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Sourdough Starter, Day 1

So I made my starter after dinner. What I like about Everything Bread is that it gets really detailed, even with long-term recipes like a sourdough starter: Mix this, do this on the next that many days, take out so much and use it for pancakes or something ... she's really good. With something I've never done before, that style of writing gives me a lot of confidence.

This isn't, strictly, a "make it from scratch" one that kind of waits to pick up whatever yeast spores might be floating in the air. I used a cup of flour, a cup of water, and an eighth of a teaspoon of baking yeast. It looks bland now:
Sourdough Starter, First Day
but I'm sure over the next week we'll see interesting developments!

Herself is a bit skeptical, but willing to let me work with this as long as (a) it doesn't get in the way (it won't) and (b) the cats won't get into it (ha!). She's going to love the rye bread. So am I, I hope.

I got a promise from my mom this evening - she's going to send me recipes for barm breac (she's Irish, after all), crescent rolls (one of her specialties), and Sally Lunn (my favorite). I promise, as soon as I get the recipes they will be published here.

God speed, and remember, All sorrows are less with bread.
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  1. DanJune 29, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    From what I've seen online and from what I've seen personally you're not really picking up spores "from the air" although that is the popular explanation. The recipe I followed called for equal amounts (by weight) of flour and water, and covering the container with plastic wrap (nothing coming in from the air). A couple of hours after a second mixing the starter exploded with bubbles. The explanation I've seen from different sources that makes the most sense to me is that you're cultivating the wee beasties in the flour itself. Now, again I don't know how much truth there is to it (not a biologist and don't play one on tv) but I've also read that using yeast to kick off a starter is pretty much a non-starter (pun intended) because the critters in the flour will eventually overrun the yeast that you put in.

    Oh, don't ask what happened to my starter. It was doing just fine but this wasn't a good week to be starting an experiment. I'll try again when things simmer down a bit.

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