December 4, 2008 - 11:59am
making seed sourdough starter from whole grains
hi
i want to make a starter from whole grains. i'm using reinhardt's "seed culture" recipe on p. 229 of his "bread baker's apprentice" book. i'm at step 1, using whole grain rye flour.
wondering about step 2, and what flour to use, or whether to mix whole wheat and white, or use just whole wheat.
any thoughts?
jeff
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Right now I have a rye starter and a wheat starter. I feed them with just straight whole grain flour. The way I do mine is if they have not been fed in awhile I discard all but 1T of the starter and add 2 T whole wheat or rye depending on which starter it is and then add 1 T water. I wait about 12 hrs and feed it 1/2 c flour and 1/4 c water. I am too lazy to weigh out things for my starters. But there is no reason why you have to use white flour. When I started them I only used whole grain flour. I have actually had better luck with my whole grain starters than the white one I tried to keep going. But there are other people here who are way more knowledgeable about starters, and I am sure one of them will let you know as well.
method, however, I keep a white wheat starter. Then I can adjust and quickly make a rye, or whole wheat. It may be a personal thing. I use more unbleached white wheat so that is just the one that I tend to maintain. I am about to create a rye, I have been intimidated by the rye long enough.
Good luck!
Eli