Any Home Bakers Here?

[jnicholes]

My starter under a microscope at 400x magnification. The yeast is there, but not sour.

Don’t know why.

 

[jnicholes]

I believe I have identified the problem with my sourdough starter.

The symptoms. Bread rises, but no sour taste. No tangy smell in the starter at all.

The possible answer? One word, lactobacillaceae.

The starter is not sour MAYBE because the lactic acid bacteria are not there. As a result, no fermentation, no lactic acid, no sour taste, but the bread is rising because the yeast is there.

This may be the problem

 

[topochico225]

I believe I have identified the problem with my sourdough starter.

The symptoms. Bread rises, but no sour taste. No tangy smell in the starter at all.

The possible answer? One word, lactobacillaceae.

The starter is not sour MAYBE because the lactic acid bacteria are not there. As a result, no fermentation, no lactic acid, no sour taste, but the bread is rising because the yeast is there.

This may be the problem

I was going to mention the lack of lactic/acetic acid, but didn’t know if you’d already thought of that.

 

[pennyJo1960]

So add a dolop of plain yogurt to the starter .. When I placed how to make a starter on the thread that starts it.

 

[ronott1]

@ronott1 same problem. Don’t know what happened. Bread rose BEAUTIFULLY, but not turning out as sour as I would like. I did everything you said. I have no idea what is going on.

I have a hypothesis, though. Maybe the original yeast died and was replaced with a different type of yeast, and that is affecting the sour flavor.

I have no idea. Maybe my microscope will reveal something.

Next time I try to make sourdough bread, I will document EXACTLY what I do, and post it. Maybe I am doing something wrong.

Hi Jared!

The sour flavor comes from lactobacillus that lives with the yeast. If commercial yeast somehow got into the starter it might have killed off the lacto bacillus.

Try getting some briggs organic apple cider vinegar. Look for a bottle with a blob in it, called the mother. Add a tablespoon of the apple cider to the starter when replenishing.

Hopefully this will get the starter back to sour

 

[jnicholes]

Hi Jared!

The sour flavor comes from lactobacillus that lives with the yeast. If commercial yeast somehow got into the starter it might have killed off the lacto bacillus.

Try getting some briggs organic apple cider vinegar. Look for a bottle with a blob in it, called the mother. Add a tablespoon of the apple cider to the starter when replenishing.

Hopefully this will get the starter back to sour

Thanks. Here’s a picture of my starter. I just added the apple cider vinegar. We will see what happens.

 

[Offshoreorca]

My winter sourdough baking season started today with these two loaves - the top is a jalapeño cheddar sourdough loaf and the bottom is a fresh grated Parmesan and oregano!

 

[ronott1]

My winter sourdough baking season started today with these two loaves - the top is a jalapeño cheddar sourdough loaf and the bottom is a fresh grated Parmesan and oregano!

View attachment 2892369

Nice!

 

[pennyJo1960]

I have perennial oregano growing in my herb pots

 

[Sally PB]

Today I bought a Lodge brand enameled cast iron Dutch oven. Yay! Merry Christmas to me.

I also am starting my GF sourdough. Yay! The packet I bought is only about 1/2 teaspoon, so let's hope it works. I'm making it with rice flour. It starts out with 1 Tablespoon each of flour and water, then 2T, then 1/4 cup, then 1/2 cup.

Since the garden is done (though I can always find something to do in it, until the ground is frozen), I need a "tinkering" project, and sourdough is just the right thing.