My sourdough starter didn’t come with me on the move to the island. It probably would have violated some agricultural sanction if it had. That’s okay, because it was my intention to start over and make some island-native starter anyway.
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Six days ago (“day 0”), I put 60gm of whole-wheat flour and half a cup of filtered water into a working glass. Since we’re still living with a stove with pilot lights, I placed the jar on top of the stove so it would stay warm. We used the oven for something, though, and popped the lid off the jar, so we have to remember to move the jar to a cooler location before starting the oven.
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I let the jar sit for two days. It started bubbling and developed a hooch — a layer of liquid.
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On day 2 (the third day), I stirred the nascent starter. I poured 60gm into a fresh jar and discarded what was left over in the original jar. I then added 60gm of white flour and ½ cup of filtered water, and placed it back on the warm stove.
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On day 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 (today) I repeated the day 2 process.
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Tomorrow, I’ll prepare for baking the first loaf following my sourdough starter maintenance procedure.
I can then begin baking fresh sourdough bread, probably starting with Queen B’s recipe. It remains to be seen how this batch will turn out. You never know. I once created a starter that was so sour that nobody besides me would eat the bread. I’m hoping this is a bit more mellow. If it’s a disaster, I’ll just try again. Otherwise, I can always get more of Carl’s starter.
—2p