Updated Starter Doctor FAQ
Darrell Greenwood
am posting it directly for those who may want to have a copy of this
version. Subsequent automated postings from rtfm.mit.edu will be this
version.
Cheers,
Darrell
Archive-name: food/sourdough/starters
Posting-Frequency: 18 days
Last-modified: 1999/04/07
Version: 2.0
URL: http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/sourdoughfaqs.html
1 Introduction.
This FAQ is one of four FAQs posted regularly to rec.food.sourdough.
2 FAQ.Starter.Doctor.
HOW TO TELL WHEN A STARTER IS A STARTER
(Or, ALL You Wanted to Know about Sourdough Starters, but were Afraid
to Ask)
Revised April 1999 by Brian Dixon <brian...@hotmail.com>
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
II. STABILITY OF SOURDOUGH STARTERS
III. HOW TO USE THIS FAQ
IV. DEFINITIONS OF STARTER CONDITION
V. NEW STARTERS
A. Dead Starter
B. Flat Starter
C. Barely Living Starter
D. Healthy Starter
E. "The 1-Tablespoon Method"
F. "The 1-Cup Method"
VI. FRESH STARTER
VII. OLD STARTER
VIII. NON-STANDARD STARTERS
A. Conversion
B. No Re-Conversion Method
C. Re-Conversion Method
IX. POLLUTED STARTERS
X. SUMMARY OF STARTER CARE AND REVIVING
XI. MAINTAINING AND PREPARING STARTERS
A. Preparing starter for non-bread recipes
B. Preparing starter for bread recipes
C. Preparing alternative starters for bread recipes
D. Preparing alternative starters for non-bread recipes
XII. USING STARTER FOR COMMERCIAL BAKING
XIII. RESTORING A CULTURE FROM DRIED STARTER
XIV. STARTING A NEW STARTER FROM THE LOCAL ATMOSPHERE
XV. HOME-DRYING STARTERS
I. INTRODUCTION
What is a starter? It's a growth environment produced by a baker that
wild yeast and lacto-bacillus cultures like calling Home. It is a
mixture of (usually) water and (usually) wheat flour in which these
little beasties like to live and perform their magic (flavor, flavor,
and more flavor!) This soupy mixture of critters, flour, and water is
used for both flavor and leavening of various bread products that just
can't be made in any other way. This environment, this starter
mixture, is actually a symbiotic blend of microorganisms. Wild yeast
is able to metabolize complex sugars and starches and helps to produce
the food supply that the lacto-bacillus needs, and the lacto-bacillus
produces an environment that prevents mold growth. Since molds and
bacteria are two of nature's enemies, having the lacto-bacillus in the
starter actually helps preserve it. Remember penicillin? It's a
powerful anti-bacterial that originally came from ... mold!
The hard part of all this is that succeeding at this hobby requires
knowledge that is hard to gain. But once learned, maintaining starters
and baking with them is actually quite easy. That's where the
information contained herein comes in. It was produced with the intent
to help close the knowledge gap and to promote baking with sourdough.
Why not? It'll save you money (don't have to buy yeast) and it tastes
great!
When you are getting started, or when you are trying to troubleshoot a
starter, then the first thing you need to do is accurately determine
what state it is in. I've noticed that many people, including people
with more experience, still have questions about determining what the
current state a starter is in based upon visual clues. I'm sure
everyone knows at least most of the following material, but there
should be a little something for everyone in it. Neophyte sourdough
bakers or people starting new starters should find the most use out of
this information. Finally, although these techniques work well and are
well-proven in my kitchen, they are by far not the only techniques
which work. They are good guidelines though and the neophyte should at
least try following them before experimenting with other methods.
Most books unfortunately, do not go into nearly enough detail when
teaching us about starters, how they work, and how to care for them.
One of the best books I've seen so far though, is the book called "Jake
O'Shaughnessy's Sourdough Book" by Timothy Firnstahl (San Francisco
Book Company, San Francisco, 1976 - now out of print). As a result of
the lack of good information in cookbooks, people interested in baking
with sourdough must learn everything the hard way through years of
experience. Or, live out their baking lives with false knowledge and
inaccurate concepts about how it all works.
I've been baking for 23+ years and most of that time has included
baking with sourdough. I've started many starters from wild yeast
found in the air of the area where I lived, and have started and
restarted lots of starters from other sources, i.e. dry, fresh,
seemingly-dead, etc. And I have also helped a number of other people
get their starters going ... usually right from the air in which they
live. The following is a summary of my learnings and I hope that it's
helpful to you as you go through the process of starting your starter,
or just plain keeping your own good starter going.
Starting a starter from scratch can require some patience on your part,
but if you stick with it, you will (not can, but will) succeed in
producing a strong, vibrant starter that can be the joy of your kitchen
for years on end. Maintaining and using sourdough starter is really
quite easy once you've established an active fresh starter. And once
there, then there is never any reason to add commercial yeast as a
booster to your recipes.
Commercial yeast is not only unnecessary, but it will change the flavor
of your sourdough products and will make it difficult to produce a
good-tasting stable starter with the characteristics that you expect,
e.g. the taste of natural airborne yeast and the tang of properly
matured lacto-bacillus in the starter (more on this below). I believe
that the reason so many books suggest using commercial yeast in their
recipes are two-fold: 1) the author of the book does not trust
sourdough and wants to guarantee the success (ahem!) of the recipes in
his/her book, and/or 2) the author of the book does not have a good
understanding of sourdough or lacks enough experience with sourdough.
