Fred, yes, you *can* start your own "sourdough" starter from scratch. Many
folks do it and swear by it. Just like you can make your own wine from your
own crushed grapes using whatever organisms are found on them. However, to
some degree it's an art form...that can blossom in the hands of an
experienced baker.

As a SD beginner, I suggest that you purchase a starter that has a bit of a
pedigree. It will help you by giving you a solid foundation from which to
grow your sourdough experience. Trust me, neither Joe Heitz, nor Robert
Mondavi leave the fermenting of their fine wines to "whatever they find on
their grapes that day..."

Then, when you've mastered the basics and have an understanding of what
happens, what it *should* look/act/smell/taste like, *then* you might try to
grow your own culture from scratch. That way you'll know exactly what did
(or didn't) happen, and where the blame lies. Otherwise you can spend years
chasing erratic results (ask me how I know sometime...).

You also might want to lurk in: rec.food.sourdough. Lots of savvy sourdough
oriented folks post there.

And no...you cannot "make" a "sourdough culture" out of yeast, potatoes,
grapes, or any of the other litany of processes that so many try to foist
off on unsuspecting folks. Yes, they will create something that may even be
active and look like sourdough...but those paths have about the same
possibility of success and are similar to trying to make your own penicillin
by using your shoe-scrapings...


Dusty
San Jose, Ca.
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"Fred" > wrote in message
...
> My baking book has some formulas for sourdough starters. The one that
> appeared to provide the quickest results was a commercial yeast starter.
> After the prescribed18 hours at room temperature, the dough smelled like
> alcohol but had no sour taste. I left it covered and will look in on it
> again on Monday and perhaps throw an apple or potato in with it. Am I
being
> misled that the starter should be useable after 18 hours? Thanks.
>
> Fred
> The Good Gourmet
> http://www.thegoodgourmet.com
>
>