If you have thought about getting a sourdough culture going but don't feel up for a lot of watching and waiting, I highly recommend the method outlined by Ian on his now rather empty Ars Pistorica blog. I nearly posted yesterday, because it sure looked like sourdough starter and tasted like it, and had lots of little bubbles. But, I feel, the proof is in the pudding, or my old friend, sourdough bread. So, here I am Sunday morning with two little loaves that managed to surprise me with some solid oven spring 10 hours after bulk fermentation start.
And here's how I built the starter, Ian's method more or less to a T:
Wenesday, 10 PM, 20g Bob's Red Mil Dark Rye + 240g tap water(warm, around 77 F, possibly filtered) both weighed into a ziploc baggie, mixed and then the sealed baggie placed in a plastic container of warm water and that placed in my proofer set at 99 F. I know it is starting to sound a bit like I am making a turducken here, but bear with me. Anyway, that sat in the proofer for around 18 hours, at which point the proofer had lots of condensation and the water in the container the ziploc bag was in was a toasty 108 degrees. And there was clearly lots of activity inside the bag with active bubbles. Which takes me to...
Thursday, 4PM, Open ziploc briefly to add a premeasured 100 g of Whole Wheat Bread flour, from Great River Milling. I do note some less than pleasant smell at this point, hence the quick open of the bag to add the fresh flour. Then back it goes into the plastic container, now emptied of its water, and the proofer set down to 88 F. 20 hours later...
Friday 12 Noon. Into a new container, measure out 45 g water + 100 g more of the Great River flour and then take 30 g of the mixture from the baggie, where again there were plenty of bubbles. I knead this into a lump of dough and return it in its container to the proofer now set down to 80 F and wait another 20 hours or so...
Saturday 8:30 AM At this point the lump of dough shows all signs of looking like and quacking like the sourdough starter which I know and love, so I take some and use it to bake my approximation of SF Sourdough by way of my interpretation of some very helpful posts around these parts on the Larraburu Brothers Bakery...
Saturday Noon- I get around to feeding some of the remaining new starter, 1 part starter: 1 part water : 1 part AP : 1 part Whole Wheat.
Saturday 9:30 PM, Bake.
Sunday, 9:17 AM, Eat.