The same goes for starters which begin their lives as mixtures of
commercial yeast and flour(s). Real sourdough is defined as a
combination of natural (non-hybrid) yeast plus one or more other
microorganisms (lactobacilli) living together in a symbiotic growth
environment. A symbiotic relationship is one in which each element
with in the relationship provides something the other elements need
and/or prevent things that would prevent the other from living as it
should. In the case of sourdough, the relationship between the yeast
and other microorganisms in the starter result in a stable, unchanging
(for the most part) mixture of microorganisms in the starter.
And speaking of growth environments, that's really what it's all about.
Bakers don't make sourdough starters. Wild yeast and lacto-bacillus
make the starter, and bakers just facilitate the process by providing a
great growth environment!
II. STABILITY OF SOURDOUGH STARTERS
The stability of the sourdough starter symbiotic relationship
determines the stability of the starter in whatever location the
starter is being maintained. In other words, when you move a starter to
a new area, it will become bombarded by new strains of wild yeast and
lacto-bacillus that are native to the new area. If the new
microorganisms are able to live within the symbiotic environment that
the Russian sourdough starter provides, then the starter will change
characteristics (flavor, usually) as the local microorganisms multiply
in the starter. Any and all microorganisms found in your starter are
open to changes in relative concentration if the local microorganisms
are 1) different and 2) can survive in your starter. It is even
possible that the original species present in your starter (yeast and
the lactobacilli) may slowly die off, being replaced by the species in
the local area. There is no guarantee that your starter will stay the
same as the original, but there is also no guarantee it will change.
For this reason, it is suggested that if you wish to maintain a special
starter in its original form, that you immediately dry and save much of
the original starter as soon as you can after receiving it (see NOTE
below). For example, the Russian starter mentioned above could have
been fed once, to make it fresh and active, then dried and frozen in
multiple Ziploc bags. When it is noticed that the flavor is drifting
(or any other characteristics are changing), then you can toss the
changed starter and restart some fresh from one of the frozen bags.
Every so often you should replenish the freezer supply with freshly
restored starter. This technique can result in your special starter
maintaining its original characteristics for a much longer time. But,
since you do need to feed the starter at least once before drying and
freezing the stuff, and the drying starter is exposed to the local air,
even this technique will not guarantee that the special starter will
always be exactly the same as it was when you first got it.
The best technique is to establish a source for the starter in the area
where it originally came from.
Aside: At this time, most home-drying methods are only successful some
of the time ( more successful sometimes and less successful other
times. "Successful" means the dried starter is restorable to an exact
duplicate of the original ( in flavor and other characteristics.
Failures usually raise dough ok, but lack the sourness of the original
due to the lacto-bacillus cultures dying during the drying and storing
processes. Drying and storing sourdough starters is still somewhat of
a new science. Sourdoughs International (SI) has figured out the
process, but for business reasons must keep it proprietary. Other
commercially available dry starters that I've seen, including a popular
one (with tourists) that associates itself with the gold mining
industry, are complete failures. To my knowledge, the best ways of
storing sourdough starters (without needing feeding and care) include
the drying of starter that is past its prime, and the blending of
liquid starter with glycerin, then freezing. Wild yeasts actually
change state when frozen, and are able to withstand it better. But
freezing temperatures are a harsh environment for lacto-bacillus and it
slowly dies off while in the freezer, hence the bland tasting starter
that you get from a failed attempt at starter storage. For this
reason, it's also a better bet to allow your starter to ferment past
its primer prior to freezing. The yeast may have suffered some, but
that's ok. It'll bounce back when it finds itself back in a good
environment. And going 'past prime' with the starter tends to maximize
the concentration of the lacto-bacillus, resulting in a larger
population and better odds going into the freezer. Blending the
starter with glycerin helps protect the cell walls of the yeast and
lacto-bacillus from the damage that occurs during freezing and can also
result in successfully stored starter.
III. HOW TO USE THIS FAQ
Although I will briefly mention the reasoning behind my suggested
actions, I will not give more than just a brief biological reason for
the behavior of your sourdough starter. The emphasis is on observable
qualities of your starter which will enable you to judge it better and
consequently become better at utilizing it.
My suggestion is to read the definitions of terms for starters in
different states [conditions], then from those definitions, go to the
appropriate section of this text referring to the state your starter
is in, and follow the directions given there. For example, if you read
the following definitions and find that your starter is a "Non-Standard
Starter", then do a text search on "Non-Standard Starter" and read the
text supplied at that location.
Following the instructional passages below are some techniques for
using your starter which should result in fresh, active starter any
time you want it.
Also included below is a technique which helps guarantee a consistent,
stable, active starter and a way to produce alternative styles of
starter on an as-needed basis. For example, if you desire a rye
starter, or a whole wheat starter, or whatever kind of starter suits
you, then this technique will allow you the flexibility of having those
starters available when you want them, without having to maintain
separate rye or whole wheat or whatever type of starter in addition to
your normal starter. This technique does not mean you can convert
strains of yeast and lacto-bacillus though, e.g. from Alaskan to
Bahrainian to Russian (etc.). You must maintain separate starters for
that, i.e. dry the starters you aren't currently using and restart them
later. Notice that this technique also facilitates commercial
production of sourdough products since it multiplies the starter volume
much more (than other techniques) during the feeding process.
