Sourdough Starter Help

My sourdough was all bubbly and it doubled in size and was overflowing out of the container I put it in, the next day when I was going to feed it the starter returned to its normal size, then I mixed it up, transfered containers, and fed it. Did I kill my sourdough? It hasnt done anything since then its not even bubly.

I don't know. I have killed my sourdough doing things that usually made it grow. I'd offer to send you some but I killed my last culture several years ago. Just as well, as it doesn't go with low carb anyway. Somebody should sell a sourdough yeast cake and save us a lot of work. BTW, if you use regular store yeast, like Fleshmans or Red Star and save a bit like you do for sourdough, you will have a "new" sourdough culture in a week or two.

It is in, I believe the recent addition of Bon Appetit, but Alton Brown published a recipe of something called a "proto-starter" that is similar to, if not sourdough.
Supposed to last for months

quote:

Originally posted by tmiles
Somebody should sell a sourdough yeast cake and save us a lot of work. BTW, if you use regular store yeast, like Fleshmans or Red Star and save a bit like you do for sourdough, you will have a "new" sourdough culture in a week or two.

I don't really know what you folks are talking about here. The whole point of "sourdough" is that it uses natural yeasts from the air. Here's one discussion of making a starter from the internet:

quote:

Blend a cup of warm water and a cup of flour, and pour it into the jar. That's the whole recipe! I find that whole wheat flour makes a vigourous "starting point" for starter, and I suggest you give it a try. Whole wheat flour also makes good "food" for the starter (more on feeding it soon). If you want, you can add a little commercial yeast to a starter to "boost" it. If you do this, sourdough snobs will look down their nose at you - but who cares about snobs? I personally find that (at least here in Virginia) no yeast "boost" is necessary, and I can make "real" sourdough with no trouble. But if you are having trouble, go ahead and cheat. I won't tell. Note that starter made with commercial yeast often produces a bread with less distinctive sour flavor than the real thing.

I am one of the "sourdough snobs" referred to. I like regular yeast bread just fine--but it isn't sourdough (as the author of the above admits by saying it has less distinctive "sour" flavor).

As a San Franciscan, I feel required to point out that while sourdough can be made anywhere, the distinctive yeasts that apparently circulate in the soggy Pacific air of the Bay Area are what gives the local sourdough its fame--that and the fact that miners used that same sourdough on their adventures into the Gold Rush thus aquiring the name "Sourdoughs".

Now for the horrid admission: here in the numerous tourist stores of Fisherman's Wharf, they do indeed sell sourdough starter kits claiming to provide the local yeasts, but I am skeptical.

A burgandy wine yeast availble at local home brew shops works great as a sourdough starter. Mix it with a cup of warm water and a cup of flour. Let it grow over night then treat it like any other sourdough.

quote:

Originally posted by BT
I am one of the "sourdough snobs" referred to. I like regular yeast bread just fine--but it isn't sourdough (as the author of the above admits by saying it has less distinctive "sour" flavor).

You realize you're making me cry? I used to live in the East Bay and have whined about real sourdough bread since I left in 1966. Anybody who has lived there knows there's no substitute for the real stuff. It's one of the few penalties for living in Louisiana. Other than the politics, of course.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick F.

one of the few penalties for living in Louisiana.

Ah, but there are so many compensations . . . .

I've read------and now believe, having moved only 98 miles south, that success with sourdough has to do with your location. I guess it is the amount of bacteria (sounds sick, huh) and other airbourn items as wee as altitude that has the most effect on it. They say that the San Francisco area is the best in the country for it.

Good Luck! --James

Thank God for the internet, I can go online and get my real SF sourdough fix overnited to my house.

MikeS.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeSh

Thank God for the internet, I can go online and get my real SF sourdough fix overnited to my house.

MikeS.

This is true... But for less then the cost of shipping you could do it yourself!

I've made a real good Rye Bread Sourdough Starter.. Only problem is getting that heavy bread to rise (Latvian Rye).. I've given up until I get some counseling (both cooking method and mental).. Atleast the flavor is there..

In good Alaskan spirit, when I first arrived here and reading about the "Sourdoughs" in the Gold Rush I decided to make my own (without the little package of Fleischman's that I knew they didn't have back then). So I mixed up the flour and water, put cheesecloth over it, set it next to an open window. The Big Guy says to me, "What on earth are you doing?" Says I, "Trying to catch the wild yeast." To which he replies, "Why don't you use a butterfly net???" Haw Haw very funny. But I would've had better luck with the butterfly net because that starter never started. Apparently we don't have any wild yeast in Alaska so now I buy my starter and just feed it. Cheating, but it works!

Here's a link to get some free 1847 Oregon Trail sourdough starter.
http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/

quote:

Originally posted by MilwFoodlovers

Here's a link to get some free 1847 Oregon Trail sourdough starter.
http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/

Just visited that site.. To say "Way Cool" would be an understatement..

quote:

Originally posted by Sarge 569

A burgandy wine yeast availble at local home brew shops works great as a sourdough starter. Mix it with a cup of warm water and a cup of flour. Let it grow over night then treat it like any other sourdough.
A recent survey by the San Francisco Chronicle checking who made the best SF sourdough chose the La Brea Bakery down in LA owned by Nancy Silverton baker and chef. Another old wives tale bites the dust.
Himself

A recent survey by the San Francisco Chronicle checking who made the best SF sourdough chose the La Brea Bakery down in LA owned by Nancy Silverton baker and chef. Another old wives tale bites the dust.
Himself

Baking is chemistry mixed with art and a phobia for exactness, so I am told. Any slob (like me) can make a good batch now and then. A pro knows how to control the variables, so as to produce the same result again and again, under variable conditions. I am not surprised that a pro has learned to make great sourdough in a non sourdough location. I WOULD be surprised to find out that she started her culture with natural airborne LA yeast. I expect that the source and care of her culture is a trade secret.

And (as a daily reader) I would say that the Chron isn't always right--there's a reason it's known locally as the "San Francisco Comical". There are just so many wonderful sourdough bakers in the Bay Area. My favorite is Acme, but SemiFreddi is wonderful too and there are so many more. Say what you will, I really and truly have never had sourdough elsewhere that tastes the same. And the best is sold everywhere. Maybe La brea IS good, I don't know. But can you find it in a neighborhood market?

I'm a little late coming in on this subject killed many of good ones just like I do with an indoor herb garden. But I have been known to revive what I thought was a dead starter back to life, never stoped trying. The advantages of having an active starter during the winter baking months to me is just like having any spice,flour,or oil and what have you on the shelf when needed. During the summer months I have a problem of leaving it out of fridge, it attracts alot of fruit flies must be the hooch that developes. Chow Jim

There's a great newsgroup [url]rec.food.sourdough[/url] that has a FAQ second to none. For anyone that enjoys sourdough, you'll find a wealth of information. An hour ago, I pulled out two baguettes made with the sourdough starter I got from Carl's; smells wonderful.