Naming starters?
I'm curious whether other folks here who keep sourdough starters give them names? On other forums, "Bubba" seems to be a popular name, as does "Pokey" (for starters that take a lllooonnng time to ripen). Others seem to have an affinity for Greek gods, with "Hercules" being the most popular.
I've got two starters going right now with another on the way. Let me introduce my sourdough kids to you.
The oldest is Barney Barm, born in February 2006 as a 200% hydration starter which later went to 100% and, finally, 50%. Barney is a white starter, though lately I've started adding about 15% whole rye when I feed it to try to up the "sour" a bit.
Barney gave birth to Arthur the Whole-Wheat Starter in April, when I decided I'd like to start making 100% whole wheat sourdoughs, instead of the 50-50 mix I'd been baking before. I took a small amount of Barney and fed it continuously with whole-wheat flour. Arthur is also at 50%.
As for No. 3, I've long been curious about Hammelman's rye breads -- he seems to have a particular passion for them, which has made me eager to try them out myself. And he heartily recommends making rye breads with rye starters.
So this morning, following SourdoLady's instructions [1], I started the birthing process of Rhonda Rye. I'm not sure at what hydration I'll keep Rhonda. Hammelman seems to like 60%, but that makes the math a real pain in the butt. If I do keep it at 60%, I'll probably just keep a small amount of mother starter on hand -- no more than a few ounces -- and feed it a fixed amount every feeding. I'll then use a small amount of the mother starter to do a bigger build the day before baking.
If I have time tonight, I may add some pictures of the starters, if there's any interest.
So. What did you name your starters?