IV. DEFINITIONS OF STARTER CONDITION
In all of the following text, I refer to starters using the following
terms. These terms are not absolute, and starters can move from one
category to another depending on treatment of the starter:
Term Description/Possible Cause
New Starter Any starter started from any dry source (commercial or
homemade), or the air, that has not yet qualified as "fresh starter."
This is not the same as "old" or "dead" starter, because these two
conditions do not generally follow the same sequence of recovery
stages.
Fresh Starter Starter which has been recently demonstrated to be
vibrant and active. Starter in this category can raise plain white
(french or white bread) dough to a "more than doubled" volume in less
than 2 1/2 hours after a single proofing (feeding) period, i.e. remove
the starter from the refrigerator and proof once, then try using it.
Starter which has been refrigerated for less than 5 days or so that was
"fresh" before refrigerating is also fresh starter.
Old or Dead Starter Starter which has been previously demonstrated to
be "fresh" but which is no longer fresh since it cannot be demonstrated
that it can raise dough after a single proof as described above.
Risings which take longer than 2 1/2 hours indicate a starter that is
either "new" or "old" depending on the prior life history of the
starter. Note that in very nearly all cases of "old" or "dead"
starters, that they can be revived back into "fresh" starters using the
techniques described below. I have heard tell of starters which
haven't been fed for six months being successfully revived using the
given technique.
Non-Standard Starter Starter which contains ingredients other than
white flour and plain water. Some starters do use blends or
alternative flours, and that's ok. Some starters use other ingredients
such as a spoon of sugar (ok, but not suggested). Some starters also
use alternative liquids such as potato water or milk. These would all
be labeled 'Non-Standard Starters' in this document.
Polluted Starter Starter which contains ingredients added by you or
by nature, which are not normal to your starter. Examples include
baking powder, salt, oils, eggs, or any other baking ingredients.
Also, molds and other dark-colored microorganisms not normal to the
natural symbiotic relationship that your starter normally maintains.
These other microorganisms usually affect appearance, smell, and
(especially) flavor. Normal ingredients are flour(s), water, potato
water or potatoes, and possibly milk or milk products. Ingredients
other than plain white flour and plain water change the habitat you are
maintaining for your sourdough microorganisms and may or may not be
wanted according to the characteristics you want your starter to
exhibit.
V. NEW STARTERS
The most confusing of starters, new starters, go through stages not
usually seen in well established or fresh starters. This one fact is
left out of every book I've seen which entertain the topic of
sourdough, yet it is the most important thing a sourdough neophyte
needs to know! It's confusing for a neophyte to have to compare a new
starter to a set of standards written for well established starters.
The least we can do is provide some information that'll help him/her
understand where their starter is, and how well it's doing!
There are basically 2 ways to produce what I am calling a "new
starter." The first is to revive a dried starter (containing dry
lacto-bacillus and yeast spores) into a living liquid starter. The
second is beginning a new starter from the microorganisms in the local
atmosphere where you live. When in the situation of having a new
starter on hand, it is important to realize that it usually takes some
time to transform the starter into a usable, vibrant, fresh starter
(which is much more abuse-resistant and stable). The process is quite
often reiterative, often requiring more than a week or two before it
can be used, and possibly months before it is truly robust, vibrant,
and abuse resistant. But just be patient. Very little effort is
required on your part. It's primarily just a waiting game! It is also
important to realize that it is best to not make any bread recipes with
the starter until you are sure that you have transformed it into the
vibrant starter described. But it is perfectly acceptable to use your
"new starter" to make pancakes and waffles, or perhaps recipes which
use a booster such as baking powder to help raise them, i.e. most
biscuit recipes.
If you have not yet begun your new starter (dried or from the air),
instructions for doing so follow near the end of this text. I'm
assuming that at this time that you have already attempted to start
your new starter, but it is not yet a vibrant, fresh starter. Note
that it is best to begin a new starter in a clear, glass bowl, so you
can examine the amount of bubbles present in the starter below the
surface. Also note that starters that are proofing should be prepared
so that the consistency of the starter is not too liquid or too thick.
I like to call this the consistency of mud since it most resembles what
sloppy mud looks like. This is typically a little thicker than normal
pancake batter, but still liquid enough so bubbles can pass through it
with no problems. This thickness results in an optimum mixture of
liquid (for mobility), food, and oxygen, which the little yeasties
require to grow well.
Ok, let's get started. Since new starters have a somewhat unique set
of stages that they go through, the first thing to do is to determine
exactly what stage your starter is in. Replenish your new starter
using 1 cup of starter, 1 1/2 cups (or so) white all-purpose flour,
and 1 cup of 85( tap water. Let it proof at exactly 85 degrees for
exactly 12 hours, then use the following information to determine what
stage your new starter is at.
The stages that new starters typically go through are (not necessarily
in this order):
A. Dead: No visible bubbles on the surface or below. And you
believe you have have killed the starter. The starter may have been
subjected to temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Farenheit. If your
new starter was exposed to these temperatures before the
above-suggested 12-hour proof then it is probably what I would call a
dead starter. But save it anyway. There may be remnants of the
original yeast and lacto-bacillus still there that can be revived.
Don't give up yet!
B. Flat: No visible bubbles, but you believe you have done nothing
that could have killed the yeast, i.e. the starter has not been
subjected to temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Farenheit or so.
It's possible that you neglected to feed the starter for so long that
it appears that all life has gone out of it. Quite often, starter in
this stage is quite sour. And equally as often, starter in this stage
may be very mild. The starter may have lacto-bacilli growing in it
(sour smell) but the yeast has not taken off yet, or nothing at all is
growing in the flour/water mixture yet.
