Subject: Starter doctor 2/2

From: [email-masked] (Wolf)
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 1995 09:45:30 PST

4 or 5 times or so unless you were lucky.  A lot of the home-dried
starters revive MUCH quicker than this.

VI. FRESH STARTER
------------------
Characterized by a nice smooth, pancake-batter-like consistency,
lots of bubbles in freshly proofed starter, froth on top of the
starter, no hooch at the end of 12 hours of proofing, and rise times
for bread recipes of 2 1/2 hours or less.  Nothing further needs to
be said.  This starter is your long term successful starter and
should be protected with your husband's/wife's life!  It is now very
abuse resistent and you can get away with, although it's not
suggested, less accurate temperature control during proofing and for
the water added to the starter, and less careful control of the
actual proofing period.  I believe that the only way to mess up a
healthy starter is to heat it up to an excessive temperature (> 100
deg) for too long.  Nearly anything else will be ok, and even if you
seem to have killed it off somewhat, a single well-controlled proof
should bring it back to life.  You can get away with feeding it only
once very 2 weeks or so too (but not suggested of course).

VII. OLD STARTER
-----------------
Characterized by a general lack of life due to poor feeding habits
or too long of a time since the last feeding.  The cure is simple.
If a single, normal proof shows no drastic improvement, do the
following:

1) Using 1 tablespoon of the well-stirred starter (discard the
remainder or save a little in the refigerator in case of an
emergency), 1 1/2 cups of 75 degree water, and 2 cups of white-all
purpose flour, proof for exactly 24 hours at 72 to 77 degrees.

2) Examine the starter to determine if it is healthy and fresh or
not.  Refer to the section on "FRESH STARTER" or the table of
starter stages above for a description of fresh, healthy starter.
If the starter is healthy, you are finished.

3) If the starter is not healthy yet, stir well and refrigerate for
no less than 12 hours.

4) Remove the starter from the refrigerator and go to step 1).  Old
starter may need to go through this process as many as 5 or 6 times
before it becomes healthy again...don't give up even if it takes
longer than this.  There are very few starters that cannot be
restored from this type of abuse.

VIII. NON-STANDARD STARTERS
----------------------------
If you have a non-standard starter as defined above, and it's
healthy, then keep on keepin' on.  You're doing fine.

A. Conversion:
If you have a non-standard starter which is not healthy.  Then
convert the starter to a standard starter by using the "Sweetening
the Pot with 1 Tablespoon" method below to create a standard,
white-flour-only starter.  Use 1 tablespoon of your nonstandard
starter to begin the process.  If the starter is not very healthy
after a single treatment, then refrigerate the starter for no less
than 12 hours, and sweeten the pot again.  If the starter is very
unhealthy, you may have to repeat the process up to 5 or 6 (or more?)
times.  Each time you repeat the process, use 1 tablespoon of starter
>from  the last run and discard the rest.

Once you've restored the health of your starter by converting it to a
standard starter as described, you may pursue either of 2 methods for
converting back to the nonstandard starter that you started with:

B. No Re-Conversion Method:
In the first method, you never really do convert back.  Rather, you
just maintain your standard starter using standard replenishing
techniques as described below.  Then when you wish to have that
special starter for a particular recipe, then use 1 tablespoon of
your standard starter and follow the directions for sweetening the
pot, BUT instead of using plain, white flour and plain water,
substitute your special flour(s) and liquid(s).  For example, a rye
starter can be made in one day by taking a single tablespoon of
standard starter and mixing it with 1 1/2 cups rye flour and 1 cup
water and proofing for 24 hours at 72 to 77 degrees.

C. Re-Conversion Method:
In the second method, you use 1 tablespoon of the newly-refreshed
standard starter, then blend it with your special flour(s) and
liquid(s), and proof for 24 hours at 72 to 77 degrees.  THEN from
this time on, continue to feed and replenish your special starter
with your special ingredients.  If your starter should ever get
unhealthy again, then just follow the above procedure to revive it
again.  Try to determine why your starter is becoming unhealthy.  Are
you carefully controlling the proofing temperature so the proof is
not actually under/over proofing the starter?  Underproof prevents
the maintenance of high levels of yeast and lacto bacilli in your
starter.  Overproofing results in yeast and lacto bacilli dying from
too much alcohol or acidity in the starter.  Are you adding sugar(s)
or other simple carbohydrates that cause the microorganisms to grow
to fast?  Growing to fast would cause the starter to need shortened
proofing periods, hence normal proofing periods are actually
overproofing the starter.  If your starter care passes these tests,
then you may consider the possibility that the mix of flour(s) and
liquid(s) that you are using are not sufficient for long-term
maintenance of your nonstandard starter.  In that case, I suggest the
first method (above) for maintaining your nonstandard starter.

