Since so many of us hail from different parts of the world I thought it might be fun (and maybe this has been done before so pardon me if so) to begin a starter trade. It would be nice to see how different starters from different climates work and taste.
Would anyone have any interest in this?
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The only thing would be how would we ship them to other places. I heard you can dry starter but never did that. I would probably like to learn the process and send some to my freinds.
Check out my bread.
http://www.ourwholesomehomes.com/2010/01/spelt-sourdough.html
can you just imagine what would happen in the Post Office or a Messengar service when a putty like mass that smells of yeast and fermentation goes thru the hazard detecting screening ................... ROTFLAHO !!!!!!!
....but there's no need to dry the starter...which will need more refreshments to pep it up.
What I do is mix my starter with flour to pasta dough firmness, double-wrap in cling film, flatten it some, put this into a re-sealable plastic bag, then finally in an envelope. I got my starter (gosh, almost 5 yrs now) from Jack all the way from Cambridge, UK, simply put in a plastic bag all mushy-like. No problem, mush or dough...all arrived without any hitch.
Dimitry, there is at least one thread on drying starters here. Try doing a search?
Cheers
TP
I would love to trade starters. I had my Russian sourdough starter die from neglect - my bad due to excessive work travel. I have a great Arizona based starter which is cranking out great bread.
How do we go about this, eh???
Yup I've sent it dried and in putty form. Dimitri, pretty much just smear it out on some plastic wrap or wax paper and let it dry then you can collect the flakes and mail it off. TP is rigth too and that works well.
I'd love to try some from other places. I'm just outside of Washington DC. I don't know if this site has private messaging but if it does then that would work for address trade, then we can just mail them to each other as we make contact. If not then we'll have to figure out another way besides posting addresses for all the world to see. :)
Personaly I probably would rather send it out in a wet form rather than drying it, just an extra stepp. I'm in for traiding starters, Il probably even offer this on my blog, have a starter give away.
This site does have private messaging. Just click on the user name then send a message (ore something like that).
Lets try the moist method - thick paste doughball of 2 tablespoons in 2 zip top bags - Post office gets anxious with swelling letters for some reason ;-)
Lets do it.
I am also looking for a SF Starter as well if anyone has one - dry or wet works for me!
Chris
I'm in too!
Sounds like a lot of fun,
Bree. (In Tasmania)
Moist method it is then. Let the swaps begin. :)
-Same with me Chris, I'd love to try some SF starter.
Chris
OK, heres the deal for all!
I have several websites where I can put up a password protected page. From there, I will post physical addresses if we want to trade starters! The hitch is this - I will not give out the password without having some sort of confirmation (e.g. I recieive a starter from someone else - easy test which should prevent the bogus folks from messing this up, eh?)
If everyone is up for that, then I can do that.
Alternatively, we can try another method to swap - e.g. direct emails, etc.
What's your thoughts????
Chris
Sent out my starter to luv2bake. We just traded addresses in messages. Anyone else?
I have been keeping the Carl's 1847 starter going for some time and it is very happy and bubbly. I have successfully dried it, but would be glad to send a blob to anyone through the mail. To dry it I simply shmeared a bit onto parchment paper and let it dry. That's the form that I received Carl's 1847 starter in.
Betsy
Unfortunately I never received my swap starter. A problem with the mail? Who knows. Bit disappointing though.
Is this still going on? I'm very interested in trying starters from different places! I have my own from Indiana, I'd offer up of course.
I could provide sourdough starter in ecuador, more specifically in Quito, where I live..does any folk live in the nearby...Happy Baking. Paolo
And if so, what's the (current) deal?
I have a happy, energetic, sweet-smelling starter that likes 100% whole wheat flour.
I would like a vigorous starter that has been raised on AP (white) wheat flour.
(This feels like Settlers of Catan.)