C. Barely Living: Visible bubbles exist, but the starter has no
frothy layer of bubbles on the surface of the starter. Also, bubbles
beneath the surface are not plentiful. It's likely that a layer of
hooch, a benign greyish or yellowish, mostly clear, layer of water and
alcohol, formed on top of the starter even though it was not proofed
for more than 12 hours. Stirring the starter with a wooden spoon, then
drawing the spoon out of the starter and examining the starter clinging
to the back of the spoon shows only a few bubbles in the starter. Note
that one of the key symptoms of starter in this stage is the layer of
hooch which mysteriously appears "early," ( vibrant, fresh starter
usually requires 24 to 48 hours of proofing before any hooch appears.
Hooch appearing after being refrigerated is another story, so ignore
refrigerator hooch for now. Other symptoms of this stage include slow
rise times ( 3-6 or more hours to raise a bread recipe to double (if it
ever does double). Second risings are quite often unsuccessful and the
dough appears 'dead'. The dough may have a dead feel to it and tend to
flatten out by itself while rising, even though you kneaded in enough
flour and the gluten was well formed. The starter itself may also have
a gelatinous feel to it, rather than maintaining a smoother,
pancake-batter-like consistency. Starter in this stage has not
stabilized the symbiotic relationship among the microorganisms present,
i.e. the ratio of yeast and the various lactobacilli has not stabilized
and the starter is not ready to use (except for pancakes).
D. Healthy: The starter has a nice, smooth consistency. It is filled
with tiny bubbles throughout the starter above and below the surface.
It typically has a layer of frothy foam covering most of the proofed
starter. The froth typically appears as early as 8 hours into the
proofing period and lasts until about 18 hours of proofing. Stirring
the starter obviously releases a lot of gas (smells good). Examining
the starter clinging to a spoon shows that the starter is chock-full of
little bubbles. The starter quite often appears puffed up when the
proof is done and drops down to a lower level upon stirring. As a
final check, starter that you expect to be classified as healthy,
should be able to raise plain white bread dough in 21/2 hours or less.
It's probably not worth experimenting with raising dough until all of
the above characteristics of healthy starter are present.
Congratulations! If your starter is like this, you can pronounce it
fresh, vibrant, and healthy! It's ready for bread recipes and will now
be much more resilient to abuse and mishandling and should be very
reliable now. Skip the rest of the instructions for "new starters".
What should you do if you have "dead", "flat", or "barely living"
starter? Begin the process of transforming it to a fresh, healthy
starter. I personally do not believe in throwing away "dead" starter,
since it typically can be revived from the few yeast and lacto-bacilli
that probably still exist. If restoring dead starter takes longer than
a week to see bubbles appearing in it (flat, barely living or
otherwise) then you've probably started a new starter from local
microorganisms. If so, and your starter was a special strain, you'll
probably want some of the original starter to start over with rather
than expecting this revived version to be the same as that special
starter. Remember that you have probably not really killed your
starter unless you subjected it to high temperatures for long enough to
thoroughly heat the starter above about 100F or so.
Here's the "get it going" reiterative process I referred to:
E. THE 1-TABLESPOON METHOD
1. Using 1 tablespoon of starter (discard unused portion or save a
little in the refrigerator in case of an emergency), 1 cup 75 degrees
water, and 11/2 cups all-purpose white flour, proof for exactly 24
hours at 72 to 77 degrees. It's very important to maintain these
precise temperatures and to proof for exactly 24 hours.
2. Examine the starter to determine what stage it's in. Assuming you
didn't overheat it, it should be "flat", "barely living", or "healthy".
Remember the clues to identifying non-healthy starter ( low number of
bubbles, early hooch, gelatinous consistency, no froth on top, or any 2
or more of these symptoms. If your starter is "healthy," you're done.
3. If your starter is not healthy yet, stir it well and refrigerate it
for no less than 12 hours.
4. Remove the starter from the refrigerator and go back to step 1.
This process needs to be repeated a few times ( usually around 4 or 5
times or so unless you were lucky. A lot of the home-dried starters
revive MUCH quicker than this.
Here's an alternative process you can use (possibly better, if the
above process doesn't seem to work well for you):
F. THE 1-CUP METHOD
1. Using 1 cup of starter, 1 cup of 85 degrees tap water (don't worry
about minerals or fluoride), and approximately 11/2 cups all-purpose
white flour, proof your starter for 12 hours at 85 degrees.
Maintenance of temperature is very important.
2. Examine the starter to determine what stage it is. Assuming you
didn't overheat it, it should be "flat", "barely living", or "healthy."
If your starter is "healthy," you're done. Remember the clues to
identifying non-healthy starter: low number of bubbles, early hooch,
gelatinous consistency, no froth on top, or any two or more of these
symptoms.
3. If your starter isn't healthy yet, stir it well and refrigerate it
for no less than 12 hours.
4. Remove the starter from the refrigerator and go to step 1). This
iterative process needs to be repeated a few times ( usually around 4
or 5 times or so unless you were lucky. A lot of the home-dried
starters revive MUCH quicker than this.
