I've been making sourdough bread for over fifty years (generally every 10-14 days). I "killed" my first starter with contaminated water (it grew pink mold). I've been using my current starter for about twenty years now, and keep it in the fridge between Bread Days. Recently, I thought I'd killed it when my fridge got too cold, but using your 5-feeding technique, I brought it back to full strength. Your channel has taught me things I never knew about sourdough starters, and this video in particular has had me laughing and wide-eyed with amazement at what a starter can survive. They say that once humans are gone, ants and cockroaches will become the dominant species on Earth. I think they need to add sourdough starter into that list!
The MOST ENTERTAINING tutorial I have ever witnessed. I am convinced that I can/will not kill my starter; provided it finally matures. Thank you for alleviating ALL of my fears. I accidentally tripped over this video and I am racing straight over to your channel to learn more from the humorous professor.
Thank you. If it’s entertainment you seek; this one is for you. NEW!: The Sourdough Brothers: Sourdough for Busy People th-cam.com/video/M8SiQJzFrrw/w-d-xo.html
This was super entertaining. When I first clicked on the video and saw the duration I said to myself "Am I really about to spend an hour watching a video about sourdough starter?" and here I am 40 minutes in and loving it :)
@@thesourdoughjourney I was surprised to see them all survive! I have an idea about the mold. In Adam Ragusea's video on sourdough he interviewed some researchers from NC State who mentioned that the microbes (especially the bacteria) that make up a sourdough starter culture produce an acidic and alcohol rich environment which deters mold growth. So if you get any mold on undigested bits of flour (like your experiment with the flour caked to the side) you should just keep feeding the starter and eventually the sourdough microbes will win out. Do you think it would be a valuable experiment to test this assertion? You could try purposefully exposing some starter to spores, letting the mold grow, and then scooping some off (or letting it sit in there for an extreme stress test) and continuing to feed it over the span of multiple days to see if the starter eventually wins out. It might be difficult to tell when the mold is actually killed off since the fruiting body might not be visible but the hyphae may still be present in the form of subsurface mycelium. But if mycelium were present and you left it without feeding for a couple days it would probably fruit and form visible mold again. I wish my university's bio lab was still open because I could try this out and prepare some slides to view under the microscope with staining compounds to differentiate the fungi.
@@kylewolfe_ I actually tried adding some mold (from a piece of fruit) to one of the starters to accelerate the mold growth for the purpose of the video and it would not propagate in the starter. I didn't leave it long enough to see if it killed it off, but I'll give that a try sometime. In general, with other ferments (e.g., sauerkraut) once you get mold in it, it is nearly impossible to get it all out (for safe human consumption). I will probably do a sequel to this video sometime and will add this experiment. Thanks for watching and thanks for the feedback!
I was also wandering this about mold. What if we just keep feeding it like normal for a number of days. Maybe if the mold reproduces much slower that the yeast, the mold content will decay exponentially until there's nothing left. I'm afraid this would take a looong time if it's even possible but still, I imagine it must have happened many times in the past. "Just scoop it out and use the rest" was the standard response to mold
This video is both educational and hilarious. I just started my first sourdough starter the other day and this video gave me a boost of confidence I needed. Now I know what to expect and look out for - thank you!
Wow. Talk about stumble onto the most informative and fun video. Coming from someone who has zero starter knowledge, watching your video's I feel like I don't need to know any more about it. Once I have every tool I need, I'm going to give it a crack. Thank you Tom!
Sweet, you just answered most of my "What if..." questions. Thank you. When I lived in Michigan I tried to make starter, and I thought I failed through neglect, and starvation. Thank you for showing me that I fed a perfectly good batch of starter to my garden, and the birds. In fact I don't think my garden got any of it. The birds, once they found it, ate it all, along with the ants and flies who were trying to eat it too.
My wife made a starter many years ago and we would throw it in the out building freezer during Passover then revive after the week long holiday. The last one we forgot about and I found it a few years later. This was my start into sourdough. I thawed it but it never returned to liquid, it remained a dried clump (freeze dried?). Anyway, a little water day one, regular feedings afterwards and it did revive!
This video was really fun. It seems some people online really stress out about their starters and making it much higher maintenance than it really needs to be. I think many of the guides are written at least partially from the perspective of a professional baker who requires a lot more consistency from their starter than home bakers do. If you ever do a part 2, one way of killing a starter I'd like to see is the "oops, I used all of it" way. Can you revive a starter from an "empty" dirty jar? Given the small amount of salvage in some of your experiments I think the outcome is pretty clear, but how low can you really go?
This is great! Thanks for a really informative analysis. I guess the next question would be how these "survived" starters impact the flavor of the bread. One note on the hooch; it is not pure ethanol but perhaps 6-12% alcohol by volume (the bacteria can't survive in higher concentrations). The rest would be water. I'm in the group who have left the starter untouched in the refrigerator for many months and didn't know if the starter was kaput. Thanks to you the question is answered. I also want to make a more sour bread and I'm betting the hooch couldn't hurt that goal!
I knew those are tough little guys because I keep my starter in the refrigerator and even though I sometimes have ignored it for a month it comes right back. Still, I would NEVER have guessed it would withstand an assault from a blow torch and bleach! Crazy fun video. Thanks Tom.
So entertaining! Thank you! I mixed up my first starter 5 days ago with much anxiety and constantly looking to see if it's still alive. (My history with house plants isn't reassuring). Your video eases my mind immensely. Thx!
You've given me hope! Yesterday I was very tired & was continually interrupted while trying to mix Anadama bread using an old, old, yeast based recipe which I had done successfully once in the recent past. (It's a bit tricky has a cornmeal porridge & a good bit of molasses.) After I bulk fermented for about 6 hrs--nada. Stuck it into the refrigerator to deal with today. I figured my porridge was too warm or I mis-measured the molasses or both & killed the yeast. Your wonderful video has convinced me that if I give it more time all will be well. Please keep your experiments coming!
I love your brand of sarcasm. Sitting in my chair and almost rolling onto the floor laughing. But it is difficult to kill a well established sourdough starter. It can be done, but mold, mildew or poisons are about the only ways to make it unusable.
Hey Tom, can you make a video possibly about using imprecise measurements for a starter? Because that’s what I did and it looks pretty good but I can’t get it to rise, I ordered a scale so I’m gonna wait for that and do your 5 day rule but I’m nervous about all the imprecise measurements I’ve used already
Kate, good question. Imprecise measurements won’t kill it, but they can keep it from “showing the rise.” But the starter can be completely strong and healthy with too much or too little water. They are just hard to read because they don’t show the rise. Yours will be fine until you get a scale. Keep going with your process.
