Some of you may remember me accidentally using all of my starter in 3 loaves, forgetting to hold some back for the next feeding.
I had wanted to start anew for some time, anyway. The starter I was using, while well over a year old at the time, had originally been started from the formula in Bread Alone which starts of with a pinch of commercial yeast. I wanted to try it from scratch, and I thought I'd post my progress here.
My rules: flour and water. No juice, no fruit, no mysterious sourdough dances. No offense to those who use these techniques; I'm not implying there's anything wrong with them. This is just the way I want to do it.
Day 1:
2oz medium rye flour + 1oz unbleached bread flour + 4oz of water. Mix well, put in a container, cover, leave on counter.
Day 2:
No noticeable activity. Sorry I don't have pictures, but nothing to see anyway. Add 3oz unbleached bread flour and 3oz water to existing mixture.
Day 3:
I'm pleased to see some bubbles forming on top! A look at the bubbles forming on the side shows me things are definitely progressing.
I gave the starter a very vigorous stir to incorporate some oxygen, then discarded all but 3oz of it. I added 4oz of bread flour and enough water to make a wet dough, about 3.5oz.
Stuck it back in the container, lidded it and back on the counter.
Tomorrow is day 4!
-Joe
You have the same electric scale as I... (I love that little scale. To top unscrews to clean it).
My starter is about 2 months old now. Makes great bread. The first few weeks, not so much. From what I learned, as others have too, is to make sure and add only a little bit of the old starter. Since you have a scale, you should use that. I've found that a 1:2:2, or even a 1:4:4 works best for me (the later being the current recipe once it got 'started' well) . Also, before I add the new flour, I mix the old starter with the new water very well, to create a 'milk'. Then add the new flour.
With my scale, this is how "I" keep my starter alive;
Place container on scale. Zero it. Pour 25 grams starter in containter. Zero it. Pour 100 grams water, mix well to a 'milk'. Zero it. Pour 100 grams flour and mix till the cows come home.
FWIW, I found that my breads were very highly tangy during the first couple weeks of life. It was aged at least a month (not counting the 'creation' phase) that the bread really peaked in satisfaction of taste.
Thanks, Mike. For maintaining the starter I do only save a small portion of it each feeding - 1-2oz.
For the initial creation of the mother starter I've been loosely following the procedure laid out in the Bread Baker's Apprentice, and he starts out with more than twice what I did. I'm working my way down to smaller quantities.
-Joe
Day 4:
Not much new activity. I didn't take a photo since it would look exactly the same as day 3's. There was a very noticeable and pleasant tangy smell. I'm reading that as a step in the right direction!
I gave it a vigorous stir, kept 2oz of starter and added 4oz bread flour and 4oz water. I marked the container today so we'll see if we have any activity by tomorrow.
-Joe
Day 5:
Not too much rise, but definite activity and a nice clean smell and flavor.
Same feeding regimen as last time: stir well, save 2oz starter, add 4oz flour and 4oz water.
As a side note, I've been adding the water to the starter first and breaking it up really well. This makes it easier for me to incorporate the starter fully.
-Joe
Hi I tried to follow your instructions, but my starter doubled on the first day!!! Is this normal? Any help would be appreciated
Feed the starter, smells yeasty.