Just T
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,585 
|
Post by Just T on May 12, 2020 21:04:35 GMT
I have become obsessed about making a sourdough starter. LOL
A couple of weeks ago when I couldn't find any yeast, I decided to start my own sourdough starter. A few days later, of course, I found lots of yeast, and I have now stocked up on it.  But I kept my starter going. It didn't seem to be doing well, so I thought maybe it was too chilly, so I put it in the microwave overnight one evening with the light on. Well, that was a mistake because all along the bottom of the bowl and across the top was a thick film. I don't know how else to describe it. I dumped most of it out and added more flour and water to the bowl, but after a day, it developed that thick film around the edges of the bowl. I honestly was frustrated and threw it all away. I wonder if the bowl was the problem because all I see is starter in a jar, but I didn't have a jar big enough.
On Sunday, I was cleaning out a cabinet and found my grandmother's covered pink depression glass jar, and decided to start over. I also used a better flour. My original was using Aldi all purpose flour, and also on Sunday, I read a post on an Aldi FB group I am part of that someone tried making sourdough starter with Aldi flour and it didn't work.
Anyway, all this to say that I started over on Sunday, with my grandmother's pretty pink jar and Pillsbury flour, and my starter is doing so great. It is already bubbly, and I can't wait to be able to use it. I will not be putting it in the microwave again.
This pandemic isolation is getting to my brain, because I named my starter Margie after my grandma. I am hoping that just like talking nice to plants, talking nice to Margie every day as I feed my starter will guarantee me success.
Feel free to make fun of me. 5/24 UPDATE! I haven't posted on this thread for awhile, and thought I would update. I started making my first loaf of sourdough bread today. I'm currently in the "pull and fold every 30 minutes phase." LOL My kids were excited for bread tonight, until I told them it is a long process, and I won't be baking it until tomorrow. LOL I ended up finding rye flour finally, at one of my local grocery stores. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I have had a few days of feeding it with part rye and part all purpose flour, and wow, it went CRAZY.
I can't wait until tomorrow and see how the bread turns out. I even bought a cast iron dutch oven with a lid to bake it in. How are you all doing? What have you been baking? |
|
|
|
Post by elaine on May 12, 2020 21:12:31 GMT
No making fun from me. I have a beautiful starter going.
If you really want to make it happy and bubbly, in your next Feeding use 1 part rye flour and 3 parts regular flour. Yeast LOVES rye flour. My starter has been doing amazing since I started doing this.
|
|
|
|
Post by huskermom98 on May 12, 2020 21:12:53 GMT
DH is the bread maker in the house and he has been trying to sourdough. His first loaf of bread was not so great, but then made pizza crust from the started and that was not too bad (different, but not bad). He kept his starter in the oven overnight with the light on to help it along.
|
|
|
|
Post by jeremysgirl on May 12, 2020 21:14:18 GMT
I feed my starter with whole wheat. And it grows great. I made my first loaf last week. And was just looking at making crackers.
|
|
|
|
Post by Darcy Collins on May 12, 2020 21:22:24 GMT
Find a friend with an established starter - makes all the difference. But I'm lazy that way.  |
|
Just T
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,585
|
Post by Just T on May 12, 2020 22:31:29 GMT
No making fun from me. I have a beautiful starter going. If you really want to make it happy and bubbly, in your next Feeding use 1 part rye flour and 3 parts regular flour. Yeast LOVES rye flour. My starter has been doing amazing since I started doing this. Oh, I didn't know you can use different flours once you get it going. I've been doing lots of reading, and something I read said you should always feed it with the same kind of flour you started with. Do you use the rye/regular flour every time? I am determined to make this work! |
|
Just T
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,585
|
Post by Just T on May 12, 2020 22:32:13 GMT
Find a friend with an established starter - makes all the difference. But I'm lazy that way. hahaha Everyone I know thinks I am nuts. I don't know anyone with a starter. They just all buy it from the bakery. LOL
|
|
Just T
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,585
|
Post by Just T on May 12, 2020 22:34:16 GMT
I feed my starter with whole wheat. And it grows great. I made my first loaf last week. And was just looking at making crackers. I barely find regular flour at the store. I will look next time for whole wheat or rye.
