I have an excellent starter in my frig now, very low-maintenance, as in I feed it when I remember and it bounces back instantly. I began it a few years ago with a few tablespoons of plain commercial yogurt plus a cup each of room temperature water and white flour. I have a whole house water filter, so there is no chlorine in our water -- you can set a glass of water on the counter overnight and let the majority of the chlorine in it off-gas naturally. I prefer King Arthur white flour, which I buy rather cheaply at Trader Joe's.
Use a non-reactive container (glass, crockery, tupperware) with lots of head room. Cover it with cheesecloth or a loose dish towel to keep demonic gnats out. Keep it on the counter and stir it gently once a day (wooden spoon, probably best to have a dedicated bread spoon). It shouldn't be in a place over 90° F, and 70° F is just fine. You want normal, healthy growth, not speedy growth at this point. It is a good idea to fill the surrounding air with yeast, so bake a lot or set a tiny bowl of proofing yeast next to your baby starter once a day. When the starter gurgles, you can start baking with the stuff. Ideally you will feed your starter every other week.
Convention is to feed the starter and let it bubble for a while, then put a cup of starter back in its crock and proceed to make bread with the rest. I do small batches so I reserve only a cup, or less, of starter. As your starter ages it will become rather putty-like, with gray liquid on top. This is good! I keep mine in one of those French glass 500 glasses with a plastic lid, in the frig.
*Sponge, aka Feeding your Friend starter
1 cup warm water
1 cup white flour
Beat well with a wooden spoon. Let develop. YMMV. You can keep a quart jar of starter and then add equal amounts of flour and water and have a larger sponge. No diff. Use only unbleached white flour in your starter and sponge; do not add anything else. Add whole wheat or other grains to the bread dough.
If I need to accelerate the sponge a bit, I set it on the counter over the dishwasher when I run the cycle, or on the dining table in the afternoon when the sun pours in the window. When your starter is gurgling happily, remove 1 cup and put it in a covered non-reactive container in your frig.
My standard bread recipe (yeast or sour) is 1 cup liquid, 1 tbsp. olive oil, scant tsp. salt, a small dollop of honey or tbsp. of sugar, and enough flour to make a soft dough, per loaf, plus leavening. I count the starter as half water, half solid. As you use your starter, you will get to know its foibles and preferences. If I want an extra sour bread, I let my starter gurgle until it's almost spent (>12 hours). It is finer in texture and a bit heavier, but delicious. If I want a sandwich loaf, I don't let the sponge go so long, pretty much just harvest it as soon as it gurgles. If I want a bouncy loaf, I add a bit more sugar or malt, a touch of yeast, and warm milk. Knead well, form loaves, and let rise fully before baking. Start hot, then reduce heat until done. An extra sour loaf is more dense and will take longer to bake.
My dad has experimented a lot with crusts. You can place a pan of water beneath the loaf. You can brush the loaf with water and/or a cornstarch solution. You can salt it. What I like is to make a round loaf, bake it on a heavy cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal, slash the top in a grid, and bake it. Sometimes I fuss with a pan of water. I'm a bit crusted out, frankly.
Sylvia
(10/10/01)
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