In the Sept/Oct 99 (83:5)issue, two correspondents mentioned the use of crushed grapes in capturing yeast organisms suitable to breadmaking. I happened to have a few clusters of wild concord grapes, not enough for jelly or juice, and too sour for eating, so I crushed them and added flour water and a pinch of sugar. Now that I have this in a crock on the counter, I'm wondering, how will I know which kinds of yeast I capture? I don't want vinegar or wine, I want bread yeast. I put a net bag over the top of the crock to allow in air but keep out flies. How do I know when it's "done" or has flopped and should be thrown out?

-- Nancy Johnston (nancyj@mei.net), August 21, 1999

Answers

I am a long time sourdough baker. And I am also a microbiologist by training. Combining the two has led me on some interesting biochemical adventures. The bottom line here is simple, the very best sourdough starters I have ever used cultured out as the very same yeast found in the grocers in the packets of baker's yeast. The real key to understanding sourdough is that much, if not most, of the flavor of a good starter is derived from the Lactobacillus species that grows in the starter.

There are two basic groups of Lactobacillus...one group does not produce gas upon fermentation and the other group does. My conclusions are that the non-gas producers result it the better starters. These are also more tricky to locate. My best starter contained Lactobacillus xylosus.

In short, if I had to create a new sourdough starter from scratch, I would start with a package of store bought yeast (NOT the rapid rise kind) and add in some milk (preferably home grown goat's milk) to gain the Lactobacillus sp.

My own starters are passaged into unbleached white flour mixed with bottled spring water. I do not add fat of any kind nor any sugar. I keep my starter covered with plastic film held in place with a rubber band. This allows the carbon dioxide gas generated by the yeast to diffuse away, but does not allow aerial contaminants to seed the starter. Mesh will not work long term.

-- Nick (nikoda@pdqnet.com), August 22, 1999.

Nick's pretty much got it. I have no training - I just like sourdough, and when living in Alaska, I learned a bit about sourdough. Mix some flour and water, or better (faster) some flour and milk. 1 cup of each is a good mix. Nowq, either add some storebought yeast (about 2-3 tsp) or just wait for the "wild" yeast, as our forbears did. Either way, in 2 to 7 days, you'll have some sourdough, ie. a working (bubbling?) mass of yeast infused liquid flour. Success! Now, for each loaf of bread, however prepared, you will need a cup of this "starter". Original recipes used only this to begin the "rising" process. Newer recipes also call for yeast. Not much difference, except the originals take longer, and have a better sourdough flavor. Once you have used some of this starter, you must "feed" the starter, usually by adding one cup of flour and one cup of either milk or water each week. I alternate. If you go longer than a week without using the starter, then take out a cup and "feed" the starter with a cup of flour and a cup of liquid, or if you have room, just add. You can slow things down if you store it in the refrigerator, but it must be "FED" every week or 2 anyway. Have fun and Good Luck!

Brad

-- Brad (homefixer@mix-net.net), February 13, 2000.