Hello loyal blog readers (all two of you)! I am sad to report that I have departed from Cafe Juanita. The split was completely amicable though. I left so I could pursue my job search. I am looking for a job in my previous corporate career. My wife and I are expecting our first child soon, so I am returning to my old career so she can stay home with the kid for a while.
If you are plugged into the information technology scene in Seattle, then take a look at my profile on LinkedIn. Maybe you know of something that might be a good fit for me?
As for this blog, I’m going to try to maintain it but focus on what I’m working on here at home. Right now I’m just starting a starter, a rye starter to be exact. Creating and maintaining a starter at home is something I have been meaning to do for a long time. Here’s the procedure I’m following –
Rye Sourdough Culture
Day One – create starter
10 g organic whole rye flour
10 g dechlorinated water*
Make sure all of your equipment and your hands a clean. You don’t want to contaminate the starter with undesirable bacteria. Mix the flour and water to a paste. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for 24 hours in a warm place (75 – 85 degrees; in an oven with a pilot or with the oven light turned on if you have no pilot light). *Chlorinated water can interfere with the ability of the natural yeasts to grow. Water can be dechlorinated by boiling it and letting it cool or my simply leaving it in an uncovered container for at least 24 hours (the chlorine dissipates naturally).
Day Two - one feeding
20 g starter
20 g organic whole rye flour
20 g dechlorinated water
You should see tiny bubbles in the starter and it should start to rise slightly. If you don’t, then you need to start over. Mix the day one starter together with the additional flour and water. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for 24 hours in a warm place.
Day Three through Seven – two feedings
30 g starter
30 g organic whole rye flour
30 g dechlorinated water
By day three the starter should have more bubbles and rise even more. It should smell good – like yeasty bread. If it smells bad or has a funny color, you have to start over. Mix the required amount of starter (compost the leftover amount) with the additional flour and water. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for 12 hours in a warm place. Try to feed the starter as close as possible to the 12 hour schedule. You can use the starter after the second feeding on the seventh day, or you can continue this 12 hours feeding schedule for another few days to make an even stronger culture.
Notes
- If you’re going to be using the starter the make bread everyday, then you can get by with keeping it out at room temperatures and have it not over-ripen. You know the starter is ripe when it has domed up and is starting to slightly recede (fall) in the center. If it collapses, then it is over-ripe.
- However, if like most home bakers, you don’t plan to bake bread everyday, then you can add a little salt (up to 2% of the weight of flour) to slow it down. Just take the salt into account when making your bread (subtract from the recipe).
- Another option is to find the coolest spot in your house, such as the basement. I don’t recommend storing it the fridge as temperatures below 46°F can kill the wild yeasts and allow the acetic acid bacteria to take over. This makes the starter too sour and can actually taste spoiled.
- In the summer, you may need to use both of the above methods in order to maintain your starter between uses.