VI. FRESH STARTER
Fresh starter is characterized by a nice smooth, pancake-batter-like
consistency, lots of bubbles in freshly proofed starter, froth on top
of the starter, no hooch at the end of 12 hours of proofing, and rise
times for bread recipes of 21/2 hours or less. Nothing further needs
to be said. This starter is your long term successful starter and
should be protected with your husband's/wife's life! It is now very
abuse resistant and you can get away with (although it's not suggested)
less accurate temperature control during proofing and for the water
added to the starter, and less careful control of the actual proofing
period. I believe that the only way to mess up a healthy starter is to
heat it up to an excessive temperature (greater than 100 degrees) for
too long. Nearly anything else will be ok, and even if you seem to
have killed it off somewhat, one or two well-controlled proofs should
bring it back to life. You can get away with feeding it only once very
two weeks or so too (but feeding it weekly is better).
VII. OLD STARTER
Old starter is characterized by a general lack of life due to poor
feeding habits or too long of a time since the last feeding. The cure
is simple. If a single, normal proof shows no drastic improvement, do
the following:
1. Using 1 tablespoon of the well-stirred starter (discard the
remainder or save a little in the refrigerator in case of an
emergency), 11/2 cups of 75 degrees water, and 2 cups of white-all
purpose flour, proof for exactly 24 hours at 72-77 degrees.
2. Examine the starter to determine whether or not it is healthy and
fresh. Refer to the section on "fresh starter" or the table of starter
stages above for a description of fresh, healthy starter. If the
starter is healthy, you are finished.
3. If the starter is not healthy yet, stir well and refrigerate for no
less than 12 hours.
4. Remove the starter from the refrigerator and go back to step 1. Old
starter may need to go through this process as many as 5 or 6 times
before it becomes healthy again ( don't give up even if it takes longer
than this. There are very few starters that cannot be restored from
this type of abuse.
VIII. NON-STANDARD STARTERS
If you have a non-standard starter as defined above, and it's healthy,
then keep on keepin' on. You're doing fine.
A. Conversion: If you have a non-standard starter which is not
healthy. Then
convert the starter to a standard starter by using the "Sweetening the
Pot with 1 Tablespoon" method below to create a standard,
white-flour-only starter. Use 1 tablespoon of your nonstandard starter
to begin the process. If the starter is not very healthy after a
single treatment, then refrigerate the starter for no less than 12
hours, and sweeten the pot again. If the starter is very unhealthy,
you may have to repeat the process up to 5 or 6 (or more?) times. Each
time you repeat the process, use 1 tablespoon of starter from the last
run and discard the rest.
Once you've restored the health of your starter by converting it to a
standard starter as described, you may pursue either of 2 methods for
converting back to the nonstandard starter that you started with:
B. No Re-Conversion Method: In the first method, you never really do
convert back. Rather, you just maintain your standard starter using
standard replenishing techniques as described below. Then when you
wish to have that special starter for a particular recipe, then use 1
tablespoon of your standard starter and follow the directions for
sweetening the pot, but instead of using plain, white flour and plain
water, substitute your special flour(s) and liquid(s). For example, a
rye starter can be made in one day by taking a single tablespoon of
standard starter and mixing it with 11/2 cups rye flour and 1 cup
water and proofing for 24 hours at 72-77 degrees.
C. Re-Conversion Method: In the second method, you use 1 tablespoon
of the newly-refreshed standard starter, then blend it with your
special flour(s) and
liquid(s), and proof for 24 hours at 72-77 degrees. Then from this
time on, continue to feed and replenish your special starter with your
special ingredients. If your starter should ever get unhealthy again,
then just follow the above procedure to revive it again. Try to
determine why your starter is becoming unhealthy. Are you carefully
controlling the proofing temperature so the proof is not actually
under/over proofing the starter? Underproof prevents the maintenance
of high levels of yeast and lacto-bacilli in your
starter. Overproofing results in yeast and lacto-bacilli dying from
too much alcohol or acidity in the starter. Are you adding sugar(s) or
other simple carbohydrates that cause the starter to proof too fast?
The problem with this is that the mixture of 'food' (simple and complex
sugars and starches) needs to be correct for the blend of
microorganisms in the starter. Giving it too much food that is easily
metabolized by yeast can cause your starter to proof too quickly,
resulting in elevated alcohol levels at the end of the normal proofing
time. This can kill off yeast prematurely and result in a weaker
starter. Or, if you use the starter as soon as it's ready in this
case, you are probably not allowing the lacto-bacillus to reach maximum
population levels. This results in a starter that works well, but is
gradually becoming bland over time. I recommend feeding with only
plain, unbleached all-purpose flour. Note that you can feed with 'best
for bread' flours that have higher levels of gluten in them too, but
they tend to make the starter clumpier or more gelatinous. I prefer
the manageability of a starter fed with all-purpose flour, and only use
bread flour for the remainder of the recipe when making bread. If your
starter care passes these tests, then you may consider the possibility
that the mix of flour(s) and liquid(s) that you are using does not
sufficiently provide the correct blend of food for long-term
maintenance of your nonstandard starter. In that case, I suggest the
first method above for maintaining your nonstandard starter where you
actually just keep a normal white flour and water starter, and convert
to your nonstandard type with the 1-Tablespoon method when necessary.
