I have a starter that is in a mason jar that is kept on the kitchen
counter.The starter has been neglected and has sat undisturbed for a couple
of months.It has developed a tan colored skin on the top.it still smells
good .Is it ok to use or should I just toss it?

On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 11:54:50 -0800, "Keggor" >
wrote:

>I have a starter that is in a mason jar that is kept on the kitchen
>counter.The starter has been neglected and has sat undisturbed for a couple
>of months.It has developed a tan colored skin on the top.it still smells
>good .Is it ok to use or should I just toss it?
>

Howdy,

Try a process that is often called "washing" the starter...

This just means feeding a very small amount of starter with
a comparatively large amount of flour and water.

Specifically:

Mix up all the layers of the starter that you left out.

Then, take a small amount of the starter (say, a teaspoon)
and put it in a container. Add to that, a half cup of water
and a half cup of flour. Mix, cover, then wait. If, as I
would expect, it starts to ferment after several hours,
repeat. After a few such cycles, feed on a normal schedule.

Good luck with it,

--
Kenneth

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

"Keggor" > wrote in message =
...

> ... starter has been neglected and has sat (on the kitchen=20
> counter) for a couple of months.

That does not speak well for your attention to the task!

> It has developed a tan colored skin on the top.it still smells
> good .

Really stinks, does it?

> Is it ok to use or should I just toss it?

Who can say? But you might read the words below before
you dedicate to a long recovery project.

http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/howshoul...tarterfor.html

On 11/21/04 1:28 PM, "Dick Adams" > wrote:

>
> "Keggor" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>> ... starter has been neglected and has sat (on the kitchen
>> counter) for a couple of months.
>
> That does not speak well for your attention to the task!
>
>> It has developed a tan colored skin on the top.it still smells
>> good .
>
> Really stinks, does it?
>
>> Is it ok to use or should I just toss it?
>
> Who can say? But you might read the words below before
> you dedicate to a long recovery project.
>
> http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/howshoul...tarterfor.html
>
>
Well... I read the link above and it doesn't offer much hope for a 2-month-
at-room-temperature starter. Keggor if you have started "washing" your
culture, as Kenneth recommended earlier, why don't you let us know how it
turns out. I would be interested to know what the outer limits might be.

As an aside, I'm cooking off my second pumpernickel of the week. I was quite
impressed by Samartha's "big grain" pictures and also liked DickA's
crock-pot technique so I thought I'd try them both. My first effort was
pretty good though not worthy of a picture. It was 100% rye, cracked,
presoaked one day, then fermented one day per Samartha's formula and cooked
within a large slow cooker at about 185 F for 26 hours. The result was
uniformly dark, actually very dark, brown and certainly tasted and smelled
better than any pumpernickel I've bought. (though I suppose Samartha might
argue there is no "real" pumpernickel available commercially in the US.)

It aged well, peaking about 2 days after I finished it. The effort today is
a mixed rye, wheat and barley, no pre-soak, just an overnight ferment. I
suspect presoaking might be an unnecessary complication given the dough is
cooked so long and at a low enough temperature to enforce thorough
hydration.

Will







> _______________________________________________
> rec.food.sourdough mailing list
>
> http://www.otherwhen.com/mailman/lis...food.sourdough

"Keggor" > wrote in message =
...

> ... starter has been neglected and has sat (on the kitchen=20
> counter) for a couple of months.

That does not speak well for your attention to the task!

> It has developed a tan colored skin on the top.it still smells
> good .

Really stinks, does it?

> Is it ok to use or should I just toss it?

Who can say? But you might read the words below before
you dedicate to a long recovery project.

http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/howshoul...tarterfor.html

On 11/21/04 1:28 PM, "Dick Adams" > wrote:

>
> "Keggor" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>> ... starter has been neglected and has sat (on the kitchen
>> counter) for a couple of months.
>
> That does not speak well for your attention to the task!
>
>> It has developed a tan colored skin on the top.it still smells
>> good .
>
> Really stinks, does it?
>
>> Is it ok to use or should I just toss it?
>
> Who can say? But you might read the words below before
> you dedicate to a long recovery project.
>
> http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/howshoul...tarterfor.html
>
>
Well... I read the link above and it doesn't offer much hope for a 2-month-
at-room-temperature starter. Keggor if you have started "washing" your
culture, as Kenneth recommended earlier, why don't you let us know how it
turns out. I would be interested to know what the outer limits might be.

As an aside, I'm cooking off my second pumpernickel of the week. I was quite
impressed by Samartha's "big grain" pictures and also liked DickA's
crock-pot technique so I thought I'd try them both. My first effort was
pretty good though not worthy of a picture. It was 100% rye, cracked,
presoaked one day, then fermented one day per Samartha's formula and cooked
within a large slow cooker at about 185 F for 26 hours. The result was
uniformly dark, actually very dark, brown and certainly tasted and smelled
better than any pumpernickel I've bought. (though I suppose Samartha might
argue there is no "real" pumpernickel available commercially in the US.)

It aged well, peaking about 2 days after I finished it. The effort today is
a mixed rye, wheat and barley, no pre-soak, just an overnight ferment. I
suspect presoaking might be an unnecessary complication given the dough is
cooked so long and at a low enough temperature to enforce thorough
hydration.

Will







> _______________________________________________
> rec.food.sourdough mailing list
>
> http://www.otherwhen.com/mailman/lis...food.sourdough