Thank you, Tom, for an excellent video! I can tell you put a lot of effort in it! It inspired me so much, that I attempted an experiment of my own; I baked a loaf of delicious sourdough bread fully, took a little bit of the crumb, mixed it with some water and flour, left it for 48 hours, fed it again, and guess what happened the following day? A new starter formed, and it was very boozy! Now it's time to feed a starter with iodine, to dispel the fear of "iodine in salt can kill my starter"... I have a feeling it'll do just fine. Take care and thank you for the breadth of knowledge you're sharing!
@@thesourdoughjourney Hey Tom, I just wanted to offer an update to the Iodine experiment: I added some povidone-Iodine (betadine) to a starter sample, and fed it 1:2:2 and left it for 2 days. After 2 days it didn't look good and smelled even worse, but I fed it again and within 2 hours it was really bubbling. It peaked after 4 hours, just like my healthy starter does. I am now convinced that the only way to mess up with sourdough starter is to "accidentally" place it in an autoclave or maybe bake it flat at 170 degrees c for an hour, like I was taught in med school. Have a great weekend! Take care.
Not the first one to find you but definitely a fan from now on. I admire the "dry" humor and love the experiments, it really did teach me to appreciate the little ones. I also experience the mould situation but I was surprised about the Rio the Janeiro Carnival environment beneath it. Keep it up!
This video also takes some of the worry away of killing a starter. So when I go to the coast for a few days....I can breath a little easier leaving it alone...in the fridge...unattended and fussed over like a old ladies Pomeranian. This was my favorite experiment yet.
Thank you. I just started my first sourdough starter a few days ago. You showed there isn't much that can go wrong with it. Some others have vlogs, blogs, etc. giving the idea everything has to be exactly the right way, or you'd better stop trying sourdough
This was so entertaining to watch. It was amazing to see how all your tests turned out...You are so funny...I absolutely love LOVE your channel....you have demystified so many things. I need to binge watch your vids and with any luck il finally get handle on sourdough making. It's incredible the resilience of sourdough starter. There were many times I thought it was dead. Thank you for such an awesome channel. I hope you get soooo many subscribers
Thank you so much. This was my most fun video to make. And I had no idea how it would come out. I literately was doing every experiment for the first time on camera.
Great job Tom! Very informative! I heard on another TH-cam video that settlers would use their discard starter to fill cracks in their walls of their houses. Later they would chip it out and use it for new starter. 😳
This was son funny, fascinating and educational! The bleach, the freeze, the microwave and the blow torch were the ones that surprised me the most! I am more at ease after watching this and I am sure I will recommend it to anyone starting out. I really appreciate the inclusion of the cloning segment at the end. My intention today was to find your video about drying the starter for later revival and I stumbled upon this video which I couldn't resist watching.
Tom thank you for this brilliant video....not only hilarious but educational and amazing how these starters can have just about everything thrown at them. I've just started in growing sourdough starters and find your videos most helpful....looking forward to working my way through all your excellent videos 👍
a beginner here!! thank you so much Tom for putting in the effort in making these experiments. we all know it took days or even weeks for you to produce content like this and i can't say enough how grateful i am. now i know that i can find ways to save a starter if ever it goes through one of these scenarios. you reassure someone like me who panics so often and make rushed and irrational choices 😅😅
Tom, thank you for making this educational video. This is excellent information for anyone who is involved with cooking and especially bread making. From a novice sourdough starter guy, thank you!
Thank you Tom for all your troubleshooting the issues of sourdough. The first time I tried to start one has been 8-10 years ago and I ended up throwing it away and wish I was able to watch this video! Since I have been thinking of trying it all over again found your hilarious video and couldn't stop laughing. Love your sense of humor and am encouraged all over again to try....here I go!
Nice Job Tom! I threw away buckets of starter due to heat, neglect, and just being repulsed so many times when I was just learning. Where were you in 1982? I have learned over the years how resilient the yeastie beasties are but, I never would have guessed the microwave, torch, or bleach would survive. What a great experiment. Thank you!
Again as usual a Great video! Long ago in the winter, I fed my starter then preheated my oven at 200 warm it up before putting in my just fed starter. When I checked my starter the next morning, it was baked! I would have been hysterical if I didn't have a backup jar! Since then I always keep two jars of my starter. I know I could dry out the starter, but am taking no chances!
I never keep 2 jars of starter. I dry mine like he did in the end, then crumble and freeze. I’ve used this technique for many years, it works, because I’ve had to use my backup from the freezer. Just remember to make a new backup lol
I learned a lot from all your effort. Thank you so much. Just an after thought... have you tried a strong salt solution? Bakers frequently say something like “put salt in flour opposite from yeast because salt will harm the yeast,” or something similar to that. My guess is the yeast will win :)
Tom, another excellent video on a subject close to many people hearts, I was unsure what it would take, and have looked at 'the Beast' on a number of occasions and though, have I left it too late....Clearly, its a resilient little bugger and I will never again have to wonder if its dead! You touch on subjects that are hugely relevant to those of us striving to perfect our bread, whilst Tartine sits in our households, there are times when his wonderful descriptions and pictures just don't give the detail we Journeymen/women require on some aspects of the process. Without doubt, you feel the same as you have created a fantastic array of videos on those very details. thank you for taking the time to create these great videos.
Thanks for the reality check! Love science based on experience and experiment. Would love to see if Lysol, soap, dishwasher/laundry detergent &/or rubbing alcohol would have any adverse effects. Also maybe filter some starter through a few face masks. Could put a dent in the safety of certain "safety" mandates put in place since you posted this. All the best!
Very helpful video! Thank you for this. I thought I killed mine that I've been working on for 3 months from scratch by putting it in the oven with the light on. Almost started over. Thanks again!
Thank you so much for this funny, yet educational video, which gives us confidence. I never put a starter into an oven/ microwave. During cold days I have the starter jar during the day in a bowl of slightly warmed water, the temperature checked, and at night I keep the jar in an esky, surrounded by folded towels, and a hot water bottle at one end. Works well.
Thank you for a fun and informative video! I loved the humor and encouragement through clearer understanding of Sourdough Starter. I am working on my second attempt to grow a strong starter. Looking forward to a loaf of bread very soon.
No, not in IT. I was referring to legacy more in terms of “handed down through a family.” But the IT reference also works. People could say, “my starter is older than COBOL.”
