Sourdough Starter: Oh, Dear - Have I Killed Mongo?
So, on Sunday, BF decided to make a sourdough starter. He's never made one before and put the requisite ingredients into a bowl to begin the process. It bubbled along merrily, with a fairly thick, sticky mass that had risen to the top and the liquid (apparently called "hooch") separate but still underneath the sticky mass. I was fairly certain this was ok, but BF wanted independent verification from the Internet. Upon Googling it, we realized that while separation was normal, BF had erred by making the mixture (we had now lovingly named "Mongo") in a metal bowl. We then put Mongo into a ceramic bowl and loosely draped paper towels over the top (we are cheeseclothless) and let it continue to breed on the table top (our kitchen is about 70 F). This morning, the hooch is completely over the top and it's not bubbling very much at all. Did I kill Mongo?
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21 Comments:
I have no idea, but Mongo-- that's HILARIOUS. Hahaha... Oh man. That just made my afternoon.
meg3j at 7:50AM on 02/03/09
I'm not sure if you killed him or not but it sounds like he might need some food, Even mongo's need to eat. although I would avoid beans ;-)
huneybumper at 8:43AM on 02/03/09
And what does a Mongo eat? Anything he wants!
PerkyMac at 8:48AM on 02/03/09
Do I need to feed him this soon? I thought we were going to have 4-7 days on the outset...?
Amandarama at 8:53AM on 02/03/09
Proabably not. My wife keeps a starter in the fridge which she periodically forgets about until its on its death bed. Its very easy to feed it and get it going again.
bobbob at 8:54AM on 02/03/09
Poor Mongo...I just looked at my sourdough notes to refresh my memory and they note that when you start your starter, you cover with a piece of cloth or a paper towel (to keep out flies and the like. Then wait. If you catch some yeast (from the air, etc) the mixture will begin to bubble and foam. Stir it once in awhile and sniff it to see how sour it smells. And when it has a good, really strong aroma, use it, or cover the jar (still no metal, please) and store it in the refrigerator. My notes also indicate that when you mix your starter, that you mix the ingredients until blended (but not smooth), cover loosely and the mix will bwegin to bubble. Leave it for several days until it has a strong sour smell. It is normal for a clear yellow liquid to form on top, just stir it back in, once a day. If any other colors appear, you've attracted the wrong orgnisms, throw it all away, wscald the container, nd start over.
Starters improve with age, and once you have a really fine one going, it's a good idea to freeze some (just in case, it'll keep for about 6 months). Even in the refrigerator, starter remains very slightly active. Within a week or two, it will use up all its nutrients and sufficate on the CO2 gas it produces. To prevent this, if you don't use the starter for one week, stir it, pour out half (either give it or throw it away). Add equal
bubbamom at 10:22AM on 02/03/09
opps, sorry, bubbamom here (again) fat fingers make the computer do funny things (including not letting me spell check).
Any way, as I was saying, add equal quantities of flour and warm water to fill the container again, leave it out overnight and store.
Yumm, think I'll have to make another starter (which I haven done in a
l o n g time). I can taste a piece toasted and slathered in butter as I type. ;)
bubbamom at 10:27AM on 02/03/09
@Perky he doesnt like candy-grams though ;-)
huneybumper at 10:44AM on 02/03/09
Thanks, everyone! Mongo appreciates your support :)
@bubbamom - What you've written is pretty much what I'm seeing. The liquid, so far, is yellowish. The aroma is beginning to get stronger and more sour. It just seemed weird that when I moved it to what was supposed to be the more appropriate container that the bubbling tapered off.
Amandarama at 11:18AM on 02/03/09
Starters are living things. They feed on the flour and when that is spent, they go dormant until fed some more. Mongo will start talking again as soon as you feed him.
Nancy Silverton, of LaBrea Bakery fame, has a video on sourdough starters and bread baking from Baking with Julia here.
kjgibson at 11:27AM on 02/03/09
Poor Mongo is hungry. Feed Mongo. Make him strong and vigorous, then divide him and put some of him into a lovely large amount of yummy flour and water, let him eat and grow, coax him into a pretty shape, stick him into a warm oven and ...
bake him until he is dead and tasty.
But no worries, the other part of Mongo is still alive in the original jar. Long live Mongo!
dbcurrie at 12:42PM on 02/03/09
Wow! You guys are great. So, what I'm gathering here is that Mongo needs food - even though he's young (3 days old)? He's not even a teenager yet! Or do I let him mature a little more and then feed and divide him?
