It was finally warm enough this weekend to begin cultivating a sourdough starter. I put two cups of filtered water – at 120° F – and two cups of bread flour, by volume – because it doesn’t matter, in a Pyrex bowl. That went on a dinner tray on my balcony covered with a paper plate punched full of holes. It sat out there for six hours – after which time it was bubbling just a little, then came inside and sat in the sink overnight. Now it’s rising like crazy and bubbling and fermenting. I can definitely smell the yeast and attendant bacteria; the thing smells like sourdough and pretty good sourdough at that.
It’ll be a day or too before I know whether I picked up any nasty bugs that’ll make the sponge inedible. So far it looks like a success. My house kind of stinks, now, though. That’s a typical, temporary side effect of growing a starter; it’ll stop stinking in a day or two. That’s pretty much the same time that I either throw the stuff away or pour it into jars and tuck it in the fridge.
Good times!