One thing to note, some of these revivals might just be from the natural yeast in the flour (this is after all, how you start a starter - just regular old flour & water). If you were to repeat it, it might be worth it to dry cook (or UV treat) the flour to remove any possible contaminants. Generally, when making a new starter, the first few batches will be pretty normal looking, and it will start to simmer down after a few feedings before going back to normal. These things are definitely super hardy though. I've left mine on the counter for a month and it came back within a few days (as in, I baked with it within 2 feedings) :P
Thanks. You can see in the video, in addition to looking at the recovered starter, I also smell it. There is an unmistakeable difference between the smell of a “recovered” starter and a newly forming starter. I should have been more clear about it in the video, but I am 100% certain that none of the “recovered” starters were actually a new starter forming in the jar. If I had any doubt, I would have noted it. But your recommended test protocol is the right way to do it.
I love this series and have learned lots. Is it asking a lot to get baked bread from these messed up starters with taste tests and comparison's? just a series idea. if you've already done this please send me a link. Again thank you for your educational series my family and i thank you!! 😀
Thank you. I could tell by the smell of each recovered starter that most of them returned to their normal state. The ones with the hooch, bleach and wrong flours smelled a little off, but I could have just fed them for a few more days and I’m confident they would all have returned to normal. Thanks!
This is a wonderful lesson for me I thank you so very much . I purchased a special starter(for me) 203 years I was so excited to be in possession of the same. A few days on I was doing great and then I noticed no bubbles and a layer of liquid I believed that I killed my baby and discarded. Now once again I am on day 2 of my own starter doing all your measurements doing all the temperature checks like COVID-19, instead of discarding all of day 2 can I go onto day 3 with another starter from the discarded day2 and continue with the second batch three - 14. I have a lot of friends and family who want me to make an artisan loaf for them.
Good Morning Tom, I'm on day four on creating my starter from scratch. I have feed once a 1:2:2 ratio. before I feed It had water separation so I stirred it up and discarded all but 25 grams of the starter. Since then I have had no real activity other than a couple small bubbles here and there. I still have what seems to be over watered so I have been pouring that out. Should I add a little feed to it to try to thicken the starter mix? It was weird I saw it had rose almost to the top of the jar and then back down so I thought I was ready to start my daily feeding... I don't want to just give up on this jar, but not sure what to try. I am using a reverse osmosis with charcoal filter for water, and using the 50/50 organic flour mix as you described your video "How to create a sour dough starter". By the way the smell is almost like a wet soggy dog whole grain flour smell with just a hint of sour, if that makes any sense. I'm enjoying trying this even if I fail at it .0) Thank you. You are truly a master at teaching this...
Awesome video! Unfortunately I got mold on the top, removed top and took one spoon for re-creating in new jar. As a result it got molded as well, so no lactic acid there more because I left the main jar unfeeded for 2-3 months and eventually it got molded. Anyway, good learn :P
I am enjoying your videos, this is my third time trying to start a starter, since I found your " how to start a starter" video, I think I am going to have success this time!!! However, I am confused because in that video - the feedings are the 1:2:2 method - in this video you are using the 1;1;1 method. is there a reason for this? Which works better?
My first attempt to Sd was With Master Baker " Paul Hollywood " who discribed in his Book this recepi ..A Bio Appel grated and in to the jar... with x flour and x water..I Faild poorly.Thank you for your Methematic aproche and perseverance. Thanks again for the joy You bring in My family and my Life.I bake now every Day ..and My starter goes for life !!
But I'm thinking to myself, that test is a little bit pointless. Why? Because when you are adding NOT sterile flour and water, you are adding microbes also. In the end of the day, you are making new starter from scratches. Anyway, it was fun to watch.
Good question, I had the same thought, but there is no possibility that just flour and water would create activity that quickly in 24 or 48 hours if the original starter were actually dead. The “revived” starters were incredibly active, not a 2-day old starter by any means. I could have shown a side by side “control sample” of 1 or 2 day old flour and water mixture and it would have been perfectly clear in every case that the original starter had revived and the new material was simply a feeding, not a second generation starter. You can see that’s also why I smelled every starter when I opened each jar. A revived starter smells completely different than a two-day old new starter. Great question though. Thanks!
really good and pro-information ! only my starter gets every time ,condense, water drops inside the glass, u have used other pots, placed on fridge ,other environments ,but the same happens in my fridge ,totally closed in fridge.., what is the problem? I have make the glass clean and swipe the water condense drips.. I have 3 different starters ,1-1-1 ratio and 1-2-2 ratio, and 1 in another pot ,{experiment with pots and tops.., used a coffee filter also with an elastic ,it's dry to fast ..{I think it comes by the oat flour 11g protein.,I used with full 15gr protein weat flower -spelt. and I have feed sometimes with boekweit flour with the 50 /50 mix.. wholewheat spelt flour + out meal flour ,and some wheat flour and boekweit flour.. I have used bronwater, mineral water ,filtered britafilter water.. I have not 50 pots now but I m running up with the different pots, but all with raindrops inside. can you explane it? {I have a new oven also for baking} new kitchen comes next week,with a Henry bread pot.. bowl.. looking forward.. to your experiments and test.. or maybe you have an solution how I can bring my starter with 5days methode back to life use other flour..{in the Netherlands they have not the kingarthur flours,I have searched about the protein grams, and use the one they came into the same grams of protein of your kingarthur flours u used..
Love it! (also I watched the tartine how to in a row yesterday!) Love such an ablation study, and love how you explain things, are you teacher or scientist?
Thank you. I am not a teacher or scientist. I recently retired from 30 years in business/finance. I guess it took that long for me to figure out what I am good at and passionate about.
Thanks Tom for another useful, humorous video. If you ever feel up to challenging the starter again, you could try repeating the UV exposure. Of the UV wavelengths, the one with the deepest penetration is UV-A which can only penetrate less than 1mm. In addition, UV cannot penetrate most glass (quartz glass being an exception). Spreading the starter wafer thin (as thin as possible) on baking parchment and leaving it in mid summer sunlight with no intervening glass, would be the ultimate test. Or maybe not! It could be rehydrated like the cloned back up culture. I suspect it would survive. The UV might even generate a stronger starter through UV-induced mutation! By the way, while the starter's ability to weather some of the challenges didn't surprise me, it's resistance to ovens, blowtorch and bleach were amazing!
Thanks. I was recently reading up on UV rays. They are actually used to damage cells in labs. So the direct sunlight probably would do some damage but not likely kill it. And in most cases, the starter would be in glass or plastic, so direct UV exposure is a pretty unlikely scenario (but so is a blowtorch).
Nope, UV rays don’t kill starter. I live in Indonesia & i leave my starter overnight on my windowsill. In the morning the sun would blast through there by the time i’m out of my room at 9am, my starter’s been sunbathing for 3,5hrs. It sometimes overflowed coz it rose more than triple. Btw we got recipes here that use fermented cassava that calls for letting the dough sit in the hot sun for 2hrs until double. So the UV rays will not kill the yeast.