Amandarama at 1:55PM on 02/03/09
I'm sitting here at my desk. Alone. Laughing out loud. Picturing Mongo. He is enormous, bigger and meaner than Godzilla's big brother. He is loud, he is raging, his tummy, the size of a great lake, is rumbling and causing earthquakes. Feed Mongo quickly, before he devours us all before his 4th day of life. He is sour and oozing yellow gunk as he grows bigger and bigger. He is hungry. I am scared. Feed and kill the monster, but save the sourdough starter. Long live Mongo. If I ever have a son or a dog, that will be his/her name. LOL
PerkyMac at 2:30PM on 02/03/09
OMG! Mongo...can't stop laughing...I can just see him punching a horse!
Deb07 at 6:16PM on 02/03/09
@Amandarama, when it's bubbling, it means that it's actively feeding and giving off gas as a result. Once that tapers off, it means that there's not enough food left, or other conditions have changed so that its not feeding and multiplying. For instance, if you put it in the fridge, it would eat for a while and then slow down drastically, and probably eventually just go to sleep. Which is why you can store it in the fridge for long periods without the need to be constantly feeding it.
At optimum temps, it's going to multiply fast and eventually exhaust the food supply. Sometimes it's just a matter of stirring, to redistribute the food, but you also need to keep feeding if it's really active. You have your choice of removing about half and replacing with that amount of flour and water, or doubling the amount with each feeding. The doubling makes sense when you're getting ready to bake, because you want enough starter for your bread recipe, and enough left to keep it going.
The first loaf of bread you make will probably be good, but it gets better as the starter matures a bit.
dbcurrie at 6:36PM on 02/03/09
@dbcurrie - Thanks. Mongo has been fed. He is now resting.
I think he's going to be ok, folks! Thank you all again for your feedback. I will update you as his condition progresses (hopefully into tasty, tasty bread).
Amandarama at 8:31PM on 02/03/09
@Amandarama, have fun with the project. And when you get bored with baking bread, give it a feed stir it up, and stick it in the fridge. The fresh feed will keep it supplied while it's going dormant and it will stay that way a long, long time. I know some people say you should feed it every week, but mine sits in the back of the fridge much longer than that, and it always springs back to life once it's warm and it has been fed. And mine are all 10 or more years old at this point.
What I do when I take them out of the fridge is that I stir them up, add some water and flour, and just let it sit at room temp until it starts bubbling. And then we're back to feeding and doubling until I have enough for whatever bread I want to bake.
dbcurrie at 9:38PM on 02/03/09
For awesome pictures of how to do a starter go to king arthur flour they have great pictures. Yes feed it butt feel free to add a teaspoon of yeast if you don't feel it is getting sour on it's own and the yeast will help. here is the website on sourdough http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2008/09/10/sourdough-for-sissies/
love2cook at 12:29PM on 02/04/09
@love2cook, adding yeast to the dough when you're making the bread will help the bread rise if your starter isn't vigorous enough, but I don't recommend adding commercial yeast to a sourdough starter. They're two different strains of yeast with two different strains of companion bacteria, and you'll just start a competition between the two. You'll end up with something bubbly for sure, but if what you're looking for is a true sourdough, it's best to stick with flour and water and nothing else. And particularly not a commercial yeast, since that's likely to be the winner in a battle against a wild yeast. So you'll end up with something that you can feed and sustain, but it's going to be growing off of a commercial yeast culture.
Nothing wrong with using commercial yeast or keeping it going for long periods. That's sort of the idea behind the no-knead bread recipes. But the whole idea of sourdough is that you're using the wild yeasts specific to an area.
Starting with a dried starter from another region is a whole different thing. You'll have a sourdough, but growing from non-local yeasts. Right now, besides the local sourdough I have, I've got one from a French starter, and one from Carl's Oregon Trail starter. All three are different, both in the way they act when I'm reviving them, and in the breads that result.
dbcurrie at 1:16PM on 02/04/09
Update!!!
Son of Mongo - A robust sourdough-oatmeal loaf is due to be birthed within the next half hour or so! I was going to let him ferment for another couple days, but my impulsivity got the better of me. It smells fabulous and has risen higher than any other bread I have made to date, so thanks to all who urged me to feed the poor child.
Next on my list of chores for Mongo to attend to: waffles.
Amandarama at 8:03PM on 02/04/09
For anyone interested in starting your own sourdough culture, I would suggest that you visit the website-breadtopia.com,there you will find a very good video on the subject. I recently did so, and I know have a very nice sourdough residing in my fridge. You will be needing some pineapple juice before you start.
dmcavanagh at 9:13PM on 02/04/09