My first starter was not happy. My first sourdough wild yeast starter was with Bob's Redmill Organic Flour....equal parts (by weight) water and flour. It was going well but then after 5 really nice building days I misunderstood the step from starter to levain and put it in the frig overnight. It went very dead and tried for 2 weeks to bring it back....finally gave up and started again.
This time I used 1/2 white organic and 1/2 whole wheat....it was doing alright...but no real umph by the 5th day...just some bubbles but no real expansion. I read about adding rye to a sluggish starter and gave it a try.....I added a flour mix of 1/3 white, 1/3 whole wheat and 1/3 rye. Now I have a happy bubbly starter! It's been bubbly all day and should be double by early evening...
Should I make my overnight levain this afternoon?
Looking forward to trying my first sourdough :)
Thanks for any thoughts,
Laura
Replies
Hi Laura,
Possibly not a lot to lose if you give it a go. Try something simple like the Pane francesa recipe that SourDom gives in his Beginners Blogs on this site (Home Page - right hand panel). He also has heaps on fitting in your baking with your life-style as well as a thorough set of basics for the whole process from go to whoa.
Don't be disappointed if things don't work out perfectly first time. It sometimes takes several attempts to get something that comes out reasonably but the results are rarely inedible and are still very tasty.
Good luck with your projects.
Farinam
Thank you Farinam :) I'm not expecting much my first try...but hopefully to some learning. I am fascinated by the whole process and look forward to some day making my first successful wild yeast sourdough bread :) All the best, Laura