@@ima7333 I work in a lab where we use UV to sterilise surfaces. UV kills microbes but it cannot penetrate normal glass. Starter in a glass jar will therefore be safe. Interesting to hear about fermenting cassava. I'm not sure how deeply UV can penetrate dough - perhaps not very deeply. To kill a starter, with UV, one would need to spread it wafer thin, then expose it to direct sun with no intervening glass.
@@1misago that dough that’s leavened w/ fermented cassava is usually put in a plastic/metal bowl. Glass jars & bowls are pretty pricey around here. The locals, particularly in the rural areas, would make huge batches of those dough and put it under the sun at 11ish am when the sun is very strong for 2 full hrs until it literally look doubled in size. I supposed if you were to spread it thin then put it under the sun it might die but mine hasn’t. Coz that’s how i dehydrate mine. Too cheap to pay the electricity for dehydrator but the sun is free. The same goes for my laundry where i’d hang it up at 7am & it’d fully dried by 9am. That’s how strong the sun is where i live.
@@ima7333 That's interesting. It seems like you're right that UV doesn't kill the starter after all. The sun where you are must be pretty intense. I'm thinking the explanation is that, unlike a lab where UV is directly striking microbes, the dough shields microbes from damage.
Oh man I tossed mine away that I forgot to feed that was in my fridge and had hooch but no mold. But now I know as well to scrape down sides as I didn't know that that can cause mold. Even if it's in the fridge... you still should scrape it?
Hello, thank you for your interesting video. I have a question. Don't you introduce other yeasts/bacteria when you dry your starter to have "exact clones of your starter". I think you pick other clones from air in your kitchen. This issue of introduction of new yeasts/bacteria in your culture leads me to another question. Do we introduce new clones every time we open our jar, use non-sterile utensils and let stay with not closed lid. So you people really have 200 years old starters ore they just maintain live culture that can be very different from the original one. What do you think. Thanks.
Most of the microbes in a starter actually come from the flour, not the air. Once established, your starter is constantly picking up new microbes in small quantities from the air, but an established starter creates a unique pH environment that repels the growth of other microbes and keeps other microbes from gaining a foothold and reproducing, The existing population repels new entrants this way. This is how a starter lasts without significant changes, the yeast and lactic acid bacteria uniquely create an acid and alcohol bath as their byproduct that keeps other microbes from establishing themselves in the culture. The 200-year old starter question is a good one. The average life span of yeast is two weeks, so no one technically has a 200 year old starter, but because of the asexual reproduction (which I call “cloning”) it is possible that a starter culture still has replicas or very, very old starter in it. So in this example and when I use the term “exact clone” it refers to the vast majority of the starter population, but probably not 100%.
I do not have a warm area. Side of frig is cool. Top is cool. Temp of starter 75F. What can I do to get it active? I was given a mature starter from my daughter. Day 1 I took out 10g put it in a clean jar. as a discard. Fed the original jar with 10g water, 50 g of organic unbleached AP flour and 50g filtered water. Day 2 I took out 10g starter put it in the discard jar. Added to original starter jar 50 g of flour and 50 g of filtered water. My daughter said I ruined it. Start over with a new clean jar.added 10g of starter, 50g flour and 50 g water. The jar with the 10 g will be my new discard. So I have 3 jars. One on the counter that I feed. Discard jar in frig, The original jar with the 100g flour, 100g water and 10 g starter is in the frig. What can I do with this?
What you’re doing is fine. You are giving it a large feeding (5 times flour and water compared to the original amount), so it will take a while to rise. Just be patient and wait for it to rise. If you are impatient and you discard and refeed before it peaks, it actually weakens it. Be patient and wait for it to rise. It will rise. It doesn’t know how to do anything else.
Welp, I gave up on 2 starters when the hooch appeared. 😞 Thanks, to your videos I now know better. Thank you so much for these videos and for making them very enjoyable. 🙂
Hi Tom, I just thought would be cool to try make a starter out of a baked loaf. If yeast didn't die even with serious temperatures with your fire, should be able to survive to the oven no? Actually that can explain why sourness increases a bit overtime on a baked bread, yeasts still do its job in a very very dry environment. And another contributing for future yeast slaughter, maybe try exposing starter to sun? Thanks for your work!
Thanks. Someone else suggested the "recovery from a baked loaf." I will definitely try that next time. Thanks for the suggestion. I have also noticed my baked bread continuing to sour the next day.
What about chloramine? Chlorine evaporates off, but chloramine (which is added to my tap water) doesn’t. I am in the process of creating a starter, and am doing this with 2 batches in parallel; one using tapwater, and one using mineral water (Which I boil to evaporate off the chloride content, and which I then cool before use). I want to know if I can just use my tapwater for starter creation. Will let you know.
I talk about chloramine in some of my other videos. You are correct it does not evaporate off, and does not boil off as easily as chlorine. Let me know what you learn.
I didn't watch the whole thing but it was very entertaining and informative what about did he try starving the starter for a couple days. and did he pre feed his starter before it was time to feed the starter.
"What's that smell?" Haha, I've had two friends who have tried to kill their starters in the oven, ALWAYS put a note on the part of the oven someone else needs to touch in order to turn it on...
My starter is a few weeks old but never made bread. I changed from whole wheat/all purpose blend to whole wheat/bread flour blend and now it isn’t rising. Did I mess it up? Should I continue with the bread flour blend or go back to the all purpose blend?
Thank you. The bananas are real. In my upcoming video you will see one of them starting to unpeel while I'm recording. I ate one of them during a break and the other one started drooping during the next segment.
You are an answer to my prayers. I accidentally fed my starter with sterilizer solution id been soaking my filter jug with. I forgot the jug didn't just contain the usual water. I will just keep giving Sylvester love and nice water and flour and I'm now sure he will feel bubbly and enthusiastic again.
@@thesourdoughjourney its a chlorine type based stuff used to sanitize baby bottles and drink bottles etc. Its not toxic for a human to drink. Well the human wont die. But it isnt advised to drink it though.
LOL, great video Tom, you had me laughing for sure. I’m finding that a well-fed starter can be refrigerated at its peak and used directly from the fridge as levain. Have you tried that (yet)? Stay funny👍🏻
Thank you! This was probably my favorite video to make. I have not tried what you’re recommending but am pretty certain it would work. If you like this video, you may also like my new video “The Sourdough Journey: Preview Video.”’ It is also a comedy.
That was awesome! In Round 10, though, microwaving, I’m wondering why you fed the first starter a 1:2:2 feeding instead of 1:1:1, like all your other experiments. It went back to the ‘overfeeding’ that you teach against.
