sourdough starter?

Question

I started a flour and water mix and was going to make sourdough, but it died. 2 days into the starter, I got the big frothy stuff you want, so I fed it that morning. I was then going to make bread the next day, but when I got home from work, I noticed that the starter was inactive. I watched it for a while, but it was dead. In fact, it started to stink (after 4 days). Not like a starter, but a very nasty smell. What happened? How did my starter go from very active to dead in a single day?

I'm pretty sure I has starter. I smelled pleasantly sour, and had a beerish smell. Very yeasty, but I did not add sugar. I thought you fed with only taking half and then replacing with fresh flour ands water.

Answer 1

Your starter, when new, is a football match to the death of opposing organisms. In this case, the wrong team won. You're trying to nuture various airborne yeasts, but sometimes other bacteria take over and kill the yeast.

There is a family of sourdough recipes called "salt-rising bread." These use a starter than includes either grated raw potato (the yeasts are found on the skin) or stone-ground, whole corn meal (such as an organic or health-food store brand). You can add one of these (1/4 c grated raw potato or 2 Tbsp of corn meal) to your regular starter.

Sometimes these things just happen. Some people claim you can revive any starter, but when it reaches the moldy, green-orange or rotten stage, I bury the remains and start over.

Answer 2

Well, starter is more than just flour and water. It's flour, water, and specific sourdough bacteria. If you didn't add bacteria (or drag some grapes through your flour, or leave it outside open on a breezy day), it won't be sourdough starter, it's just flour/water. If you had foam, though, that makes me wonder what was in it.

To tell if starter is dead, add 1 tsp. sugar and mix well. Check in 15 min. If ti's bubbly, it's active and can be used.

Try again. You can order it online for free from Carl's Friends (Google Carl's Sourdough Starter). Or you can buy it from places like The Baker's Catalog (.com).

Answer 3

I even have discovered that utilising buttermilk in cornbread as a substitute of the milk that maximum recipes call for supplies it a impressive sourdough-like style. I substitute some million a million/4 cups of buttermilk for a million cup of milk. each and every from time to time it takes basically a splash greater suitable than that.

Answer 4

Emerill has one on foodnetwork.com