March 17, 2017 - 1:20am
Mad millies Instant Sourdough Starter - Question.
Hi TFL,
Ive recently purchased some Mad Millies Instant Sourdough Culture / Starter.
My question is, Is there anyway to convert this into a regular starter which requires feeding and maintaining (Adding flour + Water) to help reduce the time it usually takes to create a nornal starter?
Here is a link of the product Im talking about: http://www.madmillie.com/shop/Fermenting/Consumables/Instant+Sourdough+Culture+3+Sachet+Pack.html
I do have a leaven going again but its weeks away.
Any help is appreciated.
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But it looks like sourdough culture with added yeast! If it was just sourdough culture it'd need cultivating. The quick action is from the yeast. Does this make your final dough a true sourdough bread? I think not! At best you might get some sourdough flavour.
Nothing more satisfactory then getting your own going from just flour and water. Till then use the sachets to keep you going. If you want to cultivate something from the satchets then add the culture to a 100% hydration flour water mix. Allow it to bubble up and use. Then hold some back to feed again just like a normal sourdough starter. Keep this till your own starter is ready.
What is there to lose?
will tell us all we need to know about this flavoured factory yeast
http://www.madmillie.com/site/madmillie/files/PDF/MM_SOURDOUGH%20Booklet_WEB.pdf
Seems like it is just instant yeast with flavour.
Ill still use it but its not what i was looking for. I was actually looking for a sourdough starter which i could maintain and keep, ive seen these being sold online and thought this was similar.
In the process of getting that up and running , you will learn a vast amount about fermenting dough that will be of help in your bread baking .
Thank you!
Im hoping to start making Artisan Sourdough and Rolls. Still trying to source good flour, i have access to strong bakers flour of all types but Im now seeing "Artisan Flour" do we think its just Organic flour relabeled to make more money?
Ive also got a massive order coming in of a Logic Combo Cooker, bread lames, Brod and taylor bread proofer and other bits..
the key thing is the protein content which will give you a clue to gluten development. Most flour millers do provide this information though you might have to search for it. Also, you can do a search of this site as the topic has been discussed and IIRC someone has put together a table. IMO, definitions such as "Artisan Flour" are practically useless except as a marketing tool. Some millers are now selling particular wheat varieties such as 'Red Fife' and those might be of interest. FWIW, I pretty much use King Arthur All Purpose flour for all my breads along with their whole wheat and Bob's Red Mill Dark Rye. I've standardized recipes and bake times so I pretty much know how things are going to turn out. I find this important as I only bake a couple of loaves a week for personal consumption.
https://bacillusbulgaricus.com/sourdough-starter/
I use this. It is real sourdough, and you can use it next day, or keep it and feed it. It produces a wonderful starter with real flavour and has great raising properties.
BTW, I'm going to stick my neck out and say - all sourdough starters have yeast in them, just not cultured commercial yeast. The yeasts are kept in check by the Lacto-Bacteria.
As in a sourdough but it also has S. Boulardii which is a subspecies of bakers yeast. I've used S. Boulardii which is also a probiotic. It is quick because it acts like bakers yeast.
Ingredients: Live active lactic acid cultures (incl. Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus bulgaricus), yeasts (incl. Saccharomyces Boulardii)
It also says yeasts including S. Boulardii so there's other yeasts in it too! And while sourdough starter does often contains the same species of yeast it is a wild variety and a lot slower. If dried takes it much longer to activate sometimes days. Since this activates very quickly and one can bake a bread in 2-3 hours I'm thinking this is fast acting dried yeast with added lactic acid bacteria.
So yes and no. Is it real sourdough? Well it has properties of real sourdough but it's closer to dried commercial yeast spiked with natural lactic acid bacteria for flavour. And you are correct that natural sourdough starters do often contain the same species as commercial yeast but they are a wild variety. It is a very common yeast found everywhere in nature. Commercial yeast has just been bred to be quick and lacks any other component. After all commercial yeast was harvested from wild yeast originally. However while it is a common yeast found in most starters it's not the only species of yeast.
that instant Jello Pudding is just like freshly made traditional custard, that doesn’t make it so. Short cuts tend to short change you on quality but it might be a compromise that works in a pinch. Lot (maybe most) of large scale commercially made sourdough is made using such helpers, maybe that is why many of us devote time to this hobby to make something perceived to be of higher quality. I don’t see the point in spending time on making ersatz sourdough.
S. boulardii, L. bulgaricus and L. casei are not present in sourdough starters; the lactobacilli sound like they are from yoghurt and cheesemaking cultures. See http://robdunnlab.com/projects/sourdough/map/
Still, if it works for you.....