You are correct. I rewatched it. I needed to add more water because it was such a small amount of dried out starter from the microwave. And to keep the ratio consistent I added 2x flour also.
You mentioned red, pink, black and green mold but what about white spots on top of a 4 day old starter? Clean jar, no sugar, a 70 degree kitchen and loosely covered.
I noticed during the starvation segment that you used the same spoon to stir both the hooch and non-hooch samples. I've always made an effort to avoid what might be cross-contamination of my starters when doing experiments. Was that a mistake on your part or does it not matter?
Thank you Tom for such an educational video! But now I am wondering what if add bleach to the starter with mold.. possible mold will be gone but starter. I don't have mold in my neglected starter in the fridge debris but can't help to stop thinking to try 😅
Good question. I’ve never tried it. I’d need to test that some time. It always better to keep a backup of your starter in the refrigerator), or dehydrated, so you would just refresh the backup.
I am a "starter" at baking. My doubt is: if I am using whole wheat to feed the starter and I accidentally feed it rye flour, are the micro organisms going to be different after that?
Good question. No. The dominant strain of microbes is strong and is unlikely to impacted by an infrequent rye feeding. That is why I don’t recommend it continuously. But occasionally it should have not introduce a new strain.
I've been making sourdough bread for over fifty years (generally every 10-14 days). I "killed" my first starter with contaminated water (it grew pink mold). I've been using my current starter for about twenty years now, and keep it in the fridge between Bread Days. Recently, I thought I'd killed it when my fridge got too cold, but using your 5-feeding technique, I brought it back to full strength. Your channel has taught me things I never knew about sourdough starters, and this video in particular has had me laughing and wide-eyed with amazement at what a starter can survive. They say that once humans are gone, ants and cockroaches will become the dominant species on Earth. I think they need to add sourdough starter into that list!
Thank you. I enjoyed making that video.
The MOST ENTERTAINING tutorial I have ever witnessed. I am convinced that I can/will not kill my starter; provided it finally matures. Thank you for alleviating ALL of my fears. I accidentally tripped over this video and I am racing straight over to your channel to learn more from the humorous professor.
Thank you. If it’s entertainment you seek; this one is for you.
NEW!: The Sourdough Brothers: Sourdough for Busy People
th-cam.com/video/M8SiQJzFrrw/w-d-xo.html
Thank you, Tom, what you have done is just awesome. I love your experiments. This is way better than most of the TV series nowadays.
Thank you. I appreciate the feedback. If you like me my sense of humor, you might also like this video. th-cam.com/video/uRnKOZVmMgg/w-d-xo.html
This was super entertaining. When I first clicked on the video and saw the duration I said to myself "Am I really about to spend an hour watching a video about sourdough starter?" and here I am 40 minutes in and loving it :)
Thank you for watching. This was one of my favorite videos to make.
@@thesourdoughjourney I was surprised to see them all survive! I have an idea about the mold. In Adam Ragusea's video on sourdough he interviewed some researchers from NC State who mentioned that the microbes (especially the bacteria) that make up a sourdough starter culture produce an acidic and alcohol rich environment which deters mold growth. So if you get any mold on undigested bits of flour (like your experiment with the flour caked to the side) you should just keep feeding the starter and eventually the sourdough microbes will win out. Do you think it would be a valuable experiment to test this assertion? You could try purposefully exposing some starter to spores, letting the mold grow, and then scooping some off (or letting it sit in there for an extreme stress test) and continuing to feed it over the span of multiple days to see if the starter eventually wins out. It might be difficult to tell when the mold is actually killed off since the fruiting body might not be visible but the hyphae may still be present in the form of subsurface mycelium. But if mycelium were present and you left it without feeding for a couple days it would probably fruit and form visible mold again. I wish my university's bio lab was still open because I could try this out and prepare some slides to view under the microscope with staining compounds to differentiate the fungi.
@@kylewolfe_ I actually tried adding some mold (from a piece of fruit) to one of the starters to accelerate the mold growth for the purpose of the video and it would not propagate in the starter. I didn't leave it long enough to see if it killed it off, but I'll give that a try sometime. In general, with other ferments (e.g., sauerkraut) once you get mold in it, it is nearly impossible to get it all out (for safe human consumption). I will probably do a sequel to this video sometime and will add this experiment. Thanks for watching and thanks for the feedback!
I was also wandering this about mold. What if we just keep feeding it like normal for a number of days. Maybe if the mold reproduces much slower that the yeast, the mold content will decay exponentially until there's nothing left. I'm afraid this would take a looong time if it's even possible but still, I imagine it must have happened many times in the past. "Just scoop it out and use the rest" was the standard response to mold
I am CRACKING UP at "this starter says....TRY THE BROILER NEXT TIME"
Thank you. 😉
This video is both educational and hilarious. I just started my first sourdough starter the other day and this video gave me a boost of confidence I needed. Now I know what to expect and look out for - thank you!
Thank you for the feedback. And thanks for watching!
Wow. Talk about stumble onto the most informative and fun video. Coming from someone who has zero starter knowledge, watching your video's I feel like I don't need to know any more about it. Once I have every tool I need, I'm going to give it a crack. Thank you Tom!
Thanks!
If you like informative and fun videos, you must see this one. th-cam.com/video/M8SiQJzFrrw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Vv2oAeVLk2UHVQBw
Sweet, you just answered most of my "What if..." questions. Thank you.
When I lived in Michigan I tried to make starter, and I thought I failed through neglect, and starvation. Thank you for showing me that I fed a perfectly good batch of starter to my garden, and the birds. In fact I don't think my garden got any of it. The birds, once they found it, ate it all, along with the ants and flies who were trying to eat it too.
Thanks. Unless it gets moldy, you really can’t kill it.
So helpful, interesting, and hilarious. I loved the note about "diluted" not "deluded" 🙂
Thank you!
My wife made a starter many years ago and we would throw it in the out building freezer during Passover then revive after the week long holiday. The last one we forgot about and I found it a few years later. This was my start into sourdough. I thawed it but it never returned to liquid, it remained a dried clump (freeze dried?). Anyway, a little water day one, regular feedings afterwards and it did revive!
You can’t kill a starter if you tried!
This video was really fun. It seems some people online really stress out about their starters and making it much higher maintenance than it really needs to be. I think many of the guides are written at least partially from the perspective of a professional baker who requires a lot more consistency from their starter than home bakers do.
If you ever do a part 2, one way of killing a starter I'd like to see is the "oops, I used all of it" way. Can you revive a starter from an "empty" dirty jar? Given the small amount of salvage in some of your experiments I think the outcome is pretty clear, but how low can you really go?
Thank you. Good idea. I’ll add that to my list!
