(posting this again, I think it didnt work the first time)

Hey everybody. Its been a long summer, lots of work around the house, havent
made bread in awhile. Neglected my starters, they got extremely moldy and
nasty, chucked them. My breads were coming along so well too . For now I
am making bread using a very small pinch of commercial yeast till I get
another starter. Yes I know this is not sourdough, but as I have little
experience with it ( using commercial yeast ), it will be just another
learning experience. I am still using all the "artisan" type methods that
worked so well for me with sourdough, long fermentation high hydration
dough, doing stretch and folds, free form loaves baked in steamed hot oven
on hot tiles. So far I have made some really good bread this way, (hey I
thought the great crust was a sourdough only thing) but I feel like I am
cheating even though I dont really miss any sour taste there may have been.
Perhaps I need a new starter to get me interested again. Wasnt there some
interesting very sour starter being mailed out a few months back that
someone had gotten from a bakery, and was sharing with the group?

hutchndi

hutchndi wrote:

> Perhaps I need a new starter to get me interested again. Wasnt there some
> interesting very sour starter being mailed out a few months back that
> someone had gotten from a bakery, and was sharing with the group?

Hutch,

As I remember you don't have a mill. So here's a method to make a
starter that works. It's dead easy.

Buy a cup or two of grain at your local health food store. Rye or
wheat. Or better... get both, make two cultures.

Soak 1/4 cup of it in water overnight.

Rinse, drain and mash. Add a little water to the mash if necessary.
Your target is soft dough. Soft enought to be pliable, not wet.

Feed with more soaked, rinsed, mash when necessary. For me it was every
other day at room temperature. Best feeding technique is to peel the
outside away from your doughball and discard. Then feed the core. Doing
that keeps your effort clean.

After several mash refreshments you will have a good starter. Keep your
emerging starter in dough format. I found that folding briefly
stimulated it and facilitated the every other day refreshment cycle.

It's not as exciting as waiting for that package from SDI or fooling
around with thermometers and beakers and what all. But it works just as
well and there is a rustic simplicity to it that is refreshing. After
years of making starters, this has become my preferred method.

The only caveat: it is important to have good grain. Cracked or broken
grain, grain with junk in it like chaff and grain dust makes mold along
with the starter. Eventually the starter wins but it's easier to avoid
the microbial contest. Use clean, unblemished stock.

Will