IX. POLLUTED STARTER
Polluted starter can be revived, even though it may be all dark, super
moldy, or whatever. Do not stir polluted starter. If mold exists,
carefully scrape or spoon as much off as you can. Remove a couple of
tablespoons of the best part of the starter to a clean, scalded
container. If you plan to use the original container for starter
again, wash it thoroughly with warm soapy water and carefully scald it
inside and out by pouring boiling water into and on it. Be careful to
prevent burns! Hot pads or gloves soak up boiling water and hold it on
your skin even longer than spilling it alone would do. If your starter
only qualified as "polluted" due to the inclusion of any of the baking
ingredients listed above, it will only be necessary to wash the starter
container with warm, soapy water. Scalding never hurts (unless you
scald yourself!), but it's more optional in this case. In any case,
follow the following directions to restore your starter:
1. Using 1 of the 2 tablespoons you rescued from the polluted starter,
add 1 cup of 75 degrees water, 11/2 cups all-purpose white flour, and
proof for exactly 24 hours at 72-77 degrees.
2. Refrigerate for no less than 12 hours, then repeat step 1.
3. The proof-refrigerate cycle should be repeated at least once. Use
your own judgement. If the starter was unusually dark or contained
mold, I'd suggest doing it at least 4 or 5 times to be sure the
offending organisms are eradicated. If the starter merely contained
other baking ingredients, then a single 24-hour proof is probably
enough. Each cycle is started by using 1 tablespoon from the last
cycle.
X. SUMMARY ON STARTER CARE AND STARTER REVIVING
I have personally tested many different techniques in replenishing,
reviving, and starting new starters, and have found the above
techniques to be the most universally successful and easy to perform.
The only problem I've had is that sometimes summer temperatures prevent
maintaining approximately 75 degrees temperatures for a full 24-hour
proof period. In that case, the next best thing to do is to follow the
same iterative process, but use the 1-Cup Method and 12 hour proofs at
85 degrees instead. If it's even warmer than that ( have fun!
XI. MAINTAINING AND PREPARING STARTERS
Always cover proofing bowls with plastic wrap and poke a couple of
holes in it so gases can escape. Always use non-corrosive bowls,
containers, and utensils (glass, wood, stainless steel). If the
temperature in the proofing are varies much at all, wrap the proofing
bowl in a towel to help maintain an even temperature and try to find a
better place to proof the starter.
A. To prepare starter for use in non-bread, i.e. pancakes, waffles, or
muffins, recipes, here are 2 practical methods:
* Combine 1 cup starter, 1 cup 80-85 degrees water, and 1 1/2 cups
white all-purpose flour in a non-corrosive bowl. For recipes
requiring greater lift from the yeast, proof for 8 to 12 hours at 85
degrees. For non-critical recipes (pancakes & waffles) or recipes
using the starter only for flavor, proof at 85 degrees for 8 (mild
flavor, more active) to 48 (strongest flavor, weaker action) hours.
For the non-critical recipes, you may proof at cooler temperatures,
i.e. 72-80 degrees, if that is more convenient. Pancakes work fine
using even the longest proofing period.
* Concurrent to the above proofing, replenish the remaining starter in
the starter container by adding ( cup of 80-85 degreeswater and 1 cup
all-purpose flour and mix well. Proof at 80-85 degrees for 8 to 12
hours. Refrigerate.
* Note that this method allows the creation of alternative or 'special'
starters for use in individual recipes. For example, throw some
cracked wheat into the starter for the recipe, but replenish the
starter in the starter container with plain white, all-purpose flour as
usual.
> OR <
* Combine 1 cup starter, 11/2 cups 80-85 degrees water, and 2 cups
white all-purpose flour in a non-corrosive bowl. Proof at 85 degrees
for 8 to 12 hours.
* Return approximately 1 cup of the starter to the starter container
before using the starter in a recipe. Refrigerate the starter in the
starter container.
* Note that this method does not allow making alternative starters for
individual recipes since the addition of alternative ingredients to the
starter (for the recipe) would pollute the starter going back into the
starter container.
B. To preparing starter for use in bread recipes, here are the
procedures:
* If the starter has not been used in more than 3 or 4 days, you may
wish to replenish the starter once (1 cup starter, 1 cup water, 11/2
cups flour, 12 hours at 85 degrees) to ensure the starter is really
fresh before preparing for a bread recipe. Most healthy starters are
fairly flexible, though.
* Use the following table for amounts, and blend together the starter,
bread flour, and 80-85 degrees water. Measure the starter and water
carefully. The suggested amount of flour is only a guideline. Blend
enough in to make the starter the consistency of mud (a little thicker
than pancake batter):
Bread
Loaves Flour Water Starter
1 1 cup 1 cup 1 tablespoon
2 2 cups 2 cups 1 tablespoon + 1 tsp
3 3 cups 3 cups 2 tablespoons
* Proof for exactly 24 hours at 72-77 degrees.
* Concurrent to the above proof, replenish the original starter by
combining 1 tablespoon starter (discard most of the rest), 1 cup warm
water, and 11/2 cups all-purpose flour in another bowl or in the
starter container itself. Proof for 24 hours at 72-77 degrees.
* Refrigerate the starter in the starter container.
* Note that the "1-Tablespoon Method" described allows the instant
creation of 'special' starters such as whole wheat or rye. See
"Creating Alternate Starters" below.
> OR <
* Combine flour, water, and starter using the amounts in the following
table according to the size of the recipe you are going to make. Note
that because I suggest using all-purpose flour in the following proof,
that you should use bread flour for the rest of the flour in the recipe
(not counting non-wheat flours). Again note that the starter and water
should be measured carefully, but the amount of flour suggested is only
a guideline. Blend in enough to make the starter the consistency of
mud (a little thicker than pancake batter):
All-Purpose
Loaves Flour Water Starter
1 1 cups 1 cup 1 cup
2 2 cups 2 cups 1 cup
3 3 cups 3 cups 1 cup
* Proof for 12 hours at 85 degrees.
