February 29, 2012 - 9:36am
Poll: Source of Variation Among Starters
Oh I'm sure this has been asked, answered and debated here endlessly. But having tired quickly of sorting through >100 screens of Sourdough & Starters forum posts and replies, I decided life is too short and I'll ask again:
How would you good people rank the relative strength of contribution to the final character (that is, the exact population of yeast and bacteria) in an established starter, from:
- the liquid used to start it (water, or more more commonly now pineapple juice, thanks to Deb Wink)
- the flour(s) upon which it's born and raised
- the ambient environment (aerosol, tools, hands of baker, pet dander :-), etc.) in which it's born and raised?
I know what I've been assuming, but ... who knows.
Thanks!
tdb