IX. POLLUTED STARTER
---------------------
Polluted starter can be revived, even though it may be all dark,
super moldy, or whatever (yum!).  DO NOT STIR polluted starter.  If
mold exists, carefully scrape or spoon as much off as you can.
Remove a couple of tablespoons of the best part of the starter to a
clean, scalded container.  If you plan to use the original container
for starter again, wash it thoroughly with warm soapy water and
carefully scald it inside and out by pooring boiling water into and
on it.  Be careful to prevent burns!  Hot pads or gloves soak up
boiling water and hold it on your skin *even longer* (youch!)!  If
your starter only qualified as "polluted" due to the inclusion of
any of the baking ingredients listed above, it will only be
necessary to wash the starter container with warm, soapy water.
Scalding never hurts (unless you scald yourself!), but it's more
optional in this case.  In any case, follow the following directions
to restore your starter:

1) Using 1 of the 2 tablespoons you rescued from the polluted
starter, add 1 cups 75 degree water, 1 1/2 cups all-purpose white
flour, and proof for exactly 24 hours at 72 to 77 degrees.

2) Refrigerate for no less than 12 hours, then repeat step 1).

3) The proof-refrigerate cycle should be repeated at least once.
Use your own judgement.  If the starter was unusually dark or
contained mold, I'd suggest doing it at least 4 or 5 times to be
sure the offending organisms are irradicated.  If the starter merely
contained other baking ingredients, then a single 24 hour proof is
probably enough.  Each cycle is started by using 1 tablespoon from
the last cycle.

X. SUMMARY ON STARTER CARE AND STARTER REVIVING
------------------------------------------------
I have personally tested many different techniques in replenishing,
reviving, and starting new starters, and have found the above
techniques to be the most universally successful and easy to
perform.  The only problem I've had is that sometimes summer
temperatures prevent maintaining approximately 75 degree
temperatures for a full 24 hour proof period.  In that case, the
next best thing to do is to follow the same iterative process, but
use the 1-Cup Method and 12 hour proofs at 85 degrees instead.  If
it's even warmer than that...have fun!

XI. MAINTAINING AND PREPARING STARTERS
---------------------------------------
Always cover proofing bowls with plastic wrap and poke a couple of
holes in it so gases can escape.  Always use non-corrosive bowls,
containers, and utensils (glass, wood, stainless steel).  If the
temperature in the proofing are varies much at all, wrap the proofing
bowl in a towel to help maintain an even temperature *and* try to
find a better place to proof the starter.

A. To prepare starter for use in non-bread, i.e. pancakes, waffles,
or muffins, recipes, here are 2 practical methods:

- Combine 1 cup starter, 1 cup 80-85 degree water, and 1 1/2 cups
white all-purpose flour in a non-corrosive bowl.
- For recipes requiring greater lift from the yeast, proof for 8 to
12 hours at 85 degrees.  For non-critical recipes (pancakes &
waffles) or recipes using the starter only for flavor, proof at 85
degrees for 8 (mild flavor, more active) to 48 (strongest flavor,
weaker action) hours.  For the non-critical recipes, you may proof at
cooler temperatures, i.e. 72 to 80 degrees, if that is more
convenient.  Pancakes work fine using even the longest proofing
period.
- Concurrent to the above proofing, replenish the remaining starter
in the starter container by adding 3/4 cup 80-85 degree water and 1
cup all-purpose flour and mix well.  Proof at 80 to 85 degrees for 8
to 12 hours.  Refrigerate.
- Note that this method allows the creation of alternative or
'special' starters for use in individual recipes, i.e. throw some
cracked wheat into the starter for the recipe, but replenish the
starter in the starter container with plain white, all-purpose flour
as usual.

