Bread starters...I'm a bit confused

M

mariadnoca

Moderator
I'm in the planning stages to overcome my fear of yeast/bread baking. I already got all that flour you saw, so I'm on to making a starter. As I'd read they seem to be tricker to get going in the colder months (and I don't heat the house during the day), so I'd settled on giving this pineapple one a try* (at link) since it seems taste will end up the same (right?) in the end so what you start out with (ye old SF or Carl's) seems moot. Right? (Then I was reading in the archives - oh the grape one gave such a good flavor, etc and went - wait, what? That's just in the short term, right?)

One thing, everyone seems to have a different idea on what kind of flour(s) to use with a starter.

I just checked out the Tartine Bread book from the library and his starter for his country loaf is white/wheat (and 5lbs of it!), but do different types of starter make different types of bread (sorry for the serious newbie question). In my mind wild yeast starter = sourdough. (But then again that friendship starter/bread and recipe from the 70's wasn't sour** - so ??) I feel this is a very duh question, but I'm not really sure, so please be kind of my ignorance. Reading bread books make my head spin - it's like what math does to me! I think it's just something I need to jump into and then the rest will start making sense.

*Though I'm not opposed to just giving the flour/water version a try.

**I could be thinking of when I made Irish soda bread...my memory is fuzzy on this.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10901/pineapple-juice-solution-part-2

 
house temps and starters

We keep our house at 65F while we're here and 60F when we're not. That's where we are comfortable. So, for bread starters, get your crockpot out, fill it full of water, turn it no low, set your bowl on top, cover it, and there you are. A nice warm pool for what they do in there together. However, stick a thermometer in and monitor since some crockpots can get quite heated. I've successfully done this with old-fashioned salt rising bread where you have to maintain that temperature to grow the culture. Just monitor it, unplug as necessary. And what I did at night: Got it up to temp (was getting too hot if I didn't), and then unplugged, doused it with towels and went to bed. It was fine in the morning.

 
If you have an oven light

You can keep it warm by turning on just the light and placing the container in the closed oven.

 
Don't own a crockpot and no oven light that stays on, but

thought I could maybe put it in a small lunch size ice chest after zapping these thermal microwave slippers I have and sticking them all in there* (actually I think blue ice might double as heat packs - will have to look). Or maybe let it sit on a heating pad (but it kinda worries me to leave one on on all the time).

*got that idea from the homemade proofing box Dorie Greenspan's husband made (at the link).

http://doriegreenspan.com/2012/06/my-husband-made-bread-for.html

 
a couple things

A really great proofing box costs abut $100 and is well worth the investment if your resources allow (don't forget how much you will be saving by making your own bread!). You can also temper chocolate and make yogurt in a proofing box.

Re. the Tartine starter, you don't have to make the whole amount called for in the recipe. When I make the basic country dough I dissolve 8g of active starter in 50g of water in a large bowl then mix in 25g each of AP and WW flours, The next day I make the dough in the same bowl by adding more water, flour and salt. I end up with about 1000g of dough - enough for a large loaf, a half sheet pan sized foccacia or dough for 3 pizzas. I have a very detailed recipe in a word file and would be happy to email it to you. It is too long to put in this message. If you want it email me at cindydvm@hotmail.com and I will attach it to a reply.

On the advice of my bread mentor, Sally, I have switched to rye flour for my starter and am keeping it at room temperature. She explains the reasons in her blog. I bet a portion of my starter would survive being mailed to you and I am willing to try if you would like.

 
Thanks - I emailed you (and tweaked your email address so it isn't mined)

Do I need a proofing box? My friend's mom down the street makes bread all the time (every day or so) and she doesn't have anything fancy.

 
more clarification

I keep a rye sourdough starter on my counter all the time. I refresh it weekly. When I want to bake I refresh it again if it is more than a 4 days old. I then take a small portion of the rye starter and use it to make a starter with AP flour then proceed with my recipe.

I also found the jargon very confusing at first. The Fresh Loaf is a good site with a good search engine.

 
I did the pineapple one and I still keep it going. It seems indestructible now. (I leave it in the

fridge for months at a time. When I want to bake I go through the feeding cycle twice and it is good to go.)

But it may be fragile at first. A high shelf in the kitchen might be warmer. Also, I remember when Mimi talked about making "virtual" creme fraiche by letting it sit atop her computer tower, which was always on.

There may be warm air rising out from behind your refrigerator--you could leave it on top toward the back.

Or I could send you some starter, but it's fun to make your own.

By the way, once it gets going it will no longer taste of pineapple, grapes or whatever.

 
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