Starter cultures - in questions and answers

You can also try to take your ripe fruit / berry (not a store one), roll it in flour, which will then be used for feeding, let it sit for several hours (do not press, juice is not needed, you need wild yeast living on their surface). Feed the sourdough with this flour. This is a wild yeast addition to your sourdough starter. If the concentration of DD increases, they will overtake the ICD in their growth. That is, the bread will have time to rise, but the acid will not accumulate.

good advice, mine just cheered up, but I took store

[Tatyana]

Tatyana, I do not define in any way. I just bake regularly and for more than 4 days (usually 3 days) it doesn't stand there. Well, she still starts to fall, it can be seen. That is, in theory, when it began to fall off, you need to feed. But I only bake rye-wheat bread with sourdough. I need sourness there. Therefore, I am very free in my leaven. You can't use wheat on my oven. To do this, it must be put in order for some time to remove excess acidity. And then, for baking wheat bread, observe all the rules for the content of sourdough so that a lot of acid does not accumulate in it.

It freezes there and does not grow for a long time.

anyway it will grow and bubble

I can't understand from the leaven in the refrigerator: whether to feed or not. It freezes there and does not grow for a long time. So understand, wants to eat or not. I don't know if it's right or not, but I take it out, leave it warm, and when it grows to its peak in the heat, then I feed it. Or according to the manual, if purchased.
Girls, how do you determine by the cold sourdough that it is hungry?

I feed on a schedule. That is, if you spent an hour on the table and then removed it, after 3 days. If it was fermented for 3 hours on the table, then in the refrigerator Max. day and feed again. This is Calvel's schedule. The bold sourdough keeps up with this rhythm.

good advice, mine just cheered up, but I took store

In the shops there might not have been much DD (I have no idea what they are processed there), but the ones that are available in your sourdough were happy to eat deliciously with grape sugars. Also a topic. But sometimes, not too often. For these purposes, you can add a drop of honey at the end of the spoon to the sourdough. And you can also search for DD on any of your own apples, plums, pears, currants, etc.

I just came across the topic of leavening. Bread started baking quite recently too - at the end of July this year, it immediately took up the hop base. Can you correct me, maybe I'm doing something not according to the rules. I'll just tell you how it all began with me and listen to the recommendations!
I came across as something on a video on YouTube for baking hop bread. I decided to try it. Moreover, a friend supported my sudden hobby by presenting me a starter transmitted by generations (is this possible?). He took the leaven from his mother, and that earlier from her mother. Starter with potato-hop sourdough. I will say this, I got the bread right the first time! But all the same, some doubts overwhelm, according to a comrade - he has a starter in the refrigerator for MONTHS, up to six months, without feeding! It is right? It looks like the yeast works, and it works perfectly, the first baking was from his half-year-old starter, then I grew it from the rest.
The question and doubts arose seeing how others are constantly feeding the starter, updating ...
And here is my first baking in a multicooker bowl, baked in a gas stove oven.

he has a starter in the refrigerator for MONTHS, up to six months, without feeding!

I'm not special, but somehow doubtful

Me too, the more I read, the more doubts prevail! About five years ago, I was given a hop sourdough, and I calmly baked bread on it twice a week. I handed out the leaven to everyone and everyone baked for years according to the same recipe: in the evening all the leaven (250 ml) was poured into, say, a container, sugar, flour and water were added. In the morning, a part of this dough was put into a jar and water was added (up to 250 ml) and put immediately into the refrigerator. The rest of the dough was supplemented with flour, vegetable oil, salt, sugar, proofing for 3-4 hours and two loaves of wonderful bread. After reading this topic, I realized that my leaven is already stuffed with harmful mushrooms. From fear, my leaven died (I went on vacation, then it was cold at home in the spring) and now I am growing new leavens, looking, so to speak. But I miss my old one

After reading this topic, I realized that my leaven is already stuffed with harmful mushrooms.

I also want to know what my leaven is stuffed with, but after reading the topic I did not understand it, but how did you recognize it?

but those of your own in your sourdough were eaten deliciously with grape sugars.

no, well, what kind of sugar on the skin? in agony it seems to me even more than him
and I bought straight with a bloom, a specialist chose

[Newbie]

Newbie,

There is starch in flour, it still needs to be split. And in grapes, fructose is ready. Your skins were not cleaned directly. And of course someone got down from the grapes into your sourdough and settled)).

A! Ugh! All you say is correct! For some reason I got it into my head that you were adding crushed grapes (this is also possible). And you rolled it with flour, right? Of course, no sugars in this case. Definitely someone just got off the grapes and settled in to live forever)).



