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Sourdough (rec.food.sourdough) Discussing the hobby or craft of baking with sourdough. We are not just a recipe group, Our charter is to discuss the care, feeding, and breeding of yeasts and lactobacilli that make up sourdough cultures. |
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Old Starter Might Be OK
A while back I asked about rejuvenating my old starter that
didn't seem to be doing anything at all. a few had given some advice on removing only the smallest portion of the yeast (in my case, what was on the bottom of my liquid starter container) and trying to use it to get things going again. I had just about given up on it when I tried using a smaller amount and feeding it twice over a few days' period. I also replaced the oven light bulb and measured the temperature in it when the light is left on--about 86 degrees F. It is showing signs of activity and smelling a lot like it used to- a bit yeasty but also a bit pungent. I'm going to try getting it back to it's former volume and making bread with it again. To those who sent me dried starters, I haven't given up on trying them out. I just want to get this one back on track (if I can) before I experiment. I've refrigerated the samples so they would keep a while (how long???) and would like to try them out as a liquid starter first (using a small portion of the sample). If that doesn't work out, the rest will be used as a conventional dough starter. I like the liquid starter because it remains free from mold and keeps well for at least 6 months without feeding. (Mine went inactive, after 12 years, only after not feeding it for about a year!!!) I use an airlock from my brewing/winemaking equipment in the top of a Tupperware container with a round opening on top to keep out the air but allow CO2 to be released. I've tried a dough type starter and don't like how mold formed on it, but that may be because of the way I handled it. The liquid starter is easy to gauge as to how active it's doing since I can see the bubbles from fermentation. If this goes well, I will be making bread again, and a lot more often than every 6 months. I don't know why I got away from making sourdough bread. I really do appreciate the starter samples and may be using them if this doesn't turn out to be like it used to be. I had exposed the starter to the air and it might actually be a different strain (which might be desirable or not). Deer season is upon us in Ohio next week, however, so I don't think I'll be doing anything this next week with it. Don Hellen To reply, substitute "firstnamelastname" with my firstname and lastname in the header and use no spaces. |
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Old Starter Might Be OK
Don, I just got done resurrecting some of the nastiest, vilest Carls starter
I have ever seen. I could have sworn it was DOA. The hootch was black and moldy, smelled like vomit and reminded me of something they clean out of the wastewater treatment plant. It was bad!. I consulted the starter doctor FAQ and Dick Adams book and thought what the heck. It would either revive or morph into some flu virus that would wipe out the world. It took about 2 1/2 weeks of the washing process that Dick Adams talks about to get it back among the living but I finally made pancakes and sourdough refrigerator rolls with it yesterday and they were marvelous. Gene Kansas City "Don Hellen" > wrote in message ... > A while back I asked about rejuvenating my old starter that > didn't seem to be doing anything at all. a few had given > some advice on removing only the smallest portion of the > yeast (in my case, what was on the bottom of my liquid > starter container) and trying to use it to get things going > again. > > I had just about given up on it when I tried using a smaller > amount and feeding it twice over a few days' period. I also > replaced the oven light bulb and measured the temperature in > it when the light is left on--about 86 degrees F. > > It is showing signs of activity and smelling a lot like it > used to- a bit yeasty but also a bit pungent. > > I'm going to try getting it back to it's former volume and > making bread with it again. > > To those who sent me dried starters, I haven't given up on > trying them out. I just want to get this one back on track > (if I can) before I experiment. I've refrigerated the > samples so they would keep a while (how long???) and would > like to try them out as a liquid starter first (using a > small portion of the sample). If that doesn't work out, the > rest will be used as a conventional dough starter. > > I like the liquid starter because it remains free from mold > and keeps well for at least 6 months without feeding. (Mine > went inactive, after 12 years, only after not feeding it for > about a year!!!) I use an airlock from my brewing/winemaking > equipment in the top of a Tupperware container with a round > opening on top to keep out the air but allow CO2 to be > released. I've tried a dough type starter and don't like how > mold formed on it, but that may be because of the way I > handled it. > > The liquid starter is easy to gauge as to how active it's > doing since I can see the bubbles from fermentation. If this > goes well, I will be making bread again, and a lot more > often than every 6 months. I don't know why I got away from > making sourdough bread. > > I really do appreciate the starter samples and may be using > them if this doesn't turn out to be like it used to be. I > had exposed the starter to the air and it might actually be > a different strain (which might be desirable or not). > > Deer season is upon us in Ohio next week, however, so I > don't think I'll be doing anything this next week with it. > > Don Hellen > To reply, substitute "firstnamelastname" with > my firstname and lastname in the header and > use no spaces. |
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Old Starter Might Be OK
On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 16:45:37 -0600, "Gene Benzing"
> wrote: >Dick Adams book I didn't know Dick Adams had written a book. What is the title? |
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Old Starter Might Be OK
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Old Starter Might Be OK
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Old Starter Might Be OK
On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 03:36:18 GMT, "Dick Adams" >
wrote: >> > I didn't know Dick Adams had written a book. What is the title? >> I think it's called "Sourdough Is Our Friend." >In fact, I did not write a book about sourdough. And, if I did, I=20 >would name it something other than "Sourdough Is Our Friend". >Really, I would. Maybe "Sourdough Debunked", or "Baking=20 >with the Old Wives". "Bake a Better Doorstop" seemed good >for a while, but that one never got beyond a couple of dozen >pages. "Sourdough Sorcery" is good alliteration. "Simple >Sourdough" would not be so good because sorcerer conveys >more dignity than simpleton. How about I change my name to >Simon and write "Simple Simon's Sourdough Sourcebook"? >How about "Bakerspeak for the Novice" subtitled "Baking=20 >Naturally-Leavened Breads in Simple English", looking at=20 >sourdough from the point of view of General Semantics? >Sometimes I go back and start the book again but I get worn >out before getting through the glossary. Try "Crock Pot Sourdough Rye Glop For Dummies". Bet it sells a million. |
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Old Starter Might Be OK
> wrote in message = ... > > [ ... ] ( replay of = ) > Try "Crock Pot Sourdough Rye Glop For Dummies". "Crock-pot glop for sourdough dummies" rolls better off the tongue. But, frankly, Spam-Spam, you're never going to be a poet. Anyway, at best, the instruction for Crock-Pot Pumpernickel would be a single page in length, and certainly not a book. --- DickA |
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Old Starter Might Be OK
On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 17:38:43 GMT, "Dick Adams" >
wrote: >Anyway, at best, the instruction for Crock-Pot Pumpernickel >would be a single page in length, and certainly not a book. A lot like "Famous Jewish Athletes". [Apologies to "Airplane".] |
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Old Starter Might Be OK
My mistake, would be Ed Wood. I was referring to Classic Sourdoughs.
Gene > wrote in message ... > On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 16:45:37 -0600, "Gene Benzing" > > wrote: > > >Dick Adams book > > I didn't know Dick Adams had written a book. What is the title? > > |
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