Sourdough Starter

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BetterBoules on 25 Mar 2018 at 15:31

At the risk of being exposed as the novice I am, my question is in reference to Peter Reinhart's Sourdough Bread instructions from "Crust & Crumb".  His Starter Feeding calls for 1 part "mother starter".  What's THAT?  I'm now about to begin my first starter and wonder which flours would be best for the purpose of a "mother starter" for this sourdough bread. Any input will be much appreciated.

 

And over complicated things. Here is a good video but I'll add some basic ideas to accompany it. 

  • 1: pure pineapple juice for the first feed. 
  • 2: after which switch to water which has been boiled and cooled. 
  • 3: while the video has specific flours you can use any but remember that wholegrain works best and wholegrain rye is best of all.
  • 4: keep the starter warm - about 75-78°F - otherwise it'll take a long while. 
  • 5: don't over think the process. It needs time, warmth, patience and food. All you're doing is providing the warmth and food. The starter will test your patience but if you keep it warm then it can be done in about a week. No promises though. 
  • 6: if things go quiet don't be tempted to overfeed trying to wake it up. It's perfectly normal. 

Just to clarify the point from the original question (though Lechem's advice is spot on) - the 'mother culture' is generally what you call the mature starter that you keep (generally in the fridge) and pull out to make an active starter (or a 'levain') in preparation to bake bread. So you might keep 100 grams or less of the mother culture and when you want to bake, you'll use, say, 20 grams of mother culture and feed it 50 grams of water and 50 grams of flour (whatever kind you need for the bread you are baking).

If you are just beginning your first starter, then it won't qualify as a mother culture for a while (until you have a strong and healthy population of lactic acid bacteria and yeast).

totally agree with Lechem and id also add that the video posted is the one that gave me confidence when i was starting off - its put to bed all the complications and gets right down to it. wholegrains, warmth and patience. peple have different names for the mother. I personally like calling it the mother becaue everything emanates from it but thats just me.