would leftover whey from yoghurt making give the same boost as the pineapple juice? Since it already have some bacteria in it and also slightly acidic? (I generally use it in my sourdough since I always have some lying around :))
I don't think it is acidic enough, Wendy, and the LAB in yogurt are not the same as those in sourdough. Won't hurt, but it probably won't be as effective as pineapple juice is.
Wow I love this interview! Thanks for coming back from working on your book to share it with us! How were the flowers were used in the experiments described in this article? Were they just put straight into the water and flour and mixed in, then discarded when the mix was refreshed?
This was awesome 👍🏼😎 Thank you for giving me this inspiration and exercise this morning! I was on the elliptical when I started listening and totally forgot the time!! 🤣 I do have a question: when I followed through the instructions on the Dunn lab website a few years ago, I decided to make an outside/ greenhouse starter to see if I get different results. It smelled better than the fridge one and worked great, but I never knew what was in it microbe & yeast-wise. Do you think the outside environment had any influence? Eventually, I combined all the starters into one--Sir Bobby Farts-Alot -- but in the summer, I do put him outside for a refresher. Everybody needs a vacation off and on!
I kind of doubt it, Sabine. I believe the current thinking is that sourdough microbes come from the flour or the *hands* of the baker, not the air. I think if there was anything good floating around, it would be swamped by whatever is on the flour. Adding plant materials, on the other hand...
Absolutely fascinating, and very easy to comprehend for someone without any lab science background. Can’t wait to build a wildflower starter this spring!
Excellent interview! I would like to know what power of microscope would I need to see the yeast cells? On another part I have great success using the water from wheat or rye berries soaked 24 hours then mixed with flour to make a starter. My reasoning is that the wild yeast are more likely on the kernel then in processed flour.
Michael - I don’t know, but I’ll ask Debra. (Also: please leave questions and comments like this on the post itself, not here on Notes, which I rarely check. It will allow other readers to follow along too!)
This is extremely interesting - thank you. I'm going to try some of these ideas and see if I can improve my starter.
As a slightly related aside, I had the opportunity to take a bread baking class with Peter Reinhart on Saturday. It was a really fun and informative experience.
would leftover whey from yoghurt making give the same boost as the pineapple juice? Since it already have some bacteria in it and also slightly acidic? (I generally use it in my sourdough since I always have some lying around :))
I don't think it is acidic enough, Wendy, and the LAB in yogurt are not the same as those in sourdough. Won't hurt, but it probably won't be as effective as pineapple juice is.
This was an extremely interesting post. It's good to know the processes that are going on with the sourdough starter.
Wow I love this interview! Thanks for coming back from working on your book to share it with us! How were the flowers were used in the experiments described in this article? Were they just put straight into the water and flour and mixed in, then discarded when the mix was refreshed?
Yes, just mixed in with the flour and water! They were slowly cleared out of the mixture with each refreshment.
This was awesome 👍🏼😎 Thank you for giving me this inspiration and exercise this morning! I was on the elliptical when I started listening and totally forgot the time!! 🤣 I do have a question: when I followed through the instructions on the Dunn lab website a few years ago, I decided to make an outside/ greenhouse starter to see if I get different results. It smelled better than the fridge one and worked great, but I never knew what was in it microbe & yeast-wise. Do you think the outside environment had any influence? Eventually, I combined all the starters into one--Sir Bobby Farts-Alot -- but in the summer, I do put him outside for a refresher. Everybody needs a vacation off and on!
I kind of doubt it, Sabine. I believe the current thinking is that sourdough microbes come from the flour or the *hands* of the baker, not the air. I think if there was anything good floating around, it would be swamped by whatever is on the flour. Adding plant materials, on the other hand...
Absolutely fascinating, and very easy to comprehend for someone without any lab science background. Can’t wait to build a wildflower starter this spring!
Excellent interview! I would like to know what power of microscope would I need to see the yeast cells? On another part I have great success using the water from wheat or rye berries soaked 24 hours then mixed with flour to make a starter. My reasoning is that the wild yeast are more likely on the kernel then in processed flour.
Michael - I don’t know, but I’ll ask Debra. (Also: please leave questions and comments like this on the post itself, not here on Notes, which I rarely check. It will allow other readers to follow along too!)
This is extremely interesting - thank you. I'm going to try some of these ideas and see if I can improve my starter.
As a slightly related aside, I had the opportunity to take a bread baking class with Peter Reinhart on Saturday. It was a really fun and informative experience.