The only way you could have killed it is if you used water that was hotter than 28C. One other thing that may have affected it is the flour used. I believed that all the flour in NZ is unsterilised but another poster in another thread said she had used a sterilised flour. So just use Champion white flour. That is a cheap flour and good for getting a starter going. I boil the water and leave for the day till it is cold or else I use a thermometer. They are a good investment. For a few dollars you will always know exactly what temperature your water is. A thermometer is also excellent if you are making your own yoghurt from scratch.
Cold filtered water is also fine to use.
angel404,
Mar 24, 5:39pm
Yeah i killed it by cooking it in the oven :( lol Also my recipe says to use water that is 35degrees to make the production starter. The last time i did this it was rasing beautifully but then i took it out of oven and forgot about it and it smelt awful. I might try the yeast/toghurt starter next time. I am using high grade flour (its what i usually have in cupboard) but ive tried it with unbleached organic white flour and brown rice flour and nothings worked.
dibble35,
Mar 24, 8:01pm
you'll have to keep trying angel. I just had my white sourdough loaf for lunch with some soup and it was beautiful, much nicer than the wholemeal one the other day, it rose better/faster as well. Just have to figure out the cooking time in this dodgy oven of mine, Recipe I have says to put it in a cold oven and then heat and cook at 180*C for 30-45 mins, well at 30 its quite dark on top. Have i said lately how much i dislike my oven:-)
elliehen,
Mar 14, 9:27pm
My apologies, this is not an answer to your question, but I was looking for a recent thread to add this link to a Lauraine Jacobs' recipe that even her husband can make ;)
I find this is a really good recipe for the starter and the bread.I have now shared my starter with at least another 10 people.I make a loaf every two or three days, varying the style with different types and mixes of flour.
Edited to add: remove the rhubarb from the starter after a couple of days.
cookessentials,
Mar 18, 12:23am
I am keen to make her Sourdough fig upside down pudding cake which looks fabulous! as well as her Sourdough English muffins and buckwheat linseed bread. This is her website that you may find interesting. http://www.wildsourdough.com.au/she takes sourdough classes as well which I would love to try.
dibble35,
Mar 18, 1:03am
Sorry, got it wrong, wasnt someone on thread had said it, it was on this website that they recommended looking at. http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/sour.htm actually quite a good website, makes it all seem so easy
buzzy110,
Mar 18, 10:00pm
for a straightforward outline of exactly how sourdough bread is made from scratch, and all of the why's, why not take a look at the site I am about to post. I just made my starter following his basic information. Once that was done I then continued on and made his basic white loaf.
As the years have passed I learned to observe and analyse what was happening so that I understood the whole process and can now easily make a starter from scratch and have a completed, fluffly loaf, within the week without using any commercial yeast at all.
One of the things I did learn was that there is no need for honey or any other sweet food to get the yeast multiplying in the sponge. The yeasts already in the starter are perfectly happy to eat the flour and gluten that it gets from the sponge (second sour).
The standard recipe in this site is perfect for making a mixed grain bread. Instead of 3 cups of white flour you can use just one and two cups of different flours. Best to make the plain flour first just to acquaint yourself with whole process.
I cannot remember the exact quantities he uses for his starter. I just stick to the one cup rule. One cup of everything, including the starter.
If you think its cooking too fast then it may be that the oven is running hotter than it indicates turn the temp down a little rather than run shorter, I would try 170 C next time.
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