    -> OR <-

- Combine 1 cup starter, 1 1/2 cups 80-85 degree water, and 2 cups
white all-purpose flour in a non-corrosive bowl.
- Proof at 85 degrees for 8 to 12 hours.
- Return approximately 1 cup of the starter to the starter container
before using the starter in a recipe.  Refrigerate the starter in
the starter container.
- Note that this method does not allow making alternative starters
for individual recipes since the addition of alternative ingredients
to the starter (for the recipe) would pollute the starter going back
into the starter container.

B. Preparing starter for use in bread recipes:

- If the starter has not been used in more than 3 or 4 days, you may
wish to replenish the starter once (1 cup starter, 1 cup water, 1
1/2 cups flour, 12 hours at 85 deg) to ensure the starter is really
fresh before preparing for a bread recipe.  Most healthy starters
are fairly flexible though.
- Use the following table for amounts, and blend together the
starter, BREAD flour, and 80-85 degree water.  Measure the starter
and water carefully.  The suggested amount of flour is only a
guideline.  Blend enough in to make the starter the consistency of
'mud' (a little thicker than pancake batter):

            BREAD
 Loaves     Flour      Water      Starter
--------   --------   --------   ---------
   1        1 1/2 c.   1 c.       1 Tbs
   2        2 1/2 c.   2 c.       1 Tbs + 1 tsp
   3        3 1/2 c.   3 c.       2 Tbs

- Proof for exactly 24 hours at 72 to 77 degrees.
- Concurrent to the above proof, replenish the original starter by
combining 1 tablespoon (discard most of the rest), 1 cups warm
water, and 1 1/2 cups ALL-PURPOSE flour in another bowl or in the starter
container itself. Proof for 24 hours at 72 to 77 degrees.
- Refrigerate the starter in the starter container.
- Note that the "1-Tablespoon Method" described allows the instant
creation of 'special' starters such as whole wheat or rye (etc).  See
"Creating Alternate Starters" below.

  -> OR <-

- Combine flour, water, and starter using the amounts in the
following table according to the size of the recipe you are going to
make.  Note that because I suggest using ALL-PURPOSE flour in the
following proof, that you should use BREAD flour for the rest of the
flour in the recipe (not counting non-wheat flours).  Again note that
the starter and water should be measured carefully, but the amount of
flour suggested is only a guideline.  Blend in enough to make the
starter the consistency of 'mud' (a little thicker than pancake
batter):

         ALL-PURPOSE
 Loaves     Flour      Water      Starter
--------   --------   --------   ---------
   1        1 1/2 c.   1 c.       1 c.
   2        2 1/2 c.   2 c.       1 c.
   3        3 1/2 c.   3 c.       1 1/2 c.

- Proof for 12 hours at 85 degrees.
- RETURN about 1 cup of the starter to the starter container before
using the starter in a recipe.
- Refrigerate the starter container.
- Note that this method does not allow the creation of alternative
starters on an as-needed basis.

C. Preparing alternative starters for bread recipes:

- If the starter has not been used in more than 3 or 4 days, you may
wish to replenish the starter once (1 cup starter, 1 cup water, 1
1/2 cups flour, 12 hours at 85 deg) to ensure the starter is really
fresh before preparing for a bread recipe.  Most healthy starters
are fairly flexible though.
- Use the following table for amounts, and blend together the
starter, BREAD flour (if wheat) and/or other flour(s), and 80-85
degree liquid (water, milk, or whatever).  Measure the
starter and liquids carefully.  The suggested amount of flour(s) is only
a guideline.  Blend enough in to make the starter the consistency of
'mud' (a little thicker than pancake batter).  It is better to add
the specific amount of non-wheat flours that you intend to use, then
use wheat flour to adjust the consistency:

 Loaves     Flour(s)     Liquid     Starter
--------   ----------   --------   ---------
   1        1 1/2 c.     1 c.       1 Tbs
   2        2 1/2 c.     2 c.       1 Tbs + 1 tsp
   3        3 1/2 c.     3 c.       2 Tbs

- Proof for exactly 24 hours at 72 to 77 degrees.
- Concurrent to the above proof, replenish the original starter by
combining 1 tablespoon (discard most of the rest), 1 cup warm
water, and 1 1/2 cups ALL-PURPOSE flour in another bowl or in the starter
container itself. Proof for 24 hours at 72 to 77 degrees.
- Refrigerate the starter in the starter container.