Recently, I swapped starters with grandifolia. What a performer! It came in the form of dried cracker bits. After just one feed, it started feeling at home, bubbling away. I gave it another feed after 4 hours (...less, I think) and it shot up 3 times its volume. I couldn't and didn't wait to make bread with it. Here it is...bread made with, roughly, 80% organic high protein wholewheat flour and 20% toasted wheatgerm, with honey, kefir whey, to make up the liquids. Love it!
Thanks for initiating the swap, Grandifolia. [It took a week for your critters to reach me fm the US to Msia...did mine arrive?]
Hi,
I'd like to trade some starter with others, preferably in AU to begin with, and perhaps overseas once I get the hang on drying it out, and checking out if there are any overseas customs requirements.
Is there anyone who'd we willing to trade. I have a purchased starter, and one seeded from scratch, so there's a small choice.
I'm relatively new to this so any suggestions would be welcome.
Martyn
Is this post still active?
If so, I have two starters I could trade, take your pick. One is very mature, ( has been fed for years with wheat ). For the last 10 months it has been fed with organic spelt and kamut flour, occasionally also with some rye. It produces quite sour sourdough bread. I also have one that I started recently from scratch from organic rye. It is extremely active, produces a great rise, but the resulting bread is not sour.
I could dehydrate the starter for shipping with a dehydrator. I am located in Canada.
I am looking for a very active starter, not wheat, but spelt and / or kamut and / or rye. The starter should not have been exposed to any commercial yeast. I like bread with flavor, but don't care for very sour tasting bread.
Do
I'm in Aus so although I could send some of my lovely Central Coast starter out I can only receive some from elsewhere in Aus... If anyone would like some just let me know though!
Since I am gluten intolerant, my sourdough starter does not have wheat in it or any gluten containing flour. Because of the arsenic in rice flour, I do not use it. Check out the starter here.
http://lpfretired.blogspot.com/2014/05/make-it-sourdough-gluten-free-sta...
Hi ! I am new to making sourdough, but NOT need to eating it ! My roommate's father ( when I was in college, forever ago) made sourdough to send back to school with her...fabulous stuff ! I recently received a starter from a nice lady here in South Arkansas...tomorrow will be my fourth batch since I received it...I learned the hard way last week the only way I can get a good rise out of it is to let it sit on top of a heating pad in the oven (sounds crazy, I know, but it's the only draft free place I can get nice and warm for my dough) ...if I remember, I'll post pics...I'm going to go pan free for the first time. Wish me luck !
Okay, I admit defeat....I only thought I was going post pictures........
Hello Halfcajun,
You can use the little 'image' icon on the edit bar but you have to have the image stored somewhere on the web such as Dropbox or other cloud storage or in the gallery on this site so that there is a web address to link to. The slight problem is that there is no browse function so you have to have noted the URL or copied it beforehand to paste into the dialog box that you are presented with.
The other alternative is to just copy the file and paste it direct into the posting but just make sure that you have reduced the pixel count by scaling the image down to 400*300 or thereabouts. You probably should do that for storage on the cloud as well. This one is done using copy/paste..
Good luck with your projects.
Farinam
I live in Switzerland and have a Tuscan starter that I'd be happy to share. I dried a big portion of it in 2012 and froze the flakes in ziploc bags, and they are still going strong (just revived some a couple of weeks ago to check).
For the Australians, you certainly can receive dried starter from overseas - I sent some to friends just a few months ago. Customs opened the packages but delivered them no problem.
Rachael
I've never heard of a Tuscan starter, but it sounds wonderful ! I would love to swap !
She was born in the vineyards of Tuscany in Italy, and she is amazing! If you want to PM me your postal address, I'll gladly send you some :)
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/n61r51p27bk522g/AABbmyS6wOzp96S6eP5d4UZda
I can be found on Pinterest, too..... Look for J Danielle or halfcajun .......
I'm living in Hong Kong but I'm not Chinese and my sourdough stater is made with Bob's red mill Organic all purpose flour, it keep growing and funny how over here no one making bread at home that I can share with. I don't want to throw away any extra or over flow. Anyone interested to exchange with me?
I live in Wisconsin in the United States and would love to trade starters with someone outside of the country! What an awesome idea, OP.