Sour Dough Starter...

[heliman]

Just found this recipe for sourdough starter..

Quick question what is the best "whole grain flour" to use here in Oz, and where can you you get it?? Is it available at the supermarket??

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Procedure for Making Sourdough Starter

Day 1: mix...
2 T. whole grain flour (rye and/or wheat)
2 T. unsweetened pineapple juice or orange juice
Cover and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Day 2: add...
2 T. whole grain flour
2 T. juice
Stir well, cover and let sit at room temperature 24 hours. At day 2 you may (or may not) start to see some small bubbles.

Day 3: add...
2 T. whole grain flour
2 T. juice
Stir well, cover and let sit at room temperature 24 hours.

[delicioso]

Maybe I have just been lucky. I simply mix equal amounts of bottled water and white flour in a glass jar, cover it with a cheese cloth, and leave it in a warm spot in the kitchen. I usually end up with nice bubbly, foamy starter within 24 hours. It does take about 4-5 days of feeding to reach the full flavor we like at our house.

I usually keep it in the fridge and feed once a week, but we don't bake often enough and forget to feed for a few weeks. I just toss the old one out and start a new one from scratch. It seems to work without fail. Maybe we have a lot of wild yeast in the air in our kitchen. Maybe it is just dumb luck. But it works.

I have played with changing the flour types. The flavor doesn't seem to change.

[dmun]

2 T. unsweetened pineapple juice or orange juice

We had a discussion here a couple of years back about propagating commercial yeast.
Someone showed a process used by the beer/wine making folks where you would put a little of the yeast you wanted to grow in a jar with orange juice, and a vapor lock on top, and put it in the fridge. The idea was that the yeast would grow until they had consumed the sugar, and then the acidity of the juice (and the cold) would stabilize the yeast until you wanted to use it.

Needless to say, I can't find the thread, but there's precedent for using orange juice in growing yeast.

[texassourdough]

IF you use juice, pineapple juice is usually preferred for it is more acid than orange. The acid helps discourage bad bacteria. But many people don't need it.
Jay

[jmhepworth]

On the question about whole grain flour, we grind our own. A grinder is pretty essential to bread if you want to do whole grains other than wheat. We've found that a combination of white wheat and red wheat gives the best flavor and texture. We also use the grinder to make rice flour.

Joe

[texassourdough]

Freshly ground whole wheat (or rye) is a great way to start a starter foe the unprocessed grains should have a healthy yeast and bacteria population on the outside of the grain.
Jay

[heliman]

What sort of grinder is needed to grind the wheat?
Sounds like the home grind takes things to a whole new level. Just need to grow your own wheat and you're completely self sufficient!!!

BTW: On day 3 of my rye/pineapple starter. No action detected as yet - hopefully by tomorrow I'll see some change ...

Rossco

[texassourdough]

That is pretty slow, Rossco. It can take up to about 5 days. Are you stirring it 2-3 times a day? That can be pretty important for it aerates it and helps discourage the baddies. And sometimes it doesn't make at all. Whose rye flour are you using?

Grinding your own wheat is good! I only grind a half-pound or so at a time and I use it to "spike" my breads (about 5% in my regular French boules). (I freeze it to keep it fresh). The small amount of fresh whole wheat adds a lot of good aromatics to the bread. I am NOT going to get in the wheat growing business however!

The only practical way to grind wheat is to buy a mill. You might be able to use a burr type coffee mill to do small batches (I am pretty sure you can!). The bigger grain mills are typically a couple of hundred dollars and make a noise akin to a jet engine which tends to make grinding not popular with family members.

I would encourage you to put off grinding for a while. There is nothing particularly wrong with it but there are bigger hurdles to overcome before it makes much sense.

Hang in there!
Jay

[jmhepworth]

We have a Whisper Mill, now called the Wonder Mill. There are several good ones on the market. I agree with Jay, though. It's nice to have, but not at all essential unless you start baking a lot of whole grain bread. Here's the Amazon link for the Wonder Mill: Amazon.com: The WonderMill Grain Mill: Home & Garden

[heliman]

Jay - no hadn't been stirring the mix ...but will now. I have got the Tupperware lid on but not sealed ... is that OK? I seem some people put a cloth on top. Rye flour (organic) is from a local health food supplier and it has a sourdough recipe on the back so it looks like it's suitable for a starter.

Nice looking machine Joe - definitely something to think about buying down the track.

Rossco