I found a couple of cracker recipes I would like to try. I can't bear the thought of throwing starter away, so I started a jar in the fridge for the discard. It's not very big, so I should probably shop for a larger jar, or I will have to throw it away.
|
|
GiantsFan
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,320
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
|
Post by GiantsFan on May 12, 2020 22:46:37 GMT
I won't make fun of you. I think it takes dedication. Plus it's fun to watch the changes. And the people who are making fun of you are just jealous that you are going to have fresh just-from-the-oven bread and they won't!
In a bread class I took we had to make sourdough starter using wild grapes to create our own yeast. I think only about half the class had a viable starter on the first try.
|
|
Just T
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,585
|
Post by Just T on May 12, 2020 22:48:48 GMT
I won't make fun of you. I think it takes dedication. Plus it's fun to watch the changes. And the people who are making fun of you are just jealous that you are going to have fresh just-from-the-oven bread and they won't! In a bread class I took we had to make sourdough starter using wild grapes to create our own yeast. I think only about half the class had a viable starter on the first try. I saw several different recipes when I first started, using grapes, pineapple, potato flakes. I just decided to be easy and use flour and water. LOL
|
|
|
|
Post by elaine on May 12, 2020 23:14:13 GMT
No making fun from me. I have a beautiful starter going. If you really want to make it happy and bubbly, in your next Feeding use 1 part rye flour and 3 parts regular flour. Yeast LOVES rye flour. My starter has been doing amazing since I started doing this. Oh, I didn't know you can use different flours once you get it going. I've been doing lots of reading, and something I read said you should always feed it with the same kind of flour you started with. Do you use the rye/regular flour every time? I am determined to make this work!  No, you don’t have to start with the same flour you started with. I started with a culture that asked you to start with whole wheat and regular all-purpose flour and then switch to all all-purpose. After doing some reading about how to make your starter more sour, I read about adding rye flour into the mix. I already make pumpernickel bread, so had rye flour on hand. It made a HUGE difference. My starter went nuts with the addition of the small amount of rye flour. |
|
Just T
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,585
|
Post by Just T on May 12, 2020 23:51:07 GMT
Oh, I didn't know you can use different flours once you get it going. I've been doing lots of reading, and something I read said you should always feed it with the same kind of flour you started with. Do you use the rye/regular flour every time? I am determined to make this work! No, you don’t have to start with the same flour you started with. I started with a culture that asked you to start with whole wheat and regular all-purpose flour and then switch to all all-purpose. After doing some reading about how to make your starter more sour, I read about adding rye flour into the mix. I already make pumpernickel bread, so had rye flour on hand. It made a HUGE difference. My starter went nuts with the addition of the small amount of rye flour. Elaine, do you add the rye every time you feed it, or just once? |
|
|
|
Post by elaine on May 13, 2020 0:21:53 GMT
No, you don’t have to start with the same flour you started with. I started with a culture that asked you to start with whole wheat and regular all-purpose flour and then switch to all all-purpose. After doing some reading about how to make your starter more sour, I read about adding rye flour into the mix. I already make pumpernickel bread, so had rye flour on hand. It made a HUGE difference. My starter went nuts with the addition of the small amount of rye flour. Elaine, do you add the rye every time you feed it, or just once? I feed 1/4 cup rye flour, 3/4 cup regular flour + 1/2 cup water every time I feed it. |
|
|
|
Post by Flowergirl on May 13, 2020 0:28:27 GMT
]
On Sunday, I was cleaning out a cabinet and found my grandmother's covered pink depression glass jar, and decided to start over. I also used a better flour. My original was using Aldi all purpose flour, and also on Sunday, I read a post on an Aldi FB group I am part of that someone tried making sourdough starter with Aldi flour and it didn't work.
I ((((think)))) Aldi's all purpose flour is bleached. I remember reading not to use bleached in starters. That might explain your result. |
|
Just T
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,585
|
Post by Just T on May 13, 2020 0:28:49 GMT
Elaine, do you add the rye every time you feed it, or just once? I feed 1/4 cup rye flour, 3/4 cup regular flour + 1/2 cup water every time I feed it. Thanks! I am going to go to the store and look for rye flour now. Wish me luck! The flour shelves have been pretty bare at my stores. |
|
|
|
Post by ghislaine on May 13, 2020 0:34:05 GMT
I got a sourdough starter going a few weeks ago too. Three in the house are gluten free so mine is based mostly on brown rice flour. Then I started to get low on it so I started adding buckwheat flour to transition it if I had to. I managed to find some white rice flour so I never did do a full conversion to buckwheat. I will say that sourdougb gluten free bread made with psyllium as the binder is a revelation! Closest thing to real crusty artisan bread I have had since going gluten free.
