# Sourdough Starter



## simbebe60 (Oct 15, 2006)

I'm slightly confused since I'm really bad at baking bread and do mostly cakes but some recipes tell you to refridgerate your sourdough starter others say no while other tell u to throw some away and use a different feed from other recipes. I know it hsould all be about the same thing but does anyone have a recipe they've used before or has experience baking sourdough bread?


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## cakerookie (Sep 10, 2005)

Go here www.allrecipes.com type in sourdough in the search block you will get more than you need. Its common in sourdough recipes to remove half the starter , replace and re-feed it. Sourdough starters are actually thriving little communities and have to be fed a regular diet. Thas about all I know you will have to hope KyleW sees this post or visit his website. Another great way is to get several books on the subject if you are interested. Peter Reinhart has two great books "Crust and Crumb" and "Bread Bakers Apprentice" the later is a little on the pricey side but well worth the investment. You can find lots of info on the web if you type in sourdough in your search block on your browser.

Rgds Rook

Heres the link to Kyles site http://www.kyleskitchen.net


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## simbebe60 (Oct 15, 2006)

Thx for your help really helped me  But I am a bit confused there is suppose to be a symbiotic relationship so that mold doesn't grow on the starter? Why is it that sometimes you still get a discoulouration from other bacteria or etc.


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## cakerookie (Sep 10, 2005)

I think this is what you are looking for:

Sourdough starter also contains symbiotic bacteria, and it is the bacteria that gives sourdough bread its sour flavour. The specific strain of both the yeast and the bacteria will vary according to where you live, giving different sourdoughs very different qualities. If you make your sourdough starter from a dried sample or inherit it from someone else, your yeast will likely be the same as in the original starter, but the bacteria will still change, giving your breads a unique flavour.

Comes from this site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3502531


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## qahtan (Dec 7, 2003)

If you look in here it gives a video also the text on sourdough starters also bread recipes.
I think it always help more if you can actually see what is happening.
If you can't open it I might have the recipes written down ......
qahtan

http://www.pbs.org/juliachild/eaters/artisan.html#


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## kylew (Aug 14, 2000)

Hi Simbebe60 - Welcome to the perplexing world of wild yeast  You will find as many varieties of starters and methods as there are stars in the sky. Here's my 2 cents.

Try not to get overwhelmed by the science. Instead, used your eyes and your nose to guide you. A healthy starter should double in volume within 6-8 hours after being fed. It should smell tart, but not "off". The refreigerating can do 2 things; slow things down to make the schedule a little more managable and slow things down to maximize flavor development. 

The bacterial issue came to light, again, in a flurry of activity on King Arthur forum a couple of years ago. It seems tah intial success of starters was followed by no activity at all. This quick death was determned to be the result of bad bacteria dominance. It was discovered that using pineapple juice, instead of water, for the first few days killed the bad backteria. 

I guess my initial advise is find a formula for a starter that works for you, or get your hands on an existing starter. The 2 books cakerookie mentioned have been invaluable to me. Read lots but take nothing as gospel. Dive in and ask lots of questions 

Kyle


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

I enjoy reading Kyles posts.


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## simbebe60 (Oct 15, 2006)

I see well today is day 2 and my sourdough is starting to smell like old cheese there's no discolouration but it smells more like bad cheese than tart and sour is something wrong?


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

I've made sourdough starter only once and it smelled like white (clear) vinegar.


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## cakerookie (Sep 10, 2005)

I do to Pan. KyleW glad to see you posting agian.

Rgds Rook


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## kylew (Aug 14, 2000)

Aw shucks guys  

Simbebe60 - smell is a highly individualized sense. What smells like cheese to you smells like vinegar to kokopuffs. As long as there is no discoloration, and there is relative volume expansion, press on! As to colors, grays and browns are fine, pinks and oranges are not. If you see pink and or orange you need to toss it. Absent that keep going. If you keep starting over you'll never have bread


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

It's certain strains of acetic acid yeasties that are responsible for the odors of sourdough starter. Vinegar itself is made with acetic acid yeast.


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## qahtan (Dec 7, 2003)

This is one of my sourdough loaves, now I am trying to make starter from grapes, any one had any joy from that...... qahtan

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58.../sourdough.jpg


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## cakerookie (Sep 10, 2005)

Nice looking loaf there gahtan.

Rgds Rook


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## qahtan (Dec 7, 2003)

Thanks cakerookie, ;-))) qahtan


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## simbebe60 (Oct 15, 2006)

Well it's been 2 weeks since then and I haven't thrown it away, I've been feeding it and now it smells tart almost a bit fruity and a bit like that smell you get from a permanent marker, however I'm concerned that the starter doesn't rise... well barely


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## kylew (Aug 14, 2000)

The smell sounds perfect. Dump all but 2 ounces and keep feeding!


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## simbebe60 (Oct 15, 2006)

I tried baking a loaf of sourdough but it barely rose, I gave it almost 7 hours to rise... almost no signs actually of rising.... Is my starter dead?


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## kylew (Aug 14, 2000)

I would not quit on it just yet. Throw out all but 2 ounces of your starter. Add 1 ounce each of flour and water. Give it a goog stir to make sure it's throroughly blended. Let it sit for 8-12 hours and then add 2 ounces each of flour and water ands repeats the blending and waiting. Then add 4 ounces each... you should start to see very visible volumen growth. If not, we'll come up with Plan B.


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