I was not very pleased with the starter I made using the one Bread Alone as my guide. I am thinking about buying one, form King Arthur or some, but my questions is, how much bread do they provide starter for. I currently use the Poolish concept, always bake at least four loaves each batch. Will the commercial starters allow for a four loaf batch? buy two? Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks, Philip

I've been baking bread for about a year, baked 45 loaves at home in the last month. All with instant yeast and delayed fermentation.

Many people seem to feel that sourdough is the better bread. I've begun reading about it here and in books. I've begun making a starter, but I have two questions. I'm sure there will be more.

First, why do we have to maintain separate starters for white, whole wheat, and rye? The flour is just the food source for the yeast, and there are many benefits to blending flour: better rise, better taste, lightness.

And second, instead of fishing for yeast that is present in the flour, why not just inoculate the flour and water with a 1/4 t of commercial yeast?

Thanks.

Jerry

I've been a lurker, but am convinced that the wisdom of this wonderful group will provide me the way to proceed.  My husband, a Type2 Diabetic, is always trying to control his blood sugar.  I read somewhere along the line, both on this site and in some research studies,  that naturally leavened sourdough has a lower glycemic index level and I've been aiming to correct my faulty sourdough skills to produce that wonderful kind of bread.  As I understand the problem, the yeasties and beasties tend to consume most, if not all, of the starch in the flours.  That's a very simplistic statement, but that's where my knowledge level is.

Having had the usual run of successes and failures in the quest for sourdough, I was having better success with baking in pans than with artisan shaping.  One day I was making the Struan bread posted by one of the TFLers, which is not a sourdough bread, but I, without even thinking, threw in a cup of my mixed starter (made from white, wheat and rye starter discards.)  Not only was and is the bread delicious, but also my conscience is somewhat salved regarding the starch consumption by the sourdough bacteria.

Now the question is this.  What have I actually accomplished?  The starter would have reduced starch, in essence, but the actual loaf which is not fermented as long, may have more.  Here's where I get into ignorance of the biochemistry involved.  Further question, what if I take any recipe, yeast rolls for instance, mix up the dough and mix in a cup of starter that is well fed and ready to go.  Reduce the yeast, or maybe eliminate, then follow the rest of the recipe.  The flavors produced in these breads are quite nice and subtle, and the texture seems a tad lighter.

Anyone have any thoughts on what is going on?  Or experimented in the same way?  I appreciate any and all wisdom, some guffaws from the real pros and I promise to not be offended by any comments.  Many thanks to a great group of dedicated breadmakers.

Could someone provide some guidelines for converting yeast weights into active sourdough starter equivalents. That is if a recipe calls for 1/4 tsp of yeast how much starter should I use? My starter is home grown from wild grapes ala the La Brea starter and is quite potent. I keep it at 100% hydration ( I think that is right 8 oz flour 8 oz water) and I am trying to transform the acme rustic baguette recipe from Artisan Baking into a natural levain based recipe, knowing that I'll have to adjust the hydration levels to account for the starter. When making a preferment with 4 oz of starter, 8 oz of water and 11 oz of all purpose (i.e. cooks illustrated) and leave it sitting on the counter all night it seems like the yeast is spent. (Could this be why I get a pale crust no matter howlong I bake?), refrigeration helps but I'm getting forgetful in my old age and often go to bed with it on the counter.

Hi there,

I "captured" some yeasties using the pineapple solution method (substituting orange juice instead) a few weeks ago.  I'm very happy with my beastie whom I've been feeding white flour on a 1:2:2 ratio by weight.  I bake using recipes that use 100% hydration sourdough starter.

But I actually bake whole wheat bread almost exclusively, so when my white AP flour ran out, I bought some King Arthur white whole wheat instead.

Now I find that my resulting starter after feeding is a lot thicker than before.  When i was feeding the beast white flour, it would yield a really thick. gummy liquid.  But now it is more like soft bubble gum rather than stiff liquid. 

Should I be changing the weight of flour on feeding now that I'm using different flour?  I don't mind having a thicker starter, but it confuses me how a thicker starter can still be used in recipes as a 100% hydration starter with the same amount of added water.  Also, I prefer less sour bread, so I liked having a slightly more runny starter.  Maybe I should cut back to 90% hydration, and use as if it is still 100%.

Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks!

Hi,

A few days ago I started my first sourdough starter using the Bourke Street Bakery books recipe. Now this recipe says that the starter isn't ready to use until week 4 (if I'm reading it right).

Just wondered if people thought this was right, as I've seen other people suggest that after a few days its ready to go.

Thoughts and guidance would be most welcome.

Regards,

Royston

Just wanted to share my little success.  Have recently moved overseas (from cool, dry Alberta to hot, humid Taiwan), and wanted to bring my sourdough along, as it has been a close companion for several months.  Did the spread-thin, dry-it-out technique, and brought  it over in an air-tight container, where it has sat for the last 6 weeks whilst I have attempted to get a new home and baking environment set up.  A couple nights ago I finally rehydrated and fed the dried flakes, and within 24 hours everything was happily digesting and bubbling away!  First sourdough test bake coming up on the weekend!  Now to see what adjustments the climate will force upon me...

Baked my first loaves using the starter - ~40% whole wheat, ~60% high gluten flour.  Local flour in Taiwan is quite different from what I am used to, flavour primarily.  Went with a higher hydration level than usual (always eyeball my loaves, and generally stick with flour, water, bit of salt, so have a fair amount of variation in end product), so made ciabatta-style loaves.  Good crumb, so my yeast is active, but not even a hint of sourness to it yet.  Give it time...  And, now that I have a scale and a notebook, may attempt to get a little more consistent.  Feel a bit shy about posting things that are not easily replicated...

I have a 5-month old 100% hydration starter that I bake with weekly. I store about 2 ounces in the fridge. I refresh the starter on Friday night (1 part KA AP flour to 1 part water by weight) to bake on Saturday morning. In 8-12 hours, the starter usually doubles, has big frothy bubbles and a bright, fruity smell. This week the starter has bubbles, but did not double. It is about 15 degrees cooler this weekend (high eighties for the past month and now low seventies) Is the starter still any good? Will it need a few feeds to readjust to the new temperature?

All input is welcome and thanks in advance,

smita

There's a great thread on starting starters.  What about managing them?

I bake three to four times a week out of necessity.  I have two children under the age of four and a husband in the military.  I'm not really able to cultivate three or four different starters, so I'll let you in on a secret: I'm actually hacking a starter.  I made one according to Lepard's instructions and it worked like a charm.  Since then, I've been refreshing six days a week or so with whatever flour I'm using at the moment.  I'm guessing it's 50% whole wheat, 40% white, and 10% rye at the moment.

Today, I used a liquid starter when I really should have used a stiff starter.  Honestly, the difference in hydration is so minor for the whole loaf, I thought... really?  We won't eat bread for two days because it's not stiff enough now?

How do you maintain your starters?  Do you maintain multiple starters (and have children and tomato plants and a husband)?  If you don't, how many refreshings do you do before you consider it good to go?  Etc.

So i really hope that someone out there can help me??????

For the past two weeks i have been growing a sourdough starter which i refresh daliy with 70g organic white flour, 30g organic rye flour and 100g spring water (disgarding most of the starter before feeding). I'm very pleased to say that my starter is ready to use, doubled in size over 24 hours, lots of bubbles and a thick layer of froth on top - only problem is i have no idea where to go from here!!! I have been reserching the net but dont seem to be getting anywhere so thought i would give this a shot!!!

My starter reaches its peak at about 7pm and by the morning it has subsided sightly....what im really looking for is a great recipe for a large white crusty loaf and the same in granary or brown. I am wondering if i should use it when its at its peak, and if so can i leave the dough to prove overnight so i can bake in the morning???

I have spoken to people who suggest that you can use yeast along side your starter as this gives good effects....have anyone used this method? does it work well and how would i go about doing this (working out how much to use of each).

Also i plan to bake at least every other day so do i need to put my starter in the fridge or is it ok to leave it out, refreshing it everytime i use it..up until now i have left my starter out in the kitchen.

Wow so many questions!!! im really keen to get going, and i would love to get some help from people who have been there and done it!

Thanks in advance!