had to make up some pasty dough the next day, so used the sheeter for a proper job (fantastic! I save 2/3 of the time and effort!) and promptly forgot about the old dough...
Come this morning and it's recycling bin day and I do my usual run round, emptying the bins, sorting, etc. and dumped the tub of dough - which by now had turned itself into quite a pungent (in a nice way, not at all foul!) starter. Once the initial acidic vapours had drifted off it really did seem quite pleasant. Shame it had orange and blue streaks through it (the dye from the paper sack it was originally in) I didn't think to photo it as I was in a bit of a rush to get the bins sorted, but there you are. Starter from (old, organic white) flour, water and time.
I keep meaning to make a new starter (or starters) just to do a photo-shoot of the process - it's on my to-do list, but that could not have been easier, and I'm sure that if I'd taken tablespoon of that then making it up with 100+100g of flour:water I'd have more or less have had a viable starter at the 100% hydration I like to use.
As for the sheeter - I've used it quite a few times now. More and a blog post later...
(Yes, it's wider than my bench - oops!)
-Gordon
Does it make any romantic noises when working? Clicking or cranking pleasantries?
Q remains... why didn't you snatch a ball of the stuff? Did you use the damaged wet flour? That might have something to do with it too.
The "orange and blue streaks" were more than likely food safe and the colour would have diluted out with a few feeds.
You had your new starter staring you in the face and tossed It OMG! Hope you still have some of that wet flour to repeat the process! That sheeter looks cool and could easily double as a Medieval Torture tool! You will never f[-get an apprentice now! I should have said a good apprentice because some mile, like the torture:-) Make sure to do a video so we can hear the noise of the cranking ...Lucky you!
The machine squeaks when moving the roller up/down and makes a nice rumbling sound when cranking the big handle to pass dough back and forth... I gave it a good scrubbing and wire brushing over all the parts that the dough touches, cleaned & steriised - the metalwork was painted by the chap who had it before me (who never used it) - I'm not keen on that colour, and the whole thing would probably benefit from a strip-down, sandblast and rebuild, however the down-side is that I've now started to use it, so when will I have time for that...
As for the dough/flour - Currently I get flour in 25Kg sacks which are transported in cardboard boxes - sadly the courrier who ships them is occasionally somewhat lax in their handling - the delivery side is fine, but I think they use trebuchets in their main sorting depots... So I've had a few burst boxes, bags, etc. This one got wet - the issue I have is that I don't know what it got wet with - salt water, dog pee, etc. so I just won't take any risk there.About half that sack had to be thrown out right away, the rest I put in another sack and left - that was about 6 months back - my intention was to use it for some dead dough sculpting (another thing I've never gotten round to!)
However, I have plenty more flour and a new starter is only a week away - it's not something I fret over.
Cheers,
-Gordon
I had a sheeter - made croissants recently and pined for one.
Like DBM, I wouldn't have thrown your accidental sourdough out (even in the extremely unlikely case a dog had missed the lamp post and peed nearby - after several feedings the yuckyness would have been overcome, and any evil bacteria killed).
Accidental sourdoughs can be a lot of fun. My kefir derived starter works great, and smells lovely like milk even after over a year. http://hanseata.blogspot.com/2015/03/fun-with-sourdough-surprising-shortcuts.html
Karin
I make bread to sell. I really can't take any risks. I also have 3 jars of good sourdough in my fridge, so from that point of view I don't really need it.
I'll repeat the experiment with some good flour after Easter - I seem to be doing double my usual number of markets right now!
I have some kefir grains in the freezer though - we used to make & eat a lot of it when we could get raw milk, but haven't for some time. Might try reviving it at some point, although I only really liked it when I made it up with double cream rather than milk...
Cheers,
-Gordon
Gordon, I would use any experimental sourdoughs only on my long suffering husband, not on my customers :)
Cheers,
Karin
Good you threw it out.
I started a new wheat starter with AP over a week ago. Strangely mild and seems stuck in the LAB only department, waiting on the yeast. The pizza dough I made, used partly, and forgot at the back of the fridge has turned into a sourdough. I fed both of them and chilled them both. The wheat starter made from my rye starter is way too fast and furious, that's why I started a new one for wheat. With my temps going up daily (Wed high 39°C) I'm busy slowing down the works.
I took the rest of the deflated pizza dough and doubled the flour content adding yeast to guarantee a rise. Made a beautiful loaf. My fancy sheeter is out of green glass and I stuck a cork in the end to make washing easier. :)