|
|
|
|
Post by elaine on May 13, 2020 0:35:38 GMT
I feed 1/4 cup rye flour, 3/4 cup regular flour + 1/2 cup water every time I feed it. Thanks! I am going to go to the store and look for rye flour now. Wish me luck! The flour shelves have been pretty bare at my stores. Good luck! Unless you have a Whole Foods, or a grocery store with a large selection of Bob’s Red Mill flours, you probably won’t find rye flour in a grocery store - although our Asian grocery store (H-Mart) had some a couple of weeks ago - but they also regularly carry things like buckwheat and rice flour too. You may need to order online, or make do with regular flour. I happened to have rye flour on hand because I bake pumpernickel. |
|
|
|
Post by kernriver on May 13, 2020 0:50:26 GMT
I bought sourdough starter for $10 from breadtopia.com.
|
|
|
|
Post by rst on May 13, 2020 1:15:00 GMT
My current starter has been going only 3 months, and her name is Aloha because I used pineapple juice in her creation. My previous starter, which I had going for a couple of years, was Atilla, because he started with honey (Atilla the Honey--heh). I play very fast and loose with all the rules of sourdough baking, and amazingly, I rarely have a dud loaf. Mix and match your flours, proof longer, shorter, knead or don't, Dutch oven, freeform on a pizza stone or in a bread pan. It all works, and it's all yummy.
|
|
tracylynn
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,884
|
Post by tracylynn on May 13, 2020 3:25:49 GMT
My SD starter lives in the microwave with the hood light on low. I've been doing it this way for 7 weeks. I do keep my starter in a jar. When I expanded it recently I put it in a plastic bowl and it didn't do as well I didn't think. The jar really is the best answer.
|
|
mlana
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,523
|
Post by mlana on May 13, 2020 4:01:17 GMT
I have a sourdough starter that I’ve had going for several years. I use it more for the discard than for bread baking. Starter used with baking soda acts as a leavener and I use it to make pancakes and brownies for my husband.
I really like the YouTube videos by Northwest sourdough and food geek and foodbod. I followed Northwest Sourdough’s starter builder when I created my starter, but I gave it a boost from some of my kombucha yeast a couple of years ago and it went crazy. Lol
I feed my starter mostly bread flour, whic is probably bleached. I add rye once in a while, depending on if I have any on hand.
There are a lot of Facebook pages for sourdough bakers. I’ll be glad to share my favorites, if you’d like.
Marcy
|
|
|
|
Post by kluski on May 13, 2020 4:38:29 GMT
Well now I want a starter to talk to...what’s the best recipe? Or just buy it?
|
|
|
|
Post by rst on May 13, 2020 4:41:02 GMT
I used one suggested on Breadtopia. Mix flour, water and pineapple juice. I had a vigorous starter in just 5 days.
|
|
schizo319
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,030
|
Post by schizo319 on May 13, 2020 11:51:03 GMT
Bridget Bardough and I have been together for 4 years now (I birthed her myself). I regularly switch up what flours I feed, rye, whole wheat, All-purpose (unbleached), bread flour or some combination of those. I've also fed with spelt flour a couple times, but didn't care for the results - it caused a spongy film on top of the starter and it didn't seem to grow at the same rate. Rye flour is hard to find here when we aren't having a global pandemic, but I've found it occasionally in the "fancy flour" section where they keep the small bags of Bob's Red Mill products. If you really want to get sucked into a rabbit hole, there's a facebook group called "Perfect Sourdough" that is fantastic, lots of resources and tons of members (15K new ones just in the last month). It's got amateur and pro bakers from all over the world - the bread porn pictures are stunning and I have picked up a ton of tips and tricks. Did you know you can make BLUE bread? Some kind of pea flower tea used in place of the water, it's beautiful - if a little weird to look at. Well now I want a starter to talk to...what’s the best recipe? Or just buy it? I would buy it (or ask around for a friend to give you some). Starting from scratch is satisfying, but it takes FOREVER (10-14 days), and wastes a lot of flour because you have to discard at every feeding. Though there are a lot of discard recipes out there, it's not recommended that you use discard from a baby starter because it could have bad bacteria in it (I used mine before I "knew better" and we didn't die, so proceed at your own risk with using baby discard). |
|
|
|
Post by jeremysgirl on May 13, 2020 11:59:02 GMT
My starter's name is Enrique. I see that some of you have named your starters too. Can we share?
