December 5, 2010 - 3:10pm
Seed culture help needed !
I'm trying to make Peter Reinhart's seed culture (page 229 BBA) prior to making barm for Panettone (page 203) I am on day one , I've carefully weighed 4.25 ounces flour and 6 ounces water and mixed them together .I now have a sloppy batter - a far cry from the stiff dough that I am then supposed to press in to a 4-cup measuring beaker !! What have I done wrong ? or is there a misprint in the recipe ? I am learning so much from this wonderful site - Thank you all so much ! Merlie
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that it will be sloppy if using AP flour because the weight of the flour is less than the water. Not a big deal so don't worry.
But this is about getting a sourdough starter started, I think you have at least a week or two before being able to use it in a panettone recipe. Are you using a whole grain flour? Like a rye or whole wheat? They tend to soak up more water and give a thicker "batter" or paste. May I suggest using pineapple juice instead of water? It is also possible to use smaller amounts to avoid going through the flour quickly.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10901/pineapple-juice-solution-part-2
Also for your questions try the search box using: BBA 229
You will also soon learn that P. Reinhart's misuse of the word "barm" leads to plenty of confusion. He's sorry about that but keep that in mind with your reading. It's still a great book.
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