June 03, 2024
Today is the start of a new experiment when it comes to my sourdough research. When I did the sourdough for Canterbury Fayre this past April, the starter I had failed in early May. I had gotten impatient and tried to force the starter to mature faster. What ended up happening, from what I understand, is it had a premature bloom of a Leuconostoc baterial bloom. While we need this bacteria in the starter, it does need to be present in the starter for it to rise.
Now, I’m ready to start another experiement. I’ve done a fair bit more research, and found a baker by the name of Ben Starr. He’s a self-proclaimed food geek, and in his YouTube videos, actually sit us down and tell us WHY these happen, and take us through the process step-by-step. Please go take a look at the information this man gives us! Love it!
Anyway, today was Day One of this new experiment. I’m doing one starter with organic whole wheat flour, pineapple juice (unsweetened), and filtered water. The second starter is organic whole wheat flour and filtered water.
This is a weirder experiment for me, as Ben Starr starts his starter with 200% hydration, and doesn’t go down to the typical 100% for a number of days. However, he does explain why … and it does make sense. As we go through the days, I will describe what is happening, and why the hydration is what it is.
Once these experiements are done, I will translate them into how they would have done them in my preferred time period of 15th Century France. I just need to understand how this all works first. It’s a good thing I don’t have plans to enter another A&S competition this year *laugh*.
The warmest place in my kitchen right now, is on top of the fridge. So I’ve placed these jars up there, and every few hours, I will stir each jar (and clean spoon for each) vigorously. They need to keep the oxygenation for yeast growth.
One of the things I need to watch for, and be extra careful now because the flour is so very different from the unbleached I used last time, is mould. Either black and fuzzy or pink. Both of those are deadly. But, Ben even touches on mould. The man is a freaking genius.
Stay tuned … I will be back tomorrow with Day Two!