From: dadams@cray.com (David Adams)
Subject: Re: Just Starting Help
Reply-To: dadams@cray.com
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 11 Jan 93 12:46:44 CST

In article Myr@world.std.com, twm3@world.std.com (Thomas W Moore) writes:
|Hiya,
|
|As the title suggest, I am just starting (no pun intended :-) ) up and
|have what should be a very basic question.  I have a pack of "Goldrush
|Old Fashioned San Francisco Style Sourdough Starter" and they suggest that
|after I add the 2 cups of white flour and water that I let it sit in a
|warm (80-85 degrees) for 36-48 hours.  Right :-| .  I keep the house at
|66 degrees when I am awake and turn it down to 60 degrees at night.  Will
|my lovely yeast go forth and multiply when it is that cold?  If they do
|bless with more yeast etc, any idea how long it will take at the 60
|degree climes of my house.  Or am I going to be told that I need to construct
|some type of "house" to keep my new pet, the yeast, alive.  I was thinking
|of a cardboard box and a lamp of some sort.


Perhaps there is a warm spot on top of the furnace, or on top of the Fridge?
Some people keep the culture warm by keeping it in the oven with the oven 
light on for just a bit of heat.

Perhaps a proofing box is not a bad idea after all.  Here are some simple 
ways to do that without any reall expense:

Ed Wood suggests you get one of those styrofoam coolers and invert it over 
your culture jar or pan of rising bread.  Then you can set up a light bulb
in the carton to add heat.  Extra holes can cool things down if the light
has too many watts.

One thing I have done with success it to put a bowl with the culture in it
in a camping cooler.  I put a bucket of hot water in there too.  I wrap the 
whole thing up in a sleeping bag for extra insulation.  If I change the water
every 6 to 12 hours it will keep things nice and warm in there.


|Second question (of three):  The little packet of information included
|with the starter talks about measuring out 1 1/2 cups of the mixture
|described above.  I'm not a rocket scientist but I would think that taking
|1 1/2 cups out of the above mixture (a total of about 2 1/2 cups) would
|pretty much finish it off.  Or does the mixture greatly expand after the 
|yeasties go forth and multiply?

You should save 1 cup for future use.  If you started with 2 cups of flour
and 2 cups of water you will probably have enough left over.

|
|Third (and last for the time being) question:  I take it that after the
|36-48 hours of multiplying, etc. that I need to "feed" my new pet.  I've
|got a book called "The Best of Herman Sourdough" and they have a feeding
|diet for the fifth day and then for the tenth day of the sourdough.  The
|tenth day feeding is also used once every five days for the rest of the live
|of the sourdough.  With the above mixture, I take it that I can skip
|immediately to the ten day feeding because I have a real starter (the
|Herman culture starts with milk, water, flour, milk, and sugar).  Any
|comments?  Oh, one more 1/2 question.  The Herman book talks about freezing
|the starter if you get bored with it, will be on vacation, etc.  Does
|sourdough freeze in the sense of greatly slowly down its life.

We have discussed this a bit in the past.  It seems that most sourdoughs
will become dormant durring freezing.  (This is the simple explanation.)  
Try it with half your culture sometime see how you like the results.   


|Thanks advance for your help.  I hope you all can help me with these
|fairly basic (I hope) questions.
|
|~Tom
|
|-- 
|===============================================================================
|"There is indeed such a thing as a free lunch - however it just isn't exactly
|the lunch you had in mind." - No-No, it is On-On, twm3@world.std.com



---
--David C. Adams  Statistician  Cray Research Inc.  dadams@cray.com
___________________________________________________________________
       Old Sourdoughs never die.  They just ferment away.



Newsgroups: rec.food.sourdough