Commercial 'Sauerteig' / Sourdough culture from "Seitenbacher"
Hi all,
I received two sachets of "Seitenbacher Natur Sauerteig" in a parcel from my nephew, who lives in Germany. I had asked him to send me some caustic soda [NaOH—Sodium Hydroxide, food-grade] for pretzels and he included some spelt flour, some whole spelt grains, a couple of varieties of bread spice and the "sourdough" sachets.
Does anyone know how the 'sourdough' mix should be used? [I am *mostly* a sourdough baker...I have a vigorous (2-year-old?) rye starter in the fridge right now...] I suspect the product I have might just be a 'flavor' enhancer...the ingredients don't mention yeast ("Hefe" in German)—only rye meal, water and "sourdough cultures" (pluralized in the original German). To me, "sourdough cultures" would include yeast...Has anyone tried this stuff?
If so, I'd be happy to hear from you!
Thanks,
copyu
PS: The US "Seitenbacher" website lists the product. The web-site appears to be translated almost word-for-word from German into English. There is a warning that "Baking experience is needed to use this product". Yeah! So? I'm not a beginner, but I don't know where to start! I'm tempted to add half a pack to my current starter and the other half to my next loaf. What do you think? Thanks very much! copyu