I do that with regularity. Just a little residue on the sides and bottom is plenty to inoculate.
Just brought my starter back from the "dead" after accidentally baking it, thanks to this video. Thanks so much for your quality content!
Thanks!
You did what
This is great! Thanks for a really informative analysis. I guess the next question would be how these "survived" starters impact the flavor of the bread. One note on the hooch; it is not pure ethanol but perhaps 6-12% alcohol by volume (the bacteria can't survive in higher concentrations). The rest would be water. I'm in the group who have left the starter untouched in the refrigerator for many months and didn't know if the starter was kaput. Thanks to you the question is answered. I also want to make a more sour bread and I'm betting the hooch couldn't hurt that goal!
Thanks for the feedback and for the info!
I knew those are tough little guys because I keep my starter in the refrigerator and even though I sometimes have ignored it for a month it comes right back. Still, I would NEVER have guessed it would withstand an assault from a blow torch and bleach! Crazy fun video. Thanks Tom.
Thank you. That was one of my early, favorite experimental videos.
So entertaining! Thank you! I mixed up my first starter 5 days ago with much anxiety and constantly looking to see if it's still alive. (My history with house plants isn't reassuring). Your video eases my mind immensely. Thx!
Thank you. Good luck. Also lots of info here. thesourdoughjourney.com/encyclopedia/
You've given me hope! Yesterday I was very tired & was continually interrupted while trying to mix Anadama bread using an old, old, yeast based recipe which I had done successfully once in the recent past. (It's a bit tricky has a cornmeal porridge & a good bit of molasses.) After I bulk fermented for about 6 hrs--nada. Stuck it into the refrigerator to deal with today. I figured my porridge was too warm or I mis-measured the molasses or both & killed the yeast. Your wonderful video has convinced me that if I give it more time all will be well. Please keep your experiments coming!
Always just give it more time…. Can’t kill it if you tried.
I love your brand of sarcasm. Sitting in my chair and almost rolling onto the floor laughing. But it is difficult to kill a well established sourdough starter. It can be done, but mold, mildew or poisons are about the only ways to make it unusable.
Thank you for the feedback. I have a unique sense of humor. 😉. And if you liked this video, check out my “Preview Video.” It is a comedy.
Hey Tom, can you make a video possibly about using imprecise measurements for a starter? Because that’s what I did and it looks pretty good but I can’t get it to rise, I ordered a scale so I’m gonna wait for that and do your 5 day rule but I’m nervous about all the imprecise measurements I’ve used already
Kate, good question. Imprecise measurements won’t kill it, but they can keep it from “showing the rise.” But the starter can be completely strong and healthy with too much or too little water. They are just hard to read because they don’t show the rise. Yours will be fine until you get a scale. Keep going with your process.
Thank you, Tom, for an excellent video! I can tell you put a lot of effort in it!
It inspired me so much, that I attempted an experiment of my own; I baked a loaf of delicious sourdough bread fully, took a little bit of the crumb, mixed it with some water and flour, left it for 48 hours, fed it again, and guess what happened the following day? A new starter formed, and it was very boozy!
Now it's time to feed a starter with iodine, to dispel the fear of "iodine in salt can kill my starter"... I have a feeling it'll do just fine.
Take care and thank you for the breadth of knowledge you're sharing!
Thank you for the feedback. Please keep me posted on other experiments!
@@thesourdoughjourney Hey Tom, I just wanted to offer an update to the Iodine experiment: I added some povidone-Iodine (betadine) to a starter sample, and fed it 1:2:2 and left it for 2 days. After 2 days it didn't look good and smelled even worse, but I fed it again and within 2 hours it was really bubbling. It peaked after 4 hours, just like my healthy starter does.
I am now convinced that the only way to mess up with sourdough starter is to "accidentally" place it in an autoclave or maybe bake it flat at 170 degrees c for an hour, like I was taught in med school.
Have a great weekend! Take care.
Not the first one to find you but definitely a fan from now on. I admire the "dry" humor and love the experiments, it really did teach me to appreciate the little ones. I also experience the mould situation but I was surprised about the Rio the Janeiro Carnival environment beneath it. Keep it up!
Thank you! This was actually one of the first videos I made. Still one of my favorites.
This video also takes some of the worry away of killing a starter. So when I go to the coast for a few days....I can breath a little easier leaving it alone...in the fridge...unattended and fussed over like a old ladies Pomeranian. This was my favorite experiment yet.
Thanks. This was one of my favorite videos of make.
Thank you. I just started my first sourdough starter a few days ago. You showed there isn't much that can go wrong with it.
Some others have vlogs, blogs, etc. giving the idea everything has to be exactly the right way, or you'd better stop trying sourdough
Once your starter is established, it is incredibly resilient.
Dude, you are so good at explaining the process!! I am so excited to learn so much more from your wisdom and expertise!👍🏻
Thank you. Also check out my website.
This was so entertaining to watch. It was amazing to see how all your tests turned out...You are so funny...I absolutely love LOVE your channel....you have demystified so many things. I need to binge watch your vids and with any luck il finally get handle on sourdough making. It's incredible the resilience of sourdough starter. There were many times I thought it was dead. Thank you for such an awesome channel. I hope you get soooo many subscribers
Thank you so much. This was my most fun video to make. And I had no idea how it would come out. I literately was doing every experiment for the first time on camera.
Great job Tom! Very informative! I heard on another TH-cam video that settlers would use their discard starter to fill cracks in their walls of their houses. Later they would chip it out and use it for new starter. 😳
That’s interesting. I’ve not heard that before!
This was brilliant !
Thank you so much for the feedback. This was one of my favorite videos to make.
This was son funny, fascinating and educational! The bleach, the freeze, the microwave and the blow torch were the ones that surprised me the most! I am more at ease after watching this and I am sure I will recommend it to anyone starting out. I really appreciate the inclusion of the cloning segment at the end. My intention today was to find your video about drying the starter for later revival and I stumbled upon this video which I couldn't resist watching.
Thanks!
Tom thank you for this brilliant video....not only hilarious but educational and amazing how these starters can have just about everything thrown at them. I've just started in growing sourdough starters and find your videos most helpful....looking forward to working my way through all your excellent videos 👍
Thank you!
a beginner here!! thank you so much Tom for putting in the effort in making these experiments. we all know it took days or even weeks for you to produce content like this and i can't say enough how grateful i am. now i know that i can find ways to save a starter if ever it goes through one of these scenarios. you reassure someone like me who panics so often and make rushed and irrational choices 😅😅
Thank you! I really enjoy making these videos.
