Sourdough Starters?

[RavVid]

Hi Bread Bakers,

After quite a while of not baking bread, I've resumed doing it. Nothing quite like freshly baked bread from your own oven.

I want to bake sourdough as I used to. It is easy enough to get a starter going but I've noticed that there are commercially available versions with long lineages. 120 years is the oldest I have seen so far. It just tickles my fancy to have a linage of around 100 years and makes a talking point.

I brew Kveik Norwegian farm brew for the same reason and it has the advantage nobody knows what Norwegian farm brew should taste like and can't criticize consequently :).

Anyway, has any one tried one of these family heritage sourdough starters and could recommend one? I see myself making white/whole meal and rye bread mixes. Not so easy to get rye flour and it is fairly expensive here so I'd do that less often..

Thanks in advance...

Updates

6 mo

Thanks for the help everyone!

[FreyaRed]

I don't bake anymore because bread quality increased in last two years due bakeries have to compete with system bakeries from Aldi, Lidl... etc. However I remember I started once two sourdough cultures, one with starter another one without. I used same rye flour for both and after few weeks as milk acid bacteria and yeast balance stabilized there was no difference between those sourdough cultures. I think those starters aren't really necessary.

[RavVid]

Yes Purplepoppy is making the same point. It is a mistake to carry over beer making experience to bread and I was transposing that.

[purplepoppy]

It's a scam. As you know you keep a starter going by regular feeding and the yeast/bacteria mix is determined by the temperature you keep it. But regardless of mix over time the san Francisco strain comes to dominate. The starter is always changing, it's not the same starter it was last year never mind 200 years ago

[RavVid]

That's a good point that the starter changes over time. There will be an evolutionary struggle in the jar. I am quite interested in San Fracisco dough breads.

As I am the other side of the Pacific (12,651 Km to San F.) do you think that strain might be present and ready to go?

[purplepoppy]

I'm under the impression it's ubiquitous worldwide

[RavVid]

Easily airborne I imagine. There is a sea trench that cut Australia off to mammals. But they'd just need a good breeze I guess. Will give it a go.

[strateguy632]

i made my own. can't use tap water nor fridge so find a cool place dark and sealed

[RavVid]

Hmmh. I have used tap water which is chlorinated. The starter is not looking that hot. Maybe i should boil the chlorine off first and let cool.

[Massageman]

You can just let the water sit for a day or two in a glass bowl and let the chlorine evaporate from the water. That will usually work. Same trick can be used for fish bowls.

[RavVid]

@Massageman So it would.

[BoopBoopBeep]

I had some of an 80year one once that was absolutely gorgeous.

[RavVid]

was that commercially available or passed over on a personal basis?

[BoopBoopBeep]

Both? it was from a baker I knew. She used it in her bakery, so...

[RavVid]

You were lucky in your personal contacts. :)

[BoopBoopBeep]

I have been blessed in such ways throughout my professional and personal lives in ways I cannot describe

[DizzyDesii]

I’ve never made it but definitely wanting to buy some because the restaurants that use those toasted buns make it so delicious

[RavVid]

Yes. The flavor is the point - far better than the plastic wonder white breads. The first loaf was a bit crappy but after that they've been good. I bought a cheap mixer with a dough hook so it doesn't even take much effort. Now I want that delicious taste happening!