Yuri K, I came across only Zekowa, which is a starter up to 4 months. All others can only be stored for so long in the freezer or dried. I don't know how he keeps it like that. The usual leaven should die. Is the bread lifting speed high? Does this make you think of the presence of industrial yeast? It is because of such doubts that I grow myself. There I know exactly how sterile the conditions are and that there is no store yeast.

And of course someone got down from the grapes into your sourdough and settled)).

first moved to flour, which I then added to the leaven, and I think I know who it was - they, my dears, DD

[Newbie]

Newbie,

Yes, yes, I wrote to you above, I mixed it up!

[Nata]

Regular leaven must die

Nata, and leaven for kvass, on which they baked bread, and put kvass. This gusch (as it is called here) lived in a cellar in a jar or jar, or a saucepan. And she lived for a long time, up to six months. And no one fed her.
And, they did not start a new one, but went to the neighbors and asked for thick. There was no question of any industrial yeast.
So it is with bread. A piece was left, which was also kept in a wooden dugout vessel, until the moment when the bread needed to be baked. It's wheat. And they also shared bread and this starter. And yeast was simply impossible to get.

Is the bread lifting speed high? Does this make you think of the presence of industrial yeast?

The climb is just wonderful! There can be no talk of industrial yeast, I know this person well, I do not doubt the honesty))




By the way, her own now stands, while she is a month old.

[OlgaGera]

OlgaGera,

No one has ever kept leavened dough in our village. How to store it, if in the summer it ferments itself in two days and put kvass all season? In the refrigerator, it is brutally acidified and then moldy. Even on sauerkraut in the cellar, where it was near zero, mold appeared, which was simply removed. Grandmother used a rag to collect the edge of the barrel and that's it. For bread, they kept a piece from the kneading for about a week. I mean, like a sourdough for the next bake. Because bread was baked all year round. About once a week or two. Or walked to neighbors, as you correctly say. Stored in a wooden box, heavily sprinkled with flour, generally in a cool state.Flour served as a barrier to pathogenic flora. German bakers still do this with sourdough - sprinkle it with flour. This was called sour dough. Thus, this piece of dough was constantly updated with a supply for baking and fed. No one kept it intact for six months.

[Nata]

Nata, that's what I learned from a neighbor. I'm a city child. Everything is new to me and it was interesting.
They did not ferment this thick. And almost half a cup begged.
Well, this can be the features of the area)))

[OlgaGera]

OlgaGera,

Yes, in season. To ask for thick ripe kvass - yes, what to poke around and wait a few days if the neighbor has it ready. But to store this thick for six months until next summer ?? There was no such thing! What for?? It is not value absolutely. Moreover, they did not drink kvass in winter. In the summer, ready-made kvass was kept in the cellar in jars. We always started kvass on crusts ourselves. 2-3 days - ready. At least re-ferment. Sour milk was also made - a crust of bread in milk, so that it sour quickly and well.

I have all the village from all sides)).



Yuri K,

I'm not saying that he is lying. People sometimes do not even attach any importance - they left a piece of dough from kneading bread with yeast in addition to sourdough or stirred it in the same dish and as a result then grows industrial yeast, which is more active and more aggressive than wild yeasts and simply displace them.



OlgaGera,

By the way, I even deliberately got into the book of the Molokhovets. She has a whole section on yeast there. Dry commercial yeast, homemade thick yeast, homemade liquid yeast, and so on. Dry yeast is stored for up to 3 months, according to her. This is if the good purchased ones. Further, in different recipes for making homemade yeast, we are talking about terms of 3 weeks, 2 months, or in general, there is no question of any timing, but it is proposed to resume the batch of yeast when the previous one ends. And so on without end.

[Nata]

Nata, so the leaven is hop. And hops are bactericidal, maybe this is the secret from mold? And if a friend has an ice refrigerator. In the fridge on the bottom shelf in my life I can't wait for my leaven to rise. And that's all.
If a friend has a bactericidal hop starter culture, closed in a jar, almost dry, in an ice refrigerator, then maybe that's why it is not killed?
Yuri K, is it thick or liquid for you? Doesn't the bread sour?
I have long wanted to try hop sourdough. They write that it is some kind of special, but difficult to breed.
Hop yeast has been produced before. Maybe it’s not sourdough, but hop yeast that sleep well in an ice refrigerator?
A friend has a refrigerator with an antibacterial filter. I was jealous. Not only is she not talking about mold, but food does not deteriorate every three times longer than mine, or even more. The starter cultures dry, but no mold. Super. Maybe a friend has a refrigerator with the same filter?



