I have been experimenting with the Silverton method for about a month
now.I am fairly happy with my current results,but still into
experimenting.Ordered 2 SDI cultures(after reading many archived posts
here)..the Russian and the Bahrain.Would like to begin activation of
the Bahrain tomorrow.I do not have the Ed Wood book,and there are a
lot of references to it in the instruction page.

Two questions:



1)It says to begin activating the dried starter in a proofer at 85-90
degrees.I do not have a proofer.How important is it to keep things at
that temp?I have a pretty warm kitchen these days(78 or so)...will
that do and perhaps just add little more time to the activation
process?Or would that be suicidal?

Just not sure how to replicate that 85-90 F temp.

Any ideas?

2)Once the starter is activated,how do feed?Can I just follow the
Silverton method feeding schedule?

Thanks!

"Shastascrap" > wrote in message
m...

> ... How important is it to keep things at (85 - 90°F)?

Not very.

> I have a pretty warm kitchen these days (78 or so)...will
> that do and perhaps just add little more time to the activation
> process?

I think so.

> Just not sure how to replicate that 85-90 F temp. Any ideas?

The Woods recommend a small light bulb in a polystyrene thermal box.
But your oven with the light bulb and/or pilot flame lit might do as well.
It is wise to check the temperature with a thermometer.

> Once the starter is activated, how do feed? Can I just follow the
> Silverton method feeding schedule?

There are better ways. Have you checked the FAQs? For instance:
http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/howshoul...tarterfor.html

You'll get a lot of advice for these questions. One thing you should
know is that, if your SDI starts fail, you will need to swear that you
followed the activation instructions exactly or you won't get a
replacement.

--
Dick Adams
<firstname> dot <lastname>at bigfoot dot com

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 05:39:08 GMT, "Dick Adams" >
wrote:

>You'll get a lot of advice for these questions.

I have tried 3 active starters at present, one from Mr. Baker, one
from King Arthur and one that I made from freshly-milled organic whole
grain wheat flour obtained from a bulk flour bin at Whole Foods Market
that had an estimated turnover of 1 week. I made them all around the
same time and have fed them several times the same way from inception.

I cannot tell the difference in any of them. The each produce
essentially the same bread in terms of texture, taste, etc.

Is it possible that most flours contain essentially the same sourdough
organisms, and we are just fooling ourselves about the different kinds
of starters?

Howdy,

Please see my comments inline below...


On 9 Dec 2003 20:13:46 -0800, (Shastascrap) wrote:

>I have been experimenting with the Silverton method for about a month
>now.I am fairly happy with my current results,but still into
>experimenting.Ordered 2 SDI cultures(after reading many archived posts
>here)..the Russian and the Bahrain.Would like to begin activation of
>the Bahrain tomorrow.I do not have the Ed Wood book,and there are a
>lot of references to it in the instruction page.
>
> Two questions:
>
>
>
> 1)It says to begin activating the dried starter in a proofer at 85-90
>degrees.I do not have a proofer.How important is it to keep things at
>that temp?I have a pretty warm kitchen these days(78 or so)...will
>that do and perhaps just add little more time to the activation
>process?Or would that be suicidal?
>
> Just not sure how to replicate that 85-90 F temp.
>
> Any ideas?

The rates at which the critters multiply does depend on the
temperature. Indeed, there may be significant differences in your
results depending on the temp at which the culture is maintained.

Folks successfully use all sorts of "proofers" some built for the
purpose, and others creatively taking advantage of other sources of
heat. (For example, I have read of folks who proof their bread on top
of their computer monitor.) Either way, the key is to have an accurate
thermometer. I would also suggest jotting down what you do each time.
With those records, you can duplicate your successes, and avoid (at
least to a degree) the duplication of your flops.




>
>2)Once the starter is activated,how do feed?Can I just follow the
>Silverton method feeding schedule?

The problem with her approach is that she keeps doubling the volume of
her starter. With that technique one quickly has oceans of starter.
There are billions of critters in every drop of starter and so, there
is no need to keep lots of it on hand.

Work by teaspoons full rather than gallons and all will be easier...

>
> Thanks!

HTH,

--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

"Kenneth" > wrote in message
...

> Howdy,

Howdy again, Kenneth!

> ... there may be significant differences in your results
> depending on the temp at which the culture is maintained ...

There may be, and then again, there may not be.

> ... I've read of folks who proof their bread on top of their
> computer monitor

You can incubate your culture there, too. Problem is that
only works if the computer monitor is switched on, and you
need to build some kind of frame to hold it above the grid
openings where a little bit of heat comes up. It's not like the
old days when video devices were full of vacuum tubes, but
maybe Kenneth has a classic model.

(There's a similar problem with the usual advice for "top of
the fridge" in that the heat from fridges nowadays gets blown
out the bottom.)

> ... the key is to have an accurate thermometer...

There's a real pregnant idea. But you'll need to compare your
thermometer against an accurate one to know if it is accurate.

> ... I would also suggest jotting down what you do each time ...

And be sure to make a note of where you put your jotting
tablet.

> ... Work by teaspoons full rather than gallons and all will be
> easier...

Teaspoons half-full may be even better. See how I do it with
a jelly-bean-sized lump at
http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/dickpics/starter.html

Someone please tell ol' Kenneth that he does not need to include
the entirety of the subject article in his reply. He does not see these
posts because he has discretely killfiled me, and "Bob" as well, so
he cannot know that me and "Bob" have already shot our wads on
this particular issue. That matter is discussed, as item 4., at
http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/newcomertips.html

HTH (ever-hopeful me!)

---
DickA

Dick Adams wrote:
[...]
> > ... the key is to have an accurate thermometer...
>
> There's a real pregnant idea. But you'll need to compare your
> thermometer against an accurate one to know if it is accurate.
>

Or go to the mother of all accuracies:

Calibrate it - one point is 0 C = 32 F

Put ice cubes into some water, let it sit for a while, so they partially
melt and you got your freezing point.

The 100 C = 212 F is iffy because it depends on altitude/barometric
pressure, there is a table the


http://www.hi-tm.com/Documents/Calib-boil.html#tables

get water boiling and stick your thermometer in.

Either you can calibrate your thermometer by turning a screw somewhere
or, if not, you know how much you are off and go from there.

Samartha

--
remove -nospam from my email address, if there is one
SD page is the http://samartha.net/SD/