Ahh my starter, I failed it. Got a little busy, forgot it for a while then totally forgot I was feeding it all purpose flour and dumped a bunch of whole wheat. It was too much to bear and the starter is now kaput. I took it out that fateful day, took a nice whiff of my jar as I opened it and instead of a heady yeasty, beer scent I smelled another more acetone smell. So I tossed it and had to restart the starter. This time I took pictures. Consider them baby pictures of the hardworking organisms destined to make our family's bread (or waffles, pancakes, etc.)
I follow the instructions from Breadtopia originally published by Debra Wink. The premise is simple according to Wink. Pineapple juice creates the perfect acidic balance to grow the good bacteria and keep the not so good out. The method uses whole wheat flour in the initial mix because whole grain flour has a higher amount of good bacteria present on the bran of the wheat kernel when it's ground into flour.
On day 1 I mix my 1/4 cup of pineapple juice with 3 1/2 tablespoons of white whole wheat flour. Stir and cross your fingers, do a little jig, maybe even sweet talk your protostarter to get it going.
Well not really. Just cover it loosely and set it aside for 48 hours. You'll need to stir it about two or three times a day. How to remember? Tell the little people in your house that something is growing in that jar on the counter and needs to be stirred a couple of times a day. Every hour you'll hear, "can I stir it yet? Is it my turn to stir?" and you won't forget. No little people around? Well then you could use an alarm.
Fourty-eight hours later check on your starter. Look bubbles! My bacteria are growing and by the sniff I took, it's the good kind. Phew! Since I'm working on this starter in the summer, the activity level of the bacteria is high since we know that most bacteria like a nice warm temperature. However, if you're doing this during the cooler months of the year you might not see too much activity at this stage. No worries, press on to the next step.
Feed your hungry bacteria another 2 tablespoons of white wheat flour and 2 tablespoons of pineapple juice. Again, cover the jar loosely and set aside for 24-48 hours stirring 2-3 times a day. By the end of 48 hours you should see some activity even during the colder part of the year. But what if you're not seeing activity? Well it's likely your starter didn't start. This is the point to abandon ship and start with a new batch or purchase an already started starter. Eric sells starter on Breadtopia. King Arthur flour also offers their starter, and if you're willing to wait a little you can get a free bit of an original Oregon Trail starter. Ooooh, history and baking all rolled into one!
Meet the hooch. That's the liquid at the top of our starter. Yes ladies and gentlemen we now have starter. Look at all the thriving organisms. Hooch isn't bad, it's the alcohol byproduct of the feeding organisms. Just stir it back in and this time feed the starter its first meal of 5 1/4 tablespoons of whole wheat flour and 3 tablespoons of water. Stir and allow the jar to sit loosely covered again, this time for 24 hours.
Since my home was warmer, my bacteria didn't wait 24 hours. My starter had already doubled (a good sign!) and these pictures were take about 5 hours later. So I stirred the starter and fed it again.
Now we're up to full feedings. Stir down the starter. You need to double the starter's volume each feeding (basically feeding its own weight in flour and water). Add 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup water. Stir and you now have a healthy starter.
It's alive! Yes, the starter is alive but is it at full capacity? Likely not. It's a young starter and needs to mature a bit. This is the perfect time to pull out recipes where the starter provides the flavor but not all the levening power like waffles, pancakes, or even chocolate cake.
After a few weeks of regular feedings your starter will be ready for its bread debut. How to take care of your starter? If you keep it out on you counter you'll need to feed it twice a day. That's a lot of starter. I prefer to store it in the fridge which slows down the growth and I feed it once a week.
When I feed my starter I remove all but a couple of tablespoons and then I feed it 1/2 cup of unbleached all purpose flour and 1/4 cup of water. Why all purpose instead of whole wheat? Well our starter is established with good bacteria so now is the point to keep those and not introduce any other type.
All about starters:
Sourdough Mike
King Arthur Flour - Sourdough Tips
Breadtopia
I follow the instructions from Breadtopia originally published by Debra Wink. The premise is simple according to Wink. Pineapple juice creates the perfect acidic balance to grow the good bacteria and keep the not so good out. The method uses whole wheat flour in the initial mix because whole grain flour has a higher amount of good bacteria present on the bran of the wheat kernel when it's ground into flour.
On day 1 I mix my 1/4 cup of pineapple juice with 3 1/2 tablespoons of white whole wheat flour. Stir and cross your fingers, do a little jig, maybe even sweet talk your protostarter to get it going.
Well not really. Just cover it loosely and set it aside for 48 hours. You'll need to stir it about two or three times a day. How to remember? Tell the little people in your house that something is growing in that jar on the counter and needs to be stirred a couple of times a day. Every hour you'll hear, "can I stir it yet? Is it my turn to stir?" and you won't forget. No little people around? Well then you could use an alarm.
Fourty-eight hours later check on your starter. Look bubbles! My bacteria are growing and by the sniff I took, it's the good kind. Phew! Since I'm working on this starter in the summer, the activity level of the bacteria is high since we know that most bacteria like a nice warm temperature. However, if you're doing this during the cooler months of the year you might not see too much activity at this stage. No worries, press on to the next step.
Feed your hungry bacteria another 2 tablespoons of white wheat flour and 2 tablespoons of pineapple juice. Again, cover the jar loosely and set aside for 24-48 hours stirring 2-3 times a day. By the end of 48 hours you should see some activity even during the colder part of the year. But what if you're not seeing activity? Well it's likely your starter didn't start. This is the point to abandon ship and start with a new batch or purchase an already started starter. Eric sells starter on Breadtopia. King Arthur flour also offers their starter, and if you're willing to wait a little you can get a free bit of an original Oregon Trail starter. Ooooh, history and baking all rolled into one!
Meet the hooch. That's the liquid at the top of our starter. Yes ladies and gentlemen we now have starter. Look at all the thriving organisms. Hooch isn't bad, it's the alcohol byproduct of the feeding organisms. Just stir it back in and this time feed the starter its first meal of 5 1/4 tablespoons of whole wheat flour and 3 tablespoons of water. Stir and allow the jar to sit loosely covered again, this time for 24 hours.
Since my home was warmer, my bacteria didn't wait 24 hours. My starter had already doubled (a good sign!) and these pictures were take about 5 hours later. So I stirred the starter and fed it again.
Now we're up to full feedings. Stir down the starter. You need to double the starter's volume each feeding (basically feeding its own weight in flour and water). Add 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup water. Stir and you now have a healthy starter.
It's alive! Yes, the starter is alive but is it at full capacity? Likely not. It's a young starter and needs to mature a bit. This is the perfect time to pull out recipes where the starter provides the flavor but not all the levening power like waffles, pancakes, or even chocolate cake.
After a few weeks of regular feedings your starter will be ready for its bread debut. How to take care of your starter? If you keep it out on you counter you'll need to feed it twice a day. That's a lot of starter. I prefer to store it in the fridge which slows down the growth and I feed it once a week.
When I feed my starter I remove all but a couple of tablespoons and then I feed it 1/2 cup of unbleached all purpose flour and 1/4 cup of water. Why all purpose instead of whole wheat? Well our starter is established with good bacteria so now is the point to keep those and not introduce any other type.
All about starters:
Sourdough Mike
King Arthur Flour - Sourdough Tips
Breadtopia
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