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i think i understand the basic idea behind the advice to remove as much starter as you put in- that with limited space in one's jar, you need to remove "waste" products to provide more room for the fresh food you add so the ratio is favorable to the type of bacteria you want to grow.
but if you have enough space in your jar to keep feeding in ample amounts, does it affect the quality of a starter to nor remove any some weeks? i tend to only use it once a week or less, and don't like wasting starter when i don't need it.
anyone have any experience to share?
thanks in advance.
but if you have enough space in your jar to keep feeding in ample amounts, does it affect the quality of a starter to nor remove any some weeks? i tend to only use it once a week or less, and don't like wasting starter when i don't need it.
anyone have any experience to share?
thanks in advance.
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Re: do you have to remove starter when feeding sourdough?
Wed, October 14, 2009 - 10:32 AMMy experience is that YES, you have to toss out a bunch of the waste when feeding your starter. I feel better knowing that it helps my compost. That said, if you're making bread once a week, you may not need to do as much feeding as you're doing. I've used starter that i haven't fed in 6 months with fine results. (It still needs to be refreshed from the fridge though).
I've also just discovered this AMAZING process for bread baking (link below). I add a fingerful of my sourdough starter to the recipe even though it doesn't call for it (and I don't refresh it...so a good way to use up that 'waste'). As a lifelong artisan bread baker, I was so excited to work this new way. The basic idea is to create a huge quantity of (moister than usual) dough, store in the fridge, pull our a handful and let it rise then bake it. You don't even have to clean the container...just add your next batch of dough. I now bake fresh bread everyday with minimal preparation and (best yet) minimal cleanup (flour is a pain to clean!). You can also use the dough for different things: for pizza, crackers, lavash etc... I sound like an advertisement, but I'm not. Just a convert.
If all you try is the 'Master Recipe', you'll be hooked. I also like the rye a lot.
www.artisanbreadinfive.com/ -
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Re: do you have to remove starter when feeding sourdough?
Wed, October 14, 2009 - 11:23 AMA couple of questions.
1. So to get the actual recipe we need to purchase the book? 2. Does this recipe always need yeast, or can you make it with just sourdough? (since I prefer not to use to commercial yeast, I would not want to purchase the book if the recipe uses yeast.)
As for starter, I do not throw any of my starter away, I simply feed it everyday outside the refregrator. If I am going away I might need to keep in the refrigerator and need to revive it, but otherwise, even feeding it a small amoung everyday and changing containers works fine. I bake once a week too and this works fine for me.
Thanks
Linda
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Re: do you have to remove starter when feeding sourdough?
Wed, October 14, 2009 - 10:11 PMIf you don't remove enough starter before feeding it, the pH stays too high and some of the bacteria in it is inhibited, resulting in blander and blander starter each generation. I also hated throwing out starter (all those stories from when I was a kid about the starving children in China (who are now probably telling their grandchildren about the starving children in America)). Then I discovered sourdough pancakes! They're easy and delicious and a great way to use up the extra starter. Somewhere in the discussions below I posted a recipe for them. If it's no longer there I can find it.
As of late, I've had to put away my sourdough starter (dieting issues, I'm off bread for a while). : ( -
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Re: do you have to remove starter when feeding sourdough?
Sat, October 17, 2009 - 6:58 PMInteresting Jenn.. Ive been doing exactly the same thing. I figured throwing in some of my sourdough would deepen the process and compliment the yeast. I was lucky enough to find that Artisan Bread in 5 mins.book at the library last year, and also, for those interested, the recipes are posted all over the internet. One place I've found them is on Mother Earth News online.
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Re: do you have to remove starter when feeding sourdough?
Mon, October 19, 2009 - 6:34 AMYah ya gotta dump it out.
As you said you get rid of the waste products and you also get rid of a lot of pathogens that might (or not) be developing.
Then add some water and flour and stir. I feed mine about every day. I know people who feed their s more than that. I've let mine go for a few days without feeding.
If you want you can freeze it but the Lactobacilli need a little help to survive the freezer. Get a little glycerin and mix a small amount in before freezing. I'll help prevent the ice crystals from rupturing the cells.
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Re: do you have to remove starter when feeding sourdough?
Mon, October 19, 2009 - 8:19 AMMy experience is different and my sourdough works really well. See my profile for a picture of mine erupting from it's container..quite lively. Anyway, I know there are many ways to get to the same place. I also freeze my starter straight up without adding anything and it works fine, just takes 5 days to revive, as if you were starting a new culture.
Blessings
Linda -
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Re: do you have to remove starter when feeding sourdough?
Mon, October 19, 2009 - 10:51 PMIf I have a large container I also don't throw anything away till there's no more room. I don';t think that throwing away a little starter does anything for human pathogens- there'd still be plenty left to hurt you if they existed, I'd think- luckily not a lot of stuff likes acidity and sourdough is robust enough to be acidic pretty quickly.
I was also going to post the 'sourdough pancakes' suggestion. I think I have a 'recipe' here too- you basically just use starter as a pancake batter- leave some out the night before with some fresh flour and water and salt, and fry it up in the morning. My main dilemma with this is how to add egg (which I like the taste of) to the risen pancake batter without stirring down the desirable air bubbles that formed in the night that made it nice and fluffy. If it doesn't seem to make fluffy pancakes because your starter doesn't leaven well or something went wrong, then stir in some baking powder right before frying the pancakes to add leavening power.
OMG, I want some RIGHT NOW. -
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Re: do you have to remove starter when feeding sourdough?
Tue, October 20, 2009 - 7:29 PMSo what I think I'm hearing here is that while the idea has been passed down that you need to remove some of the starter each time, no one has any direct experience with this causing any problems. At least two of you don't bother taking any out unless you need it, and your culture is healthy and makes great bread.
I had wondered if the original impetus for automantically "taking out and putting in" every time was to be sure you're replenishing it each time you use it and not letting your supply dwindle down. -
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Re: do you have to remove starter when feeding sourdough?
Tue, October 20, 2009 - 8:28 PMI think you are on to something Megan. One thing is that historically bread was baked on a regular basis, so it was constantly taken from and replenished. There really was not reason to through any away. People baked more often and therefore the starter did not sit, like many of us are dealing with today.
One thing that I sometimes make with extra sourdough are crackers. I orginally followed a recipe from Jessica Prentice's book Full Moon Feast and then altered it to suit my needs.
Blessings
Linda -
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Re: do you have to remove starter when feeding sourdough?
Fri, October 23, 2009 - 7:16 PMi love that book! thanks for reminding me to dig into it again.
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