i've begun a sourdough starter and it's my first.

the main goal being a fine NY style pizza.
and of course bread.

anyone else taken a crack at this?

any experiences?

do let me know.

I had a 70-year old sourdough starter and it died when I was on vacation several years ago, it didn't get fed or something.

All the bread and pancakes I made with it had a curious banana-esque flavour.

I should do this again, it's a nice way to make dough.

If my girlfriend (who is a baker) had an account, she would be all over this. I made up a starter for her whilst she was away and it required a lot of "adjustment". All I can say is, when done properly, it produces excellent bread. It might take a while to get there though, so don't give up if the first lot doesn't work out!

My last cooking job also had an excellent bakery, and it was all done with a sourdough base. I failed to take some when I left, it made great bread.

a few things.

1. it is very difficult to find yeast in barcelona.
god knows why.
thus the starter.

2. thanks for the encouragement.
i'll do no giving up anytime soon.

Q1. so, assuming the starter takes and i'm able to make a sponge that i can then use as a leavener (sp?) how often do you have to feed the fucker.

Q2. what determines which bacteria decides to live in my starter?
is it just the funk in my kitchen finding a nice home in the mixture?

i'm trying not to overthink this, but it's difficult, as sourdough seems incredibly complicated. here's an excerpt from this page

A sourdough starter actually consists of 2 separate organisms which exist in a symbiotic relationship. There is the yeast and the lactobacilli.

i've never baked using yeast before.
i'm excited.
we've been looking for another pet.

Good sourdough is quite amazing. I became something of a bread snob since I started making my own (with a machine), me and the lady really got into types of flour, grains and all the possible tweaks. Then she bought a sourdough from the local organic baker and we haven't made bread since, such is the effect of a great sourdough. I'm pretty sure I couldn't match the quality but if anyone knows more...

You can get Carl Griffith's 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter free here: http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/source.html

The smell of bread baking in a home is the most disgusting thing I can experience. Instant nausea. I don't have any problem eating bread but when it's baking I think about all the yeasties growing or whatever and it makes me sick.

I'm pretty sure the yeasties are actually dying whilst you bake it, but anyway, that's tragic. I can't imagine not enjoying the smell of baking bread. Fortunately for me.

Q1. so, assuming the starter takes and i'm able to make a sponge that i can then use as a leavener (sp?) how often do you have to feed the fucker.

It'll need attention every day for about a week, after that it gets less intensive. There's a really good book called 'The Handmade Loaf' by Dan Lepard that has a few different procedures covered in detail. I'll see if I can get the missus to sign up or do you a post. She reads a few baking forums which would also be full of useful tips and so forth.

Q2. what determines which bacteria decides to live in my starter?
is it just the funk in my kitchen finding a nice home in the mixture?

Pretty much, yeah. There's yeast and bacteria everywhere, I don't think you'll have a problem. The starter kind of makes an ideal home for the stuff you're after so it should be fine, unless your kitchen is clean-room clean.

I have some starter a'brewing.

I pretty much followed the directions for sourdough starter out of this cookbook. Basically, for 2-3 days or so, you soak smushed up organic raisins (not treated with anti-fungals) in water. This begins to bubble and ferment and then you combine the strained liquid with bread flour. This sits out for a bit and then you take a portion of that and combine it with a flour and water mixture.

I've made quite a few things with the starter, though the best have definitely been the pizza crusts and the pretzels. The loaves of bread have a tendency to be too heavy for some reason. I think that I haven't been giving second rise enough time after the loaves are shaped, but I've been following the directions given so perhaps those are wrong? Not sure.