* Return about 1 cup of the starter to the starter container before
using the starter in a recipe.
* Refrigerate the starter container.
* Note that this method does not allow the creation of alternative
starters on an as-needed basis.
C. Preparing alternative starters for bread recipes:
* If the starter has not been used in more than 3 or 4 days, you may
wish to replenish the starter once (1 cup starter, 1 cup water, 11/2
cups flour, 12 hours at 85 degrees) to ensure the starter is really
fresh before preparing for a bread recipe. Most healthy starters are
fairly flexible, though.
* Use the following table for amounts, and blend together the starter,
bread flour (if wheat) and/or other flour(s), and 80-85 degree liquid
(water, milk, or whatever). Measure the starter and liquids carefully.
The suggested amount of flour(s) is only a guideline. Blend enough in
to make the starter the consistency of mud (a little thicker than
pancake batter). It is better to add the specific amount of non-wheat
flours that you intend to use, then use wheat flour to adjust the
consistency:
Loaves Flour Liquid Starter
1 1 cup 1 cup 1 tablespoon
2 2 cups 2 cups 1 tablespoon + 1 tsp
3 3 cups 3 cups 2 tablespoons
* Proof for exactly 24 hours at 72-77 degrees.
* Concurrent to the above proof, replenish the original starter by
combining 1 tablespoon (discard most of the rest), 1 cup warm water,
and 11/2 cups all-purpose flour in another bowl or in the starter
container itself. Proof for 24 hours at 72-77 degrees.
* Refrigerate the starter in the starter container.
D. Preparing alternative starters for non-bread recipes:
* Combine 1 cup starter, 1 cup 80-85 degrees water, and 1 1/2 cups
all-purpose flour and/or other ingredients (throw in some cracked
wheat, or substitute part of the flour with cornmeal or rye, etc.)
* Proof the starter for 8 to 12 hours (mild flavor, more active) or up
to 48 hours (strongest flavor, weakest action) at 85 degrees. Recipes
requiring the yeast action should either use shorter proofs, or cooler
(72-80 degrees) proofs if proofing for a longer period.
* Concurrent to the above, replenish the starter in the container with
( cup 80-85 degree water and 1 cup all-purpose flour. Proof for 8 to
12 hours at 85 degrees. Refrigerate.
XII. USING STARTER FOR COMMERCIAL BAKING
Preparing starter for use in a commercial kitchen, i.e. volume
production (use a similar technique for preparing volumes of
alternative starter types):
If the starter has not been used in more than 3 or 4 days, you may wish
to replenish the starter once to ensure the starter is really fresh
before preparing for a bread recipe. For each 2 loaves of bread to be
baked:
* Combine 1 tablespoon starter, 11/2 cups 80-85 degree water, and 2
cups bread flour in a non-corrosive bowl. Remember to measure the
starter and water carefully and then to add enough flour to make the
starter the consistency of mud. The amount of flour suggested is a
guideline for planning purposes.
* Proof for exactly 24 hours at 72-77 degrees.
With the original starter,
* Concurrent to the above proof, replenish the original starter by
combining 1 tablespoon (discard most of the rest), 11/2 cups warm
water, and 2 cups all-purpose flour in another bowl or in the starter
container itself. Proof for 24 hours at 72-77 degrees.
* For maintaining larger amounts of starter, use multiples of the above
amounts for replenishing the starter. For example, if you normally use
64 tablespoons (4 cups) of starter to produce enough starter for 128
loaves of bread, then you need to maintain at least 41/2 cups of
starter, so you'd be best off to triple the above replenishing
procedure by using 3 tablespoons starter, 41/2 cups water, and about 6
cups flour. That's a LOT of bread from only 4 cups of starter! (So
THAT'S how they do it in San Francisco!)
XIII. RESTARTING A CULTURE FROM A DRIED STARTER
Restarting a starter from a dried culture this qualifies the starter as
a "New Starter," so you should refer to the appropriate section above
after following the procedure below:
* In a 1 cup measuring cup which has been warmed to around 90 degrees
by flowing water, combine 1 cup of 90 degree water and the dried
culture (1 or 2 tablespoons of powder, more is not necessary).
* Mix well and let the dried culture soak for about 30 minutes.
* Add 11/2 cups all-purpose white flour and mix well being sure to
incorporate as much air into the mixture as possible.
* Proof for 12 to 18 hours.
* Refer to the section above on "new starters" to judge the state of
your newly revived starter and follow the directions found there.
XIV. STARTING A NEW STARTER FROM THE LOCAL ATMOSPHERE
Starting a new starter from the local atmosphere (try it, you'll like
it!):
* Combine in a GLASS bowl, 1 1/2 cups warm water (80-85 degrees) and 2
cups of white all-purpose flour. Use no sugars and especially, use no
commercial yeasts! Mix well being sure to incorporate a lot of air
into the mixture. Commercial yeasts merely result in the cultivation
of commercial yeasts! It won't be sour (unless you're quite lucky) and
it won't behave like normal sourdough so none of the above starter
usage and maintenance instructions will apply! Some people have
reported that their commercial-yeast started starters do get sour
eventually, but that just means the starter has finally converted to
the natural microorganisms (including the slower growing natural
yeast). You might as well start it out right in the first place and
avoid months of using so-so starter while you're waiting for it to get
good. Your sourdough will only be sour if your starter allows the
lacto-bacillus cultures to reach their highest levels, and that can
only happen with wild yeast. Commercial yeast has been bred and
crossbred for speed, lack of flavor ... oops, I mean 'neutral flavor',
and for manufacturability. Just like store-bought tomatoes, it "looks
good, but tastes bad."
