my seed culture on Steroides
Okay, i am following to the letter the instruction on page 229 of the bread baker s apprentice from Peter reinhart to get the seed culture going before moving on the the barm.
On my second day, it is going crazy doubling and tripling in size every 5 to 6 hours. Do i let go for 24 hours as suggested in the book or do I keep re feeding every 5 hours.
It looks super healthy, but I have learnt not to precipitate anything in bread making. Do I keep doing this for 4 days as instructed and then move on the the barm .
I have to admit that it is exiting to see this healthy reaction... I am just confuse as I am at my first at sourdough and since the process is so long to start, I want to make sure I wont srew up
Thanks in advance for your input
Dan
Montreal
Thanks for you help
I've read that when a starter is brand new, other bacteria can be involved in the energetic initial fermentation. I'd suggest that you keep feeding it as advised and watch to see if it calms down as the desirable bacteria take over the culture.
so I will have to check when I get home. If they recommend pineapple juice for the liquid, your starter might be okay. If the directions recommend water as the liquid, you are almost certainly seeing bacterial action, as suggested by GregS.
Either way, I'd care for it as directed in the instructions just to allow the culture to stabilize and to give you a clear picture of its behavior. Sourdough is one of the original slow foods anyway, so a few days of waiting to use it will help you settle into the groove.
I'm glad to hear it is off to such a lively start.
Paul
The problem you are having is due to the undesirable bacteria going sort of crazy, the good ones will take over soon if you keep following the directions.
I had this exact problem following the same recipe. On the 2nd day, the seed culture just went over the top of the 4 cup measure in a very short time. I posted on this site and was told to just wait it out, follow directions and all would be ok. It was and the bread was delicious.
However, during my wanderings on this site, I came across some info by Debra Wink who noticed a lot of people were having this problem with Peter Reinharts directions and she went about finding a solution, using a scientific approach. If you go back a few days on this site, you can find it, I'm not sure what her link was, but it was so helpful. This is how the pineapple juice thing got going and now I see Peter Reinhart uses it in his newer book , the Artisan Bread one. If you can find the info she wrote, it explains everything and you are not the only one this has happened to.
Also, Peter Reinhart's newer approach means a lot LESS discarding, which appeals to me. Now I have a lot of the made starter and will use it. But if I do it again, I will use the instructions in the Artisan Bread Book.
Good luck and keep at it. Jean P.
Here's the article. Be sure to go to part 2 for the formula:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10856/pineapple-juice-solution-part-1
berryblondeboys,
Thanks so much for posting that link, I should print it out while I have it again. I was thinking someone would come up with the link! What an informative piece it was.
Jean P.