Tom, thank you for making this educational video. This is excellent information for anyone who is involved with cooking and especially bread making. From a novice sourdough starter guy, thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you Tom for all your troubleshooting the issues of sourdough. The first time I tried to start one has been 8-10 years ago and I ended up throwing it away and wish I was able to watch this video! Since I have been thinking of trying it all over again found your hilarious video and couldn't stop laughing. Love your sense of humor and am encouraged all over again to try....here I go!
Thanks! Lots of helpful info here too. thesourdoughjourney.com/faq-starter-creation/
Nice Job Tom! I threw away buckets of starter due to heat, neglect, and just being repulsed so many times when I was just learning. Where were you in 1982? I have learned over the years how resilient the yeastie beasties are but, I never would have guessed the microwave, torch, or bleach would survive. What a great experiment. Thank you!
Thank you! I was also surprised by those survivors.
Again as usual a Great video! Long ago in the winter, I fed my starter then preheated my oven at 200 warm it up before putting in my just fed starter. When I checked my starter the next morning, it was baked! I would have been hysterical if I didn't have a backup jar! Since then I always keep two jars of my starter. I know I could dry out the starter, but am taking no chances!
Thank you. These mishaps are so common. That's why I made the video.
I never keep 2 jars of starter. I dry mine like he did in the end, then crumble and freeze. I’ve used this technique for many years, it works, because I’ve had to use my backup from the freezer. Just remember to make a new backup lol
The dry humor in this video is amazing!
Thank you! If you like my humor. Check out my newest video. th-cam.com/video/M8SiQJzFrrw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=4QOkRuagJ7faqnX8
Tom, This is great, should be required viewing for anyone beginning their sourdough sojourn.
Thanks!
I learned a lot from all your effort. Thank you so much.
Just an after thought... have you tried a strong salt solution? Bakers frequently say something like “put salt in flour opposite from yeast because salt will harm the yeast,” or something similar to that. My guess is the yeast will win :)
I will add that to my list for the sequel. Thanks!
Tom, another excellent video on a subject close to many people hearts, I was unsure what it would take, and have looked at 'the Beast' on a number of occasions and though, have I left it too late....Clearly, its a resilient little bugger and I will never again have to wonder if its dead! You touch on subjects that are hugely relevant to those of us striving to perfect our bread, whilst Tartine sits in our households, there are times when his wonderful descriptions and pictures just don't give the detail we Journeymen/women require on some aspects of the process. Without doubt, you feel the same as you have created a fantastic array of videos on those very details. thank you for taking the time to create these great videos.
Thank you! I very much appreciate the feedback. It is a journey and I’m happy to be sharing my learning experiences with others!
Thanks for the reality check! Love science based on experience and experiment. Would love to see if Lysol, soap, dishwasher/laundry detergent &/or rubbing alcohol would have any adverse effects. Also maybe filter some starter through a few face masks. Could put a dent in the safety of certain "safety" mandates put in place since you posted this. All the best!
Thank you for the feedback. I’ll add those to my list for Part 2!
Great channel and videos. I'm going to try pemmican and a sour dough starter. Your instruc/ions are clear and easily followed.
Thanks! Good luck. Also check out my website for more info.
Thanks for giving me the confidence to start the sourdough journey. A friend gave me dehydrated starter a couple weeks ago.
Thanks for the feedback! Good luck.
Very helpful video! Thank you for this. I thought I killed mine that I've been working on for 3 months from scratch by putting it in the oven with the light on. Almost started over. Thanks again!
Thanks for the feedback. Good luck!
Thank you so much for this funny, yet educational video, which gives us confidence. I never put a starter into an oven/ microwave. During cold days I have the starter jar during the day in a bowl of slightly warmed water, the temperature checked, and at night I keep the jar in an esky, surrounded by folded towels, and a hot water bottle at one end. Works well.
Thanks you! Your methods are great. Thanks for sharing.
This has to be one of the most entertaining videos I've watched on sourdough. Hilarious, and awesome. Thanks!
Thank you for the feedback. I enjoyed making that video., Here is another funny one, th-cam.com/video/uRnKOZVmMgg/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for a fun and informative video! I loved the humor and encouragement through clearer understanding of Sourdough Starter. I am working on my second attempt to grow a strong starter. Looking forward to a loaf of bread very soon.
Thank you. Good luck!
Not only was this very educative, but hilarious too 😀... Thanks for the laughs!
Thank you. If like my sense of humor, check out my Sourdough Apprentice video where I teach my brother to make bread. It is hilarious. I
@@thesourdoughjourney Will do 😀
I loved this demo. Didn't realize starters were so humorous till now. lol So I had some giggles and learned some things too. Thanks so much.
Thank you for the feedback and thanks for watching!
Love the use of the term “legacy starter”. Are you in IT? My starter is called “Rhonda Risey”. She’s likes to feed on organic whole Rye flour.
No, not in IT. I was referring to legacy more in terms of “handed down through a family.” But the IT reference also works. People could say, “my starter is older than COBOL.”
Thanks a lot for your lot of works! Only great sense of humor could do such things. Die hard Strater !
Haha. Yes.
As always the master of all sourdough masters is a wonderful master 😍😍
Thank you!
One thing to note, some of these revivals might just be from the natural yeast in the flour (this is after all, how you start a starter - just regular old flour & water). If you were to repeat it, it might be worth it to dry cook (or UV treat) the flour to remove any possible contaminants. Generally, when making a new starter, the first few batches will be pretty normal looking, and it will start to simmer down after a few feedings before going back to normal.
These things are definitely super hardy though. I've left mine on the counter for a month and it came back within a few days (as in, I baked with it within 2 feedings) :P
Thanks. You can see in the video, in addition to looking at the recovered starter, I also smell it. There is an unmistakeable difference between the smell of a “recovered” starter and a newly forming starter.
I should have been more clear about it in the video, but I am 100% certain that none of the “recovered” starters were actually a new starter forming in the jar. If I had any doubt, I would have noted it. But your recommended test protocol is the right way to do it.
Thanks a Stack Tom for a Very Informative, yet fun vidclip ..... Best to You and Yours from Christchurch, New Zealand .....
Thanks!
I love this series and have learned lots. Is it asking a lot to get baked bread from these messed up starters with taste tests and comparison's? just a series idea. if you've already done this please send me a link. Again thank you for your educational series my family and i thank you!! 😀
Thank you. I could tell by the smell of each recovered starter that most of them returned to their normal state. The ones with the hooch, bleach and wrong flours smelled a little off, but I could have just fed them for a few more days and I’m confident they would all have returned to normal. Thanks!