|
|
|
|
Post by elaine on May 13, 2020 13:21:09 GMT
My starter's name is Enrique. I see that some of you have named your starters too. Can we share? Mine is Ryean Reynolds - since I am partial to using rye flour in it. I also think the other Ryan Reynolds would probably think it funny. If I ever have a second starter going, I’ll probably name it Breadpool to go along with Ryean. |
|
|
|
Post by christine58 on May 13, 2020 14:54:42 GMT
Find a friend with an established starter - makes all the difference. But I'm lazy that way. I need to do this |
|
ModChick
Drama Llama
True North Strong and Free
Posts: 5,070
|
Post by ModChick on May 13, 2020 15:19:07 GMT
I love this, I love that you named your starter after you grandma. 🥰 I bought a Dutch oven to start trying to make bread in it. Seems a bit daunting but maybe Friday will be my day to try. Love reading everyone’s bread making stories.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lexica on May 13, 2020 15:20:30 GMT
I have become obsessed about making a sourdough starter. LOL
A couple of weeks ago when I couldn't find any yeast, I decided to start my own sourdough starter. A few days later, of course, I found lots of yeast, and I have now stocked up on it. But I kept my starter going. It didn't seem to be doing well, so I thought maybe it was too chilly, so I put it in the microwave overnight one evening with the light on. Well, that was a mistake because all along the bottom of the bowl and across the top was a thick film. I don't know how else to describe it. I dumped most of it out and added more flour and water to the bowl, but after a day, it developed that thick film around the edges of the bowl. I honestly was frustrated and threw it all away. I wonder if the bowl was the problem because all I see is starter in a jar, but I didn't have a jar big enough.
On Sunday, I was cleaning out a cabinet and found my grandmother's covered pink depression glass jar, and decided to start over. I also used a better flour. My original was using Aldi all purpose flour, and also on Sunday, I read a post on an Aldi FB group I am part of that someone tried making sourdough starter with Aldi flour and it didn't work.
Anyway, all this to say that I started over on Sunday, with my grandmother's pretty pink jar and Pillsbury flour, and my starter is doing so great. It is already bubbly, and I can't wait to be able to use it. I will not be putting it in the microwave again.
This pandemic isolation is getting to my brain, because I named my starter Margie after my grandma. I am hoping that just like talking nice to plants, talking nice to Margie every day as I feed my starter will guarantee me success.
Feel free to make fun of me. I think naming your starter after your grandmother is adorable. Especially since you are using her pink depression glass. I’ve made a couple of loaves of bread recently but haven’t gotten into making sourdough during this pandemic. I used to use it all the time many years ago when I first got married. It was a trendy thing going around named “Herman.” People were bringing Herman into work to give away along with whatever they had made with it because we were all getting overrun in Herman starter. I remember it made some really good rolls. Who else remembers the era of Herman baking? Here is a link to some Herman recipes: www.yummly.com/recipes/herman-sourdough |
|
|
|
Post by Lexica on May 13, 2020 15:24:04 GMT
No making fun from me. I have a beautiful starter going. If you really want to make it happy and bubbly, in your next Feeding use 1 part rye flour and 3 parts regular flour. Yeast LOVES rye flour. My starter has been doing amazing since I started doing this. Where did you find rye flour? I’ve been looking for some for a couple of months now. I mentioned making a loaf of the no-knead bread to my neighbor and he requested that I make him a loaf of rye bread. I love rye bread myself, especially toasted, but cannot find rye flour. I couldn’t even order it from King Arthur, which is my usual go to place for speciality flour. |
|
But I kept my starter going. It didn't seem to be doing well, so I thought maybe it was too chilly, so I put it in the microwave overnight one evening with the light on. Well, that was a mistake because all along the bottom of the bowl and across the top was a thick film. I don't know how else to describe it. I dumped most of it out and added more flour and water to the bowl, but after a day, it developed that thick film around the edges of the bowl. I honestly was frustrated and threw it all away. I wonder if the bowl was the problem because all I see is starter in a jar, but I didn't have a jar big enough. 
