Hello all:

New to sourdough so this, I'm sure, is a basic question.  I have a great starter and made two, really tasty, loafs of sdb.  I put the starter in the refrigerator but am unclear on how to maintain it while it's in the cooler and not being used.  The next question is when I'm ready to bake again what is the procedure to get the starter out of the refrigerator and ready for baking.

 A point in the right direction would be most appreciated.

 Thanks! 

I was excited to read that post about "Susan's loaf." I think it's difficult to find sourdough recipes that only call for 3 cups (or less) of flour.

Does anyone else have a recipe that makes a 1 pound or 1 1/2 pound loaf? Also, am I correct in thinking that 3 cups of flour is approximately 375 grams?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

Susan from San Diego- I hope you see this-

Thank You!!  AnnieT posted your sourdough recipe,( I can't find it here readily for reference, but I copied it to my email to use again and again) I have made it twice and it is fabulous!  The loaf I made last night is gone already.  My family loves it.  Did you create it, adapt it?  Any way, I wanted you to know it is appreciated.  I'm gushing, but it is great to find the sourdough loaf I've been wanting to make.

Thanks again,

Marni

I have an odd problem which doesn't seem to affect bread quality, but it's something that i'm curious about.

I have a mother starter from Reinhart's WGB that claims to be firm...well, it's thicker than my liquid levain from Silverton.

My question is this: I remove a portion of the firm starter to feed it in advance of baking...I've been working my way thru Local Breads...and I feed it according to directions and get a nice little lump of firm dough.  so I sit it in my little container on the counter and next morning, voila!

I no longer have a lump of dough...I have a thick batter that has risen and definitely shows yeast activity.  And it raises the bread, just as it should.

What I'm puzzling about is why this firm starter changes texture so much, and is it supposed to?  I guess this is more chemistry and less artisinal baking...

Maybe i should just stop complaining and eat the bread?!

Windi

Philadelphia PA

Let me detail how I started my first starter.

I took some 2 year old Carl's dried starter and rehydrated it according to package directions. I used white unbleached bread flour and tap water which is not overly chlorinated..that is it does not taste of chlorine.

Day 1--no action.

Day 2--inoculated with one tablespoon of starter to 1 cup of water and 1.5 cups of flour.

Day 3--inoculated with one tablespoon of starter to 1 cup of water and 1.5 cups of flour...tiny bubbles throughout.

Day 4--inoculated with one tablespoon of starter to 1 cup of water and 1.5 cups of flour. ..fewer tiny bubbles.

Day 5--inoculated with one tablespoon of starter to 1 cup of water and 1.5 cups of flour--nothing after 12 hours. no bubbles. looks dead.

Panicked. discovered this site.

REFED after 12 hours 1 cup of water and 1.5 cups of WHEAT FLOUR

AFter three hours mixture is FULL of tiny bubbles.

The starter is kept at room temperature 72 F.

Will update and beg for help regularly.

David.

Last weekend I taught a class on sourdough quickbreads, so I needed lots of starter. So, I mixed up less than half a bucket full as I went to bed. I like to be careful, so I set a half sheet pan under the bucket.

Then morning came. The sourdough faeries had paid an energetic visit. Here's what I found:

In case that wasn't enough to delight you, here's a closer picture...

Yeah, it had hit the bags of sugar and flour, as well as the boxes of chocolate I'd set out for class. Luckily, none of the bags or boxes were ruined. Cleanup took about half an hour, which made the early morning class prep run a bit longer than expected.

My wife has suggested that maybe the bucket should have been in a sink instead. I think that was a good call on her part.

See, even a self-annointed "expert" can have off days. I hope you feel better about your last kitchen foobar.

Mike

Hey everyone! Great to finally be a member of this site.

I just started building my whole wheat sourdough starter. I was wondering if the starter can be used in any recipe that calls for a starter or ones that specifically calls for it. Any tips and leads would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Hi all,

I froze my starter to preserve it somehow when I was away.I now am trying to revive it, but it looks sluggish. I have fed it with Ehanner method (doubling method), twice a day, with no sign that it is active. So far it smells great and bubbles a bit (very little), but no rise whatsoever.

Has anyone encountered the same problem? And how do I get my beloved starter back? I miss it... :-(

-E- 

I posted here a few months ago, bemoaning my carelessness in letting my starter go weeks in the fridge without a feeding. I wasn't sure I could bring it back. Several folks encouraged me to keep feeding it and nursing it back to health.

It's healthy now, but ... it's never recovered its old tangy sour and it has a hint of "rotten" in the smell that it didn't have before the debacle. Bread made with it doesn't taste much more sour than bread made with regular yeast. 

I'm feeling inclined to go down to the kitchen store and buy another packet of powdered San Francisco sourdough starter. What say y'all?

...if a recipe calls for a specifically hydrated starter could i simply use  the starter i have on hand? don't really have the nerves to go that much into math right now and i keep a poolish-like starter as i learned from crust& crumb and bba. but i'd like to try some of the great-looking recipes here and sometimes they follow another system. thanks for your help! sanni