This is a wonderful lesson for me I thank you so very much . I purchased a special starter(for me) 203 years I was so excited to be in possession of the same. A few days on I was doing great and then I noticed no bubbles and a layer of liquid I believed that I killed my baby and discarded. Now once again I am on day 2 of my own starter doing all your measurements doing all the temperature checks like COVID-19, instead of discarding all of day 2 can I go onto day 3 with another starter from the discarded day2 and continue with the second batch three - 14. I have a lot of friends and family who want me to make an artisan loaf for them.
Thank you.
Good Morning Tom, I'm on day four on creating my starter from scratch. I have feed once a 1:2:2 ratio. before I feed It had water separation so I stirred it up and discarded all but 25 grams of the starter. Since then I have had no real activity other than a couple small bubbles here and there. I still have what seems to be over watered so I have been pouring that out. Should I add a little feed to it to try to thicken the starter mix? It was weird I saw it had rose almost to the top of the jar and then back down so I thought I was ready to start my daily feeding... I don't want to just give up on this jar, but not sure what to try. I am using a reverse osmosis with charcoal filter for water, and using the 50/50 organic flour mix as you described your video "How to create a sour dough starter". By the way the smell is almost like a wet soggy dog whole grain flour smell with just a hint of sour, if that makes any sense. I'm enjoying trying this even if I fail at it .0) Thank you. You are truly a master at teaching this...
No more discarding until it activates. Just give it time now. Stir it occasionally.
@@thesourdoughjourney Ok, thank you☺️
Awesome video! Unfortunately I got mold on the top, removed top and took one spoon for re-creating in new jar. As a result it got molded as well, so no lactic acid there more because I left the main jar unfeeded for 2-3 months and eventually it got molded. Anyway, good learn :P
Mold is the only thing that really kills it. And it penetrates through the surface.
Grand finale! Congrats!
Thanks you!
Very informative and funny, definitely subscription worthy.
Thanks. This one is a comedy. th-cam.com/video/M8SiQJzFrrw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=CAfYQrSfCoa1See0
Again thank you. Regarding the clone. Do u keep the dried out starter in an airtight jar or loosely fit covered jar. Thank you
Airtight jar, or a ziploc bag. Just to keep dust, mold and other things out. It will not spoil in any way. It’s totally dried.
Dude! Your sourdough episodes are truly Epic! That's some pretty hardcore gang o cultures no...!? Learning so much! Much thanx for these shares ; D
Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.
The journey and conclusion were well worth the watch! So curious to know what a bleach loaf would look like even if not to taste
Thanks! 😀
I am enjoying your videos, this is my third time trying to start a starter, since I found your " how to start a starter" video, I think I am going to have success this time!!! However, I am confused because in that video - the feedings are the 1:2:2 method - in this video you are using the 1;1;1 method. is there a reason for this? Which works better?
There’s not a big difference. I use 1:2:2 in a new starter to keep the acidity low, which favors the yeast.
I am here to understand abt mold, but couldnt stop my seld and watch the whole video. Thanks for giant work❤
Thank you. Also check out the end of my new video I also discuss mold there. th-cam.com/video/DX3-UANTMG4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=VG0q6pfAyq13zbyE
This was fascinating, educational, and hilarious! Thank you!
Thank you.
My first attempt to Sd was With Master Baker " Paul Hollywood " who discribed in his Book this recepi ..A Bio Appel grated and in to the jar... with x flour and x water..I Faild poorly.Thank you for your Methematic aproche and perseverance. Thanks again for the joy You bring in My family and my Life.I bake now every Day ..and My starter goes for life !!
Thanks! 🙏
Great video. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I like your sense of humor. Good job!
But I'm thinking to myself, that test is a little bit pointless. Why? Because when you are adding NOT sterile flour and water, you are adding microbes also. In the end of the day, you are making new starter from scratches. Anyway, it was fun to watch.
Good question, I had the same thought, but there is no possibility that just flour and water would create activity that quickly in 24 or 48 hours if the original starter were actually dead. The “revived” starters were incredibly active, not a 2-day old starter by any means. I could have shown a side by side “control sample” of 1 or 2 day old flour and water mixture and it would have been perfectly clear in every case that the original starter had revived and the new material was simply a feeding, not a second generation starter. You can see that’s also why I smelled every starter when I opened each jar. A revived starter smells completely different than a two-day old new starter. Great question though. Thanks!
Thank you!
Unbelievable video! My jaw dropped too many times. Also laughed a lot. Thanks for this.
Thank you!
really good and pro-information !
only my starter gets every time ,condense, water drops inside the glass, u have used other pots, placed on fridge ,other environments ,but the same happens in my fridge ,totally closed in fridge.., what is the problem? I have make the glass clean and swipe the water condense drips..
I have 3 different starters ,1-1-1 ratio and 1-2-2 ratio, and 1 in another pot ,{experiment with pots and tops.., used a coffee filter also with an elastic ,it's dry to fast ..{I think it comes by the oat flour 11g protein.,I used with full 15gr protein weat flower -spelt.
and I have feed sometimes with boekweit flour with the 50 /50 mix.. wholewheat spelt flour + out meal flour ,and some wheat flour and boekweit flour..
I have used bronwater, mineral water ,filtered britafilter water.. I have not 50 pots now but I m running up with the different pots, but all with raindrops inside.
can you explane it?
{I have a new oven also for baking} new kitchen comes next week,with a Henry bread pot.. bowl.. looking forward.. to your experiments and test.. or maybe you have an solution how I can bring my starter with 5days methode back to life use other flour..{in the Netherlands they have not the kingarthur flours,I have searched about the protein grams, and use the one they came into the same grams of protein of your kingarthur flours u used..
Condensation inside the jar is OK. It usually occurs when the inside of the jar is warmer or cooler than the outside.
What a great video ! Very enlightening and instructional ! Just subbed. Thank you, Tom !
Thank you. One of my favorites.
Love it! (also I watched the tartine how to in a row yesterday!) Love such an ablation study, and love how you explain things, are you teacher or scientist?
Thank you. I am not a teacher or scientist. I recently retired from 30 years in business/finance. I guess it took that long for me to figure out what I am good at and passionate about.
Love the Paul Simon reference in the title ❤️
Thank you. In addition to sourdough baking, I am also a musician, so this title came naturally.
Simply Amazing! Thanks so much for all your videos! Learning a lot!
Thanks!
Thanks Tom for another useful, humorous video. If you ever feel up to challenging the starter again, you could try repeating the UV exposure. Of the UV wavelengths, the one with the deepest penetration is UV-A which can only penetrate less than 1mm. In addition, UV cannot penetrate most glass (quartz glass being an exception). Spreading the starter wafer thin (as thin as possible) on baking parchment and leaving it in mid summer sunlight with no intervening glass, would be the ultimate test. Or maybe not! It could be rