June 8, 2015 - 8:46am
RichardNCookie Say Hi & should I start over?
I was recently given a stand mixer (Kitchen Aid). Well maybe a year ago...I have been using it and learning how to make pizza, rolls and breads. I just decided to make my own sour dough starter. I had a recipe but it included using packaged yeast and sugar to get it started. It's on its 3rd day. After reading and watching videos I am wondering if I should start over to capture wild yeast beasties and not use the package yeast?
Thanks,
Rich
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And welcome to TFL.
If you want to launch into the world of sourdough, let me recommend two possibilities. The first is Debra Wink's Pineapple Juice Solution (Part 1 and Part 2). The second is gaaarp's Sourdough 101 - A Tutorial. Both approaches will produce a healthy sourdough starter. Pick whichever you want to play with and have at it.
By the way, sourdough starters rely on wild yeasts and bacteria already in the flour from the grain, so the commercially produced yeasts won't develop a viable sourdough starter.
Paul
You will only lose 3 days. Good luck and keep us posted.
when the wild yeast activate and show up, they will drop the pH (raise the acid) in the starter culture and kill off the commercial yeast and eat their body parts. I would watch it, feed it very little flour and start up another starter at the same time. Racing starters can be entertaining as you make comparisons. Just don't use the same spoons to stir and keep them a little bit separated.
If you have a fresh water aquarium, you can trap the CO2 gas off the commercial started starter and pipe it into the water to help the aquarium plants while you wait.
Hi and Welcome...
My comment agrees with and combines PMcCool, Hreik and Mini Oven's comments.
It is worth doing an actual sourdough starter, the acidity will eventually kill off the commercial yeast and what better way then to help it along by feeding it some pineapple juice.
I think while "overtime" the wild yeasts might eventually take over should the PH level drop making it more favourable for them it might take some time. Afterall the strong commercial yeasts have a stronghold and might even take longer than starting from scratch. But here is where the pineapple juice will help. However even if you do the pineapple juice now you might as well be starting from scratch since you don't wish for any of the commercial yeast which will make it the difference between a 6 and two 3's.
Making a starter from scratch really is not so difficult. What is difficult is getting too much advice from many different people.
That's the basics. Should you wish for anymore help then give me a shout but I don't want to bog you down with too much info by posting instructions here which might be more of a hindrance.
Best of luck.
Thanks to all that posted back. I will start over. I skimmed over the juice recipe, I need more time to read that since it is so much information. This weekend I will be going out to get a scale, I have never owned one but I see that they are use very often in some of the recipes I would like to try.
I will keep you posted..
Thanks,
Rich