April 3, 2012 - 5:48pm
Bread Making 101 - revisited
Well, back to the drawing board. I started a new starter tonite - 2 tablespoons of King Arthur Premium 100% Whole Wheat Flour mixed with 2 tablespoons of 100% premium tap water. After I mixed it up, it kind of reminded me of baby poop.
From what I read, it might start to smell that way too. It seems some bacteria gets going first, and the dies out after it has lowered the pH of the starter. If it gets too bad, I will toss it and buy the pineapple juice. I will try to get some pictures of this process.
Jim
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If you use tap water, it might be better to leave it for at least several hours without a cover to get rid of chlorine because it kills wild yeast. I didn't used to, but when I started doing so, it did make a big difference in how starter/dough ferment. Or use bottled spring water.
Good luck! :)
Thanks for the hint Lumos!
Progress as follows:
April 4, 2012 Day 2:
No sign of activity, noticed a “ring” of brown liquid around the edge of the bowl. Added 2 TBS King Arthur Whole Wheat flour and 2 TBS of water and mixed well.
April 5, 2012 Day 3:
Slight “bulge” developing in the center of the starter with very few bubbles. Again, I noticed a “ring” of brown liquid around the edge of the bowl. Added 2 TBS King Arthur Whole Wheat flour and 2 TBS of water and mixed well.
April 6, 2012 Day 4:
The starter has swelled a little larger and has a few more bubbles on the top of the starter. Again, I noticed a “ring” of brown liquid around the edge of the bowl. No “yeasty” smell yet, it seems to have a faint odor of smoked barbeque ribs. Added 2 TBS King Arthur Whole Wheat flour and 2 TBS of water and mixed well.
April 7, 2012 Day 5:
The starter now has an "even" coating of "bubbles". Still not a lot of expansion. I saved 1/4 cup of the mess and added a "scant" 1/4 cup of Kinjg Arthur Whole Wheat Flour and a "scant" 1/4 cup of water. When I decide this is a workable starter, can I split it in half and make a whole wheatstarter and a white flour starter?
Jim - the half-assed bread maker.
You don't have a viable starter yet. What you have is a jar of noxious smelling goo that has a slightly more acidic pH than it did a few days ago. Once the acidity gets low enough, the microrganisms you don't want perish and the ones you do want begin to grow and multiply.
What do to now?
Follow the schedule below, if it suits you.
(Instead of starting you over from scratch, let's assume you have something good going. Start with Apr 8 tomorrow with a feeding and then follow the schedule. Note the "store in warm place". That's important.)
Most members here will say that the quantities of flour are far too great, and they're probably right. If you think so too, feel free to reduce them by half. I've never done so, so I don't know the outcome. I know the outcome of these quantities: a starter that'll leaven most any dough.
OK, 1/2 the flour for the next feed!
April 8, 2012 Day 6
Hello! I have lots of small bubbles now. Still no great expansion, but I split what I have so far.
Split #1: added 1 TBL Kink Arthur UB AP flour plus 1 TSB water.
Split #2: added 1 TBL Kink Arthur Whole Wheat flour plus 1 TSB water.
th:
Thanks for the data.Jim