For the last few days I have been following the general procedure for starting a sourdough starter. Essentially, culturing yeast and other microbes from the air on a growth medium of water and whole wheat flower. It sounds very scientific but it's really just leaving out a slurry of water and flour while hoping you catch the right beasties. Luck is a big factor and if you are unlucky the smell will let you know. There has been no activity to report on until this morning.
Today the starter smells nice and yeasty with a mildly fruit character similar to a cider. This is just the first sign that we have active fermentation and it seems like a good culture. Cooking a sourdough of any kind is still a few days off at the least but this is a great development. Working with sourdough is a long process and one that requires a lot of patience but once it's finished the rewards are well worth the wait. I know one friend that got frustrated after the first couple days and scrapped her starter. Any time fermentation is a factor in something you are making it is going to take a long time. This is doubly true when fermenting with wild yeast as they are slow to start and very slow to finish.
I find it a bit odd that I am this excited about yeast and bacteria. This is how supervillains start.
No comments:
Post a Comment