Hello from the Bay Area
Hi all,
I've been lurking for a while but decided to finally post. I guess you could say I'm a prospective bread baker, as I haven't actually baked a loaf since my interest has risen (hehehe. anybody? ok, sorry), but I did bake a single loaf a few years ago. Anyway, I have started a starter, which I am sincerely hoping will be ready to use some time soon. It's on day 4 and seems pretty active (no pictures right now, sorry), but I feel like I've made some mistakes. I'm also worried about the Leuconostoc spp. bacteria because I used filtered tap water. I own BBA and Tartine Bread and ended up deciding to sort of mash together the starter techniques.
I started with 4.25 oz. whole wheat/all-purpose flour (50/50) and 4 oz. room temperature water. The next day I mixed it but didn't add or discard anything. On day 3, I discarded about half and added 4.5 oz ww/ap flour and 4 oz. water. Today I discarded probably more than half and then added 4 oz. each of the ww/ap flour mix and water.
So now my question to all of you: Do you see any problems and if so, what should I do to correct them? Can I turn my creation into a viable starter?
Also, can I store the starter in an airtight container in the fridge? somewhere I read not to store it in something airtight container.
That's all I have for now. Hope to become an active member of this amazing community.