On Feb 20, 5:29 pm, "Dick Adams" > wrote:

> > The logic of that happening seems fairly compelling to me, but people
> > continue to sell "regional" cultures as if they can be propagated like
> > plant cuttings.

My experience is that culture drifts with flour source and one's
maintenance practice. If you store cold, if adjusts to critters that
thrive in cold, etc...

But I would think, that if you had a "pure" source, like a sample from
Acme Bakery for example, and if you maintained it on cooked cereal,
you might have a shot at maintaining it's uniqueness.

An aside... I often use a (small) cooked cereal stage, when I want a
"sourer" result. You can ferment for acid, and not degrade (as much)
the eventual gluten potential of your dough. It's sort of like using
an old dough, or what Hamelman calls a pre-ferment, except the sour
results are more pronounced.