Camilla, tell us about harmful mushrooms. My starter cultures not only in the refrigerator, but also sour for a long time on the shelves. What can settle there, and, most importantly, how can it be determined? I'm only afraid of mold, but you can see it right away. And what else may be there, write in detail, please.

tell us about harmful mushrooms

If I knew!!! ... Here, on the forum, I read that in leavens, over time, aggressive harmful yeast fungi displace useful ones. And I imagined who was already there in my five-year leaven. But my bread didn't get moldy even after a week! That's why I wrote here to figure out what kind of sourdough can be used for many years without harm to health, without removing it again (although the process of removing it is also exciting, but there is a threat to leave the family for several weeks without bread, in case of failure)




and another question arose: why does someone add sugar / honey to the starter, and someone does not. How to be?

and another question arose: why does someone add sugar / honey to the starter, and someone does not. How to be?

well, if she is weak, to raise the tone, so to speak

and another question arose: why does someone add sugar / honey to the starter, and someone does not. How to be?

I feed the sourdough with honey after a long absence. In constant mode, the leaven has enough food in the flour.

to raise the tone so to speak

after a long absence

now it's clear, thanks!

[Camilla]

Camilla,

When grown, add malt, honey, sugar, fruits with their sugars to increase the likelihood of rapid growth of the right microorganisms. This is an easy food for them, so they will begin to multiply quickly. Not pathogenic microflora. A little honey or other goodies are periodically added to an already mature leaven in order to give microorganisms the necessary vitamins, microelements, to keep them in good shape, so that they are cheerful and cheerful.

to be cheerful and cheerful

I realized thanks!




Have any of those present used the same leaven for many years?

[Camilla]

Camilla, I have a year and a half the norm. We experienced drying, freezing, and subsequent restoration. Usually they finished off their vacation trips for a long time.

[Scarecrow]

Scarecrow

People sometimes do not even attach any importance - they left a piece of dough from kneading bread with yeast in addition to sourdough or stirred it in the same dish and as a result then grows industrial yeast, which is more active and more aggressive than wild yeasts and simply displace them.

No no! All this is excluded)) Longer to describe in detail, but nevertheless: he grows his sourdough in a jar like me (from a starter, starter and starter grown 100% not by quick yeast)

People sometimes do not even attach any importance - they left a piece of dough from kneading bread with yeast in addition to sourdough or stirred it in the same dish and as a result then grows industrial yeast, which is more active and more aggressive than wild yeasts and simply displace them.

I would not say that the bread turns out to be disgusting, which you cannot take in your mouth And I really like the dough and bread on such a "leaven" - delicious bread with a sourdough smell

Wheat bread on ripe dough (self-leavening) (Viki)

This version of "sourdough" is suitable for those who do not want to bother for a long time with the content of the sourdough, taking care of it (which is not always fully obtained).
For me personally, this method became just a godsend in due time And it is easier to be friends with such a leaven

Stories about "wild yeast" in sourdoughs are good for bread gourmets who have worked well and for a long time with sourdoughs, and have learned to understand what "wild yeast" is, where to look for them, and what they taste like And so, in the first place, you can do do not understand what it is about, what kind of "wildness" they say, if all baked bread of the same taste is obtained Yes, they also say at home that store bread is tastier

Wheat bread on old dough dough (oven)

Wheat bread made from old dough (Admin)

Wheat-rye bread on sour (old) dough (oven) (Admin)

If we consider the "correct" leaven on the forum Starter cultures , then there are literally a couple of recipes that require respect, and a lot of attention, patience, care, and are not always amenable to novice (and not only) bakers. Bread and leavens are hard work

All other leavens in the section, full "homemade", the most real "wild" yeast-leavens, which sometimes cannot be called sourdoughs, rather a quick dough.

[Tatyana]

Tatyana, I agree. I, too, followed in your footsteps when I realized that I was not in time with the leaven. And I don't like wheat with too much sourness. Therefore, I either bake bread in a dough, or I bring a piece of dough in the refrigerator according to your and Vicki's recipes.

[Admin]

Admin,

No, Tatyan, the point is not that bread on ripe dough is bad or disgusting. The accent is a little different, I meant differently. Normal bread. Absolutely. I, like most other bakers, bake many types of bread with ordinary store yeast, I have not betrayed them anathema and am not going to.But if a person grows a self-leavened culture, then he wants to get it, after all)). And then there is so much "torment", and as a result, it turns out, for example, that all this time you were jumping with jars, exhausting flour and time and growing store yeast, which you can just go and buy)). That is, I'm about wasting time and effort.