* Place the bowl in an 80-85 degree location. Leave uncovered so the
natural microorganisms can settle on the surface. Fan air onto the
surface using a magazine or something similar. This helps to drive
more microorganisms (yeast and lactobacilli) into the surface. Grapes
(I prefer red seedless) crushed to remove their insides can also be
mixed into the starter. For whatever reason, grapes seem to breed wild
yeast and lacto-bacillus quite well, so their skins tend to carry a lot
of it on them.
* Let the mixture proof for 24 hours. Stir the mixture well once or
twice during the 24-hour first proof. Before and after each stirring,
fan the surface with air again.
* At the end of the 24 hours, examine for bubbles (use a glass bowl).
It's unlikely that there will be any yet, but you never know. Stir
well and fan again.
* Repeat the 24-hour proof as described, including the brisk stirring
and fanning.
* At 48 hours total time, once again examine, stir, and fan the
mixture. Continue to leave uncovered. Any skin that forms should be
stirred back in as soon as it is noticed so no microorganisms will be
kept out of the starter by the dry skin. Remove 1/2 cup of the
starter, and replace it with 1/2 cup warm water and about ( cup white
all-purpose flour.
* Continue this 48 hour cycle very carefully until it's obvious that
the first bubbles are definitely appearing in the starter. Then, refer
to the section entitled "new starter" for further instructions.
It typically takes from 3 to 7 or 8 days for the starter to begin to
work. Late spring, summer, or early fall are best times to do this.
Winter air may not contain enough yeast spores to get it going, but
it's always fun to try. One of my best starters ever (best tasting,
best raising ability) was started during December one year in the
Willamette valley area of Oregon. Starters that I started in that same
area and same time of year after that never did as well as that first
one! The raised the bread fine, but the taste of that original one was
out of this world! But don't count on having starter for bread when
starting a new starter like this because it takes about 3 or 4 weeks
minimum for the entire process of developing a vibrant, healthy starter
suitable for your recipes.
XV. HOME-DRYING STARTERS
Drying starters results in a powder suitable for long-term, no-care,
storage of starters, or for convenient mailing to friends or relatives.
Dried starters may be kept for long periods of time outside the
freezer, and even longer when stored in the freezer. The freezer is
the best place for dried starters.
Since yeast has the natural survival mechanism of being able to
sporulate upon drying or refrigeration, it tends to survive quite well
when stored in this manner. The 'sour' in the starter though, is from
lacto-bacilli. Lacto-bacilli do not have a natural mechanism for
surviving drying or refrigeration (or freezing).
Before relying on any dried starter for maintaining the original
starter and all of its characteristics, it is best to test it. That
is, dry enough starter so you have numerous 2-tablespoon packets of
dried starter, then restore one of the packets and compare its
qualities to the original. Taste and smell are good enough tests.
Rising time is a tempting test, but remember that given proper feeding,
a restored starter can easily resume the raising of bread just as well
as it did prior to the freezer storage. No need to prepare an entire
recipe. If the 'sour' is missing, or the powder doesn't easily
restore, then another try at drying is in order. Once you've
successfully dried the starter, place it in the freezer or mail it
immediately.
The following technique is thought to work in most cases. Note that
the technique may actually diminish yeast concentrations while at the
same time maximizing lacto-bacilli concentrations. This is purposeful
since it will also maximize the chance that the lactobacilli will
survive the drying process.
Here's what to do:
* Using 1 cup of your starter, replenish this starter as described in
the instructions above, but rather than proofing for only 8 to 12
hours, proof the starter for about 18 hours at 85 degrees.
* To restore the starter in the starter container, just follow the
normal, unmodified, replenishing directions above.
* Tear off a piece of wax paper about three feet long, and lay it on
your working surface, making sure the wax side is up.
* Place a few tablespoons of the overproofed starter on the wax paper
near one end and spread thinly across the wax paper using a dough blade
or flat knife.
* Allow to dry at room temperature overnight.
* When dry, the wax paper will probably have curled up. Just press the
wax paper flat to free the dried starter from the paper. Place the
flakes of dry starter into a bowl. Scrape or crack-off any remaining
starter into the bowl. Using your fingers, crunch up the starter until
it is a fine powder.
* Place 2 tablespoons of the dried powder in individual plastic bags.
I prefer the zip-type sandwich bags available at most grocery stores.
* Test the newly-dried starter by restoring it as described above. If
it resembles the original starter fairly closely, then you're in
business...store the rest of the packages in the freezer. If the
starter does not resemble the original, repeat the drying process and
try again. I have heard about, but have not tested, people having good
success with even longer proofs at lower temperatures. For example, if
you're not having good success, you might try proofing at 75 to 80 F
for 20 to 24 hours prior to the drying process. If you discover an
exceptionally good way to dry starter, please email the idea to me at
brian...@hotmail.com.
This FAQ was written by Brian Dixon <brian...@hotmail.com> and posted
by Darrell Greenwood, <Darrell_...@mindlink.net>. The sourdough
website is at <http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/sourdoughfaqs.html>