D. Preparing alternative starters for non-bread recipes:
- Combine 1 cup starter, 1 cup 80-85 degree water, and 1 1/2 cups
ALL-PURPOSE flour and/or other ingredients, i.e. throw in some
cracked wheat, or substitute part of the flour with cornmeal or rye,
etc.
- Proof the starter for 8 to 12 hours (mild flavor, more active) or
up to 48 hours (strongest flavor, weakest action) at 85 degrees.
Recipes requiring the yeast action should either use shorter proofs,
or cooler (72 to 80 degrees) proofs if proofing for a longer period.
- Concurrent to the above, replenish the starter in the container
with 3/4 c. 80-85 degree water and 1 cup ALL-PURPOSE flour.  Proof
for 8 to 12 hours at 85 degrees.  Refrigerate.

XII. USING STARTER FOR COMMERCIAL BAKING
-----------------------------------------
Preparing starter for use in a commercial kitchen, i.e. volume
production (use a similar technique for preparing volumes of
alternative starter types):

- If the starter has not been used in more than 3 or 4 days, you may
wish to replenish the starter once to ensure the starter is really
fresh before preparing for a bread recipe.
- For EACH 2 loaves of bread to be baked:
  Combine 1 tablespoon starter, 1 1/2 cups 80-85 degree water, and 2
cups BREAD flour in a non-corrosive bowl.  Remember to measure the
starter and water carefully and then to add enough flour to make the
starter the consistency of 'mud'.  The amount of flour suggested is a
guideline for planning purposes.
- Proof for exactly 24 hours at 72 to 77 degrees.

With the original starter,
- Concurrent to the above proof, replenish the original starter by
combining 1 tablespoon (discard most of the rest), 1 1/2 cups warm
water, and 2 cups all-purpose flour in another bowl or in the
starter container itself.  Proof for 24 hours at 72 to 77 degrees.
- For maintaining larger amounts of starter, use multiples of the
above amounts for replenishing the starter.  For example, if you
normally use 64 tablespoons (4 cups) of starter to produce enough
starter for 128 loaves of bread, then you need to maintain at least 4
1/2 cups of starter, so you'd be best off to triple the above
replenishing procedure, i.e. use 3 tablespoons starter, 4 1/2 cups
water, and about 6 cups flour.  That's a LOT of bread from only 4
cups of starter!  (So THAT'S how they do it in San Francisco!)

XIII. RESTARTING A CULTURE FROM A DRIED STARTER
------------------------------------------------
Restarting a starter from a dried culture (Note that this qualifies
the starter as a "New Starter"...refer to the appropriate section
above after following the procedure below):

- In a 1 cup measuring cup which has been warmed to around 90
degrees by flowing water, combine 1 cup of 90 degree water and the
dried culture (1 or 2 tablespoons of powder, more is not necessary).
- Mix well and let the dried culture soak for about 30 minutes.
- Add 1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour and mix well being sure to
incorporate as much air into the mixture as possible.
- Proof for 12 to 18 hours.
- Refer to the section above on "NEW STARTERS" to judge the state of
your newly revived starter and follow the directions found there.

XIV. STARTING A NEW STARTER FROM THE LOCAL ATMOSPHERE
------------------------------------------------------
Starting a new starter from the local atmosphere (try it, you'll like
it!):

