how many starters does a gal need?
I've been keeping two starters from natural yeast I'm very happy with. One is like a Nancy Silverton grape starter, which I started from unsprayed concord grapes. The other is an apple starter, started from unsprayed Empire apples.
Both are working great for me. They're my babies ;)
I've just been keeping the two, and feeding with organic white flour. If I want a rye or WW starter, I've been building from them.
I haven't done the type of starter where you start only from the natural yeast that's on the grains themselves. (although I did do the semolina-yogurt one from Leader's book Local Breads for the Altamura bread, but didn't keep it going).
Am I missing out by not having a starter started from flour only? Do I need another beast to feed? :)
Can you tell me anything different about flavor and other attributes, of starters that originate from flour only, versus those from the wild yeast captured from fruits? And do you think it's important for rye breads to use a starter that originated from rye grains only?
Thanks in advance!