The thing about starters is, they’re incredibly easy. If they weren’t, human beings would never have invented bread. The only trick is remembering to care for it. The vast majority of starter failures come from forgetting to feed one on a regular basis. If you can do that you won’t have any problems. Begin a […]
READ ONGrowing your own starter is an elementary project than can become complicated if your water is compromised in any way. If you’re connected to a municipal water supply that’s heavy on chlorine, for example, or if you have a water softener. On the other extreme a relatively “dirty” water supply can introduce organisms that will […]
READ ONWhenever you’re maintaining an active, full-strength starter, you always need to at least double its weight to keep it healthy and happy. That can be a lot of starter assuming you keep it going at room temperature…two ounces makes four ounces make eight ounces make a pound and so on. Do that every day for […]
READ ONWhat do I do if my starter won’t grow? It happens sometimes. You use distilled water, you feed regularly, but you can’t seem to reach that ultra-bubbly critical mass. As long as it looks good, smells good and you’re seeing at least a few pea-sized bubbles every day, you’re probably on the right track. The […]
READ ONOne of the big variables in the world of bread starter recipes is moisture. Some can be extremely wet, up to 60% water, others somewhat dry, in the realm of 35% water. Is there any practical difference between them? For the purpose of getting a starter culture going, the answer is no. Though I’ve had […]
READ ONIf you’re wondering what I meant when I said that I generally let my starter ferment for five days to make sure I “clear all the suckers out” it’s because starter bowls can occasionally grow some funky stuff. Actually, maybe I should take part of that back. They always grow some funky stuff, but occasionally […]
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