- Combine in a GLASS bowl, 1 1/2 cups warm water (80-85 degrees) and
2 cups of white all-purpose flour.  Use no sugars and especially, use
NO commercial yeasts!  Mix well being sure to incorporate a lot of
air into the mixture.  Commercial yeasts merely result in the
cultivation of commercial yeasts!  It won't be sour (unless you're
quite lucky) and it won't behave like normal sourdough so none of the
above starter usage and maintenance instructions will apply!  Some
people have reported that their commercial-yeast started starters do
get sour eventually, but that just means the starter has finally
converted to the natural microorganisms (including the slower growing
natural yeast)...so why not start it out right in the first place and
avoid months of using so-so starter while you're waiting for it to
"get good"?
- Place the bowl in an 80-85 degree location.  Leave uncovered so
the natural microorganisms can settle on the surface.  Fan air onto
the surface using a magazine or something similar.  This helps to
drive more microorganisms (yeast and lacto bacilli) into the
surface.
- Let the mixture proof for 24 hours.  Stir the mixture well once or
twice during the 24 hour first proof.  Before and after each
stirring, fan the surface with air again.
- At the end of the 24 hours, examine for bubbles (use a glass
bowl).  It's unlikely that there will be any yet, but you never
know.  Stir well and fan again.
- Repeat the 24 hour proof as described, including the brisk
stirring and fanning.
- At 48 hours total time, once again examine, stir, and fan the
mixture.  Continue to leave uncovered.  Any skin that forms should
be stirred back in *as soon as* it is noticed so no microorganisms
will be kept out of the starter by the dry skin.  Remove 1/2 cup of
the starter, and replace it with 1/2 cup warm water and about 2/3 cup
white all-purpose flour.
- Continue this 48 hour cycle very carefully until it's obvious that
the first bubbles are definately appearing in the starter.  Then,
refer to the section entitled NEW STARTER for further instructions.
It typically takes from 3 to 7 or 8 days for the starter to begin to
work.  Late spring, summer, or early fall are best times to do this.
Winter air may not contain enough spores to get it going, but it's
always fun to try.  Don't count on having starter for bread when
starting a new starter like this because it takes about 3 or 4 weeks
MINIMUM for the entire process of developing a vibrant, healthy
starter suitable for your recipes.

XV. HOME-DRYING STARTERS
-------------------------
Drying starters results in a powder suitable for long-term, no-care,
storage of starters, or for convenient mailing to friends or
relatives.

Dried starters may be kept for long periods of time outside the
freezer, and even longer when stored in the freezer.  The freezer is
the best place for dried starters.

Since yeast has the natural survival mechanism of being able to
sporulate upon drying or refrigeration, it tends to survive quite
well when stored in this manner.  The 'sour' in the starter though,
is from lacto bacilli.  Lacto bacilli do not have a natural
mechanism for surviving drying or refrigeration (or freezing).

Before relying on any dried starter for maintaining the original
starter and all of it's characteristics, it is best to test it.  That
is, dry enough starter so you have numerous 2-tablespoon packets of
dried starter, then restore one of the packets and compare it's
qualities to the original...taste and smell should be good enough
tests.  No need to prepare an entire recipe.  If the 'sour' is
missing, or the powder doesn't easily restore, then another try at
drying is in order.  Once you've successfully dried the starter,
place it in the freezer or mail it immediately.

As more and better information becomes available to assist the art of
drying starter successfully, this FAQ will be updated to reflect
those changes.  The following technique is though to work in most
cases.  Note that the technique may actually diminish yeast
concentrations while at the same time maximizing lacto bacilli
concentrations.  This is purposeful since it will also maximize the
chance that the lacto bacilli will survive the drying process.

Here's what to do:
- Using 1 cup of your starter, replenish this starter as described in
the instructions above, but rather than proofing for only 8 to 12
hours, proof the starter for about 18 hours at 85 degrees.
- To restore the starter in the starter container, just follow the
normal, unmodified, replenishing directions above.
- Tear off a piece of wax paper about 3 feet long, and lay it on your
working surface making sure the WAX side is UP.
- Place a few tablespoons of the overproofed starter on the wax paper
near one end and spread thinly across the wax paper using a dough
blade or flat knife.
- Allow to dry at room temperature overnight.
- When dry, the wax paper will probably have curled up.  Just press
the wax paper flat to free the dried starter from the paper.  Place
the freed dry starter into a bowl.  Scrape or crack-off any remaining
starter into the bowl.  Using your fingers, crunch up the starter
until it is a fine powder.
- Place 2 tablespoons of the dried powder in plastic bags.  I prefer
the zip-type sandwich bags available at most grocery stores.
- Test the newly-dried starter by restoring it as described above.
If it resembles the original starter fairly closely, then you're in
business...store the rest of the packages in the freezer.  If the
starter does not resemble the original, repeat the drying process and
try again.

TH' TH' TH' THAT'S ALL FOLKS!