PS: Because of this, I don't even buy store-bought dried starter cultures. Well, those that need to be restored. Now I will think - what if there is, by chance or not by chance, even a grain of ordinary industrial yeast? And there I will swaddle this Levita, kiss her forehead at night and all that)). I'd rather grow it myself and be sure that there is exactly what I want.))

But if a person grows a self-leavened culture, then he wants to get it, after all)). And then there is so much "torment", and as a result, it turns out, for example, that all this time you were jumping with jars, exhausting flour and time and growing store yeast, which you can just go and buy)).

Here, with this I agree

Before starting to deal with bread and sourdough, it is advisable to carry out a good preparatory work in order to begin to figure out "what is what", otherwise it turns out differently "somewhere in the internet (and on the forum) they called, and took it for the ultimate truth"

And so, in the first place, you may not at all understand what it is about, what kind of "wildness" they say if all baked bread of the same taste turns out Yes, they also say at home that store bread is tastier

yeah, but I myself don’t know why I’m fiddling with sourdough, the only thing is that bread doesn’t crumble on it, but for prom. yeast crumbles straight in the hands

[Newbie]

Newbie, dough bread, especially with a long stay in the refrigerator, crumbles much less.

but on the prom. yeast crumbles straight in the hands

reduce the proofing T.
Or long standing

especially with a long stay in the refrigerator

I returned to the cold test again. Delicious

dough bread, especially with a long stay in the refrigerator

More details on the forum where to read about it?

[Yuri K]

Yuri K, here you can read Overnight proofing dough in the refrigerator

[Helena]

Helena, although so much time has passed, I already managed to find it myself, thanks anyway!

Tell me please! I'm trying to make a sourdough with whole grain rye flour. On the 5th day, it smells like Duchess Leeds! This is normal?

This is normal?

It's fine! You can bake bread

Thank you!

In the morning, sleepily, she began to feed her starter cultures, wheat (on whole grain) and rye (on rye wallpaper) and mixed them up. Poured into whole grain rye flour. Toss out?

Toss out?

no no, let it be so. Then you will be fed according to the rules.

[Zagoryanka]

Zagoryanka, do not throw away, gradually re-feed.
In general, the division here is rather arbitrary, special sterility and "pure blood" are not needed, all the leavens work more or less the same.

Thank you! That's it, you need to wake up the brain in the morning, and then run to feed the children)))

Help me please. I'm trying to bring out the wheat leaven. Already tried 7 times and always ends with one result. The result is a very liquid substance with small bubbles. Now in order, I take 50 grams of wheat flour c. from. and 50 grams of water. After 36-48 hours, it rises well, at least twice, after that I start feeding, I take 50 grams of sourdough and 25 grams of flour and water each. After a day, the leaven rises again. I repeat everything, the leaven can rise again, but the next time it definitely stops rising. That is, after 3-4 feeding, the sourdough does not grow, but just after a couple of hours it becomes very liquid with small bubbles. Explain why this is happening? Why does the leaven, after several dressings, become liquid and stop growing, water begins to peel off, while it tastes sour, the smell is ordinary. My hands are already giving up, I can't understand what the matter is.I tried flour from different manufacturers.

[Fry1]

Fry1Does your starter smell like yogurt or vinegar? Close the lid tightly?

I do not close it tightly, it does not smell like yogurt or vinegar, it usually smells like sourdough smelled on the second day, maybe stale bread.

[Fry1]

Fry1, perhaps you take a little raw material. And you can't get the process going in the right direction. Another snag - you take the wrong flour. Even wheat sourdough usually starts with whole grain RYE flour. At least in the recipes I've tried. Yeast is contained on the shell of the grain. And when we ferment the flour, we take exactly the whole grain flour, so that it contains the same wild yeast that we will breed. Well, either you have to go to the flour. from. add some kind of berry thread with a matte bloom, which will also contain these same wild yeast. Look at how to start breeding Levito Madre - a berry or a piece of fruit is crushed there and mixed with flour / water.
I would advise you to take the sourdough recipe on our website (any) and try it exactly according to the recipe.

[Fry1]

Fry1, what kind of water do you use? Filtered or boiled water also affects the excretion of the starter culture.

I use drinking bottled water. I bring out rye sourdough according to the same scheme without any problems. Simply, I'm already wondering why at first the leaven grows, and then it stops and becomes liquid (

[Fry1]

Fry1, you do not know who is breeding there. Just try to overfeed the rye wheat flour. It's just that the French sourdough is wheat. But the first call, when the flour was just mixed with water and left for 48 hours, is based on whole grain rye. And already the next feeding is carried out by wheat c. from.