Free Sourdough Starter: 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough

[ExpatCanadian]

Well, mine just arrived on Thursday morning....  had it mixed up and in the warm place within the hour and now 48 hours on, after the second addition of flour and potato water it's nice and bubbly and ready to go into the fridge:





So, how long do I need to wait before using it in recipes?  Do I need to go through several feeding cycles first to build it up a bit?

[classicrockgriller]

I left mine out for 4 to 5 days, in a warm place.

How many times has it double in size?

[ExpatCanadian]

After the initial rehydration of the powder with 3/4 cup water and 3/4 cup flour and 1 tsp sugar, it's only had one additional cup each of water and flour....  so it's really only doubled in volume once.....

[classicrockgriller]

if you are going to use 1 cup of mix, then you want to have two cups left over

[ArnieM]

Arnie, you would be the guy that would love the experiment of making sourdough something.
Go for it ! It's almost free.

I went for it and I'm still waiting for it.  I'm keeping an eye on this thread to learn how to "do it" properly.

[classicrockgriller]

HOW TO REVIVE THE DRY START


The Brochure available for download here is a historical document.  It is
a lightly edited version of the brochure that Carl sent out with starter. 
The instructions in the brochure work just as well as they always have. 
However, with the fresh start that we are sending out, we have found that
potato starch, from potato water or dry granules, and sugar are not
necessary to reconstitute the starter.  Plain white flour and water will do
just fine.

Following is a method to revive the start that I like better than the one
detailed in the brochure:

Get a small container.  Begin with one tablespoon of lukewarm water, stir
in 1/2 teaspoon of your starter and let stand for a few minutes to soften
the start granules. Then mix in one tablespoon of flour. Depending on the
flour, you may need to add an additional teaspoon or two of water. You want
the mixture to be like a thin pancake batter.  When the mixture gets
bubbly, put it in a little larger container.  Then stir in 1/4 cup of water
and 1/4 cup of flour.  When that mix rises up add 1/2 cup of water and 1/2
cup of flour.  When this bubbles up, you will have about one cup of very
active starter that is ready for use or storage in your refrigerator.

The time between refreshments will depend mainly on temperature. You can
expect the first sign of starter activity to take from four to 12 hours.

Tips:

o I use the baby formula wrist test to judge the temperature of the water. 
A few drops on your wrist should feel neither warm nor cold.

o A baby food jar and an 18-ounce peanut butter jar work well for the small
and large containers.

o Established starter will do fine in any room temperature that is
comfortable for humans.  Warmer room temperature is helpful when reviving
start, but do not go over 85F if at all possible.  Cooler temperatures just
extend the time required.  If room temperature is under 68F, I find a
warmer spot such as the top of my refrigerator or a cold oven with the light
on.

o Vigorous stirring of the mixture from time to time will slightly shorten
the time between growth stages, but is not necessary for success.  I use
this method to test start before shipping and just stir enough to mix the
ingredients.

Regarding the vinegar "kick", and the use of dry yeast in a few of the
recipes Carl transcribed, we don't do it, but heck, it might work for you.

Good luck with your sourdough,

---
"Carlos" October 19, 2003

[ExpatCanadian]

Ah screw it...  decided to just plain go for it....  and I'm sure glad I did!  Used a very basic recipe, essentially just added a couple tsp of sugar and a pinch of salt to 2 cups of the starter....  added bread flour until it formed a decent dough and baked it.  Easy peasy...  was pretty skeptical myself, but it worked out really well, nice and sour, exactly how I think it should be!  Next weekend, pancakes.

Look what I made!!!!!!!

[deb415611]

Very Nice Expat!!

I love bread!

[classicrockgriller]

If you like the bread, you will love the pancakes.

[Pachanga]

I have several starters which I have maintained for years.  One is from wild yeast, one from a commercial yeast, one started using pineapple juice as part of the liquid at the beginning which creates a better environment for the wild yeast and inhibits the bad bugs, and the 1847 starter.  The website and Carl's story are interesting.

The 1847 is the one I use most.  I highly recommend it.

Some people say that the local wild yeasts are caught in the air, but everything I read that is scientific on the subject states that they are in the flour.  It makes sense that yeast would be attached to its preferred food source.  Of course, this yeast came from somewhere, be it in the plant handed down from generation to generation or absorbed from ground water or the air which would account for the different strains from different areas and parts of the world.  All in all, a very interesting subject.

Over time, starters are said to mutate, but mine seem to stay the same for now.  I am very careful about cross contamination.

Pachanga

[classicrockgriller]

I keep my starters (2) on opposite sides of fridge on two different shelves and one in aux fridge.