I am trying to make a starter with nothing more than flour and water.
Impossible "NO", Hard "YES." Well, I am guessing on the hard
part because 99.999999% of the starter recipes that I can find have
added their yeast from an out side source (A source other than what we
hope is floating in the air). The only recipes going in my direction
come from San Francisco and San Fran is not very nice about sharing. I
do not blame them; they make money with the name "San Francisco
Sourdough." Do a search for sourdough starters and you'll find
10's of thousands; insert the word SAN FRANCISO and that number drops
to just 10's with $$$$ in front of each one. The mass majority of
recipes call for something to be added to the mix like beer, milk,
yogurt, dried fruit that's been setting out, bakers yeast, or a
vinegar.

Now, My Question, With out adding anything but flour and water, Mixing
3 times a day setting in a draft free warm place with only Cheese cloth
as a lid, and feeding once a day everyday for 8 days now....... How do
I know if it is working?
What should I smell, How strong should the smell be, what should it
look like, should it double in size or get foamy, ECT??????????

Everyone and every recipe says' that a starter made with out adding
beer, milk, yogurt, vinegar, or yeast is different. I mean they know it
is a different animal but do not seem to have an answer to the question
"IS IT WORKING." No one I talk to knows anything about my starter.
I went as far as going to a European bakery around the corner, and I
mean European; the man is Swiss he moved to the states 12 years ago. He
could not tell me if it was working, because the only recipes he knew
of (when and if he made sourdough) used either beer or an Apple cider.

OH yeah I live on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, Newport news to be
exact. I know location has an effect on what yeast are in the air, and
how many of them are out there, so maybe that will help also. Feel free
to E-mail me about this topic and I will send a reply as soon as
possible.

Thanks a Million,

Chris Morris

Chris wrote:
> I am trying to make a starter with nothing more than flour and water.
> Impossible "NO", Hard "YES."


Chris... it is a small world I suppose. Years ago I lived on the York
River just up the interstate from NN. I was a college student then, in
the unfortunate clutches of W&M.

It is actually very easy to generate a natural culture. You need fresh
grain, wheat or rye works best. You can soak a 1/4 cup overnight so
that it plumps up a bit, then mash it with a tool, roll it into a small
golfball sized chunk and let it sit covered in a small plastic or glass
container. Every other day you peel the dry skin from your ball and mix
it with a fresh innoculation of mashed grain. You may have to add a
spot of water to get a dough-like consistency. By about the third
refreshment you will smell a whiff of cider and you will see little gas
pockets in your small doughball. Success!

It is important to know the following...

Whole grains carry the yeasts and LB's you need as a matter of course.
It is simple biological symbiosis. These microbes assist the rapid
transformation of starch to sugar when the seed germinates and needs
chemical energy. The air inocculation myths stem from the Middle Ages.
Remember spontaneous generation?

By working with a dough-like paste instead of a slurry, you improve the
chances for a well balanced culture. The yeasts won't outproduce the
LB's or vice-versa AND it is cleaner. The skin of the dough ball dries
somewhat between refreshments. This keeps opportunistic bacteria
(molds) from interfering with the culture activity within.

Your total whole grain requirements for the experiment are about 2
cups. About a buck at the heath food store.

Will

Chris wrote:

> ... The only recipes going in my direction come from San Francisco
> and San Fran is not very nice about sharing.

Well, maybe "San Fran" where ever that is, isn't very nice, but us folks
in San Francisco will, if asked nicely as well as sending a SASE
envelope (after writing privately for an address) certainly share.

> Now, My Question, With out adding anything but flour and water,
> Mixing 3 times a day setting in a draft free warm place with only
> Cheese cloth as a lid, and feeding once a day everyday for 8 days
> now....... How do I know if it is working?

Well, one could rely on one's senses and look to see if it's active or
not, but one could also check http://www.pbase.com/rina/sourdough for
actual pictures.

One could also hold off on feeding until the starter activates.

B/

Hey Chris here, Just wanted to thank everyone for the replies. So it's
like a Cidery Smell, I'm getting something like that, Maybe more like a
smell of beer. I know beer is fermented but was not 100% sure if it was
done or not. OOHH and Sorry San Francisco, not San Fran =) I'm sure
there are a lot of people in San Francisco that would be willing to
help .............................I just couldn't find it at the time
of my search.

Thanks again,
Chris

On Thu, 1 Dec 2005 wrote:

> Hey Chris here, Just wanted to thank everyone for the replies. So it's
> like a Cidery Smell, I'm getting something like that, Maybe more like a
> smell of beer. I know beer is fermented but was not 100% sure if it was
> done or not. OOHH and Sorry San Francisco, not San Fran =) I'm sure

Hey, at least it wasn't "Frisco"! For that, you get kill-filed...