August 5, 2011 - 1:32pm
Using locally ground corn for a starter
In my VERY LIMITED research of sourdough starters using wild yeast, there seems to be some debate over the origins of the yeast. Is it caught from the native environment or is it already on the flour used in the starter. I figure I can garauntee local yeast if I use locally ground flour for the starter, but all I can get my hands on is corn flour. This is great for frying fish, but I have no idea if it would work for making a sourdough starter.
Anyone ever tried this?
Thanks
Todd
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Todd,
I don't know if corn flour will work, but I do know that store-bought white flour (AP or BF or WW), and rye flour work just fine.
Bob
Grains carry their own yeasts and bacteria. People discover this when they buy a starter from a far-away place, only to discover that after a while it tastes just like the one they grew from scratch because their flour has been re-inoculating that fancy starter with each feeding. You should be able to grow a starter with corn/maize, though, if you want to try that. Anything that provides a stable supply of sugars can grow a colony of some kind of yeasts and bacteria. Here is a link to an amaranth starter grown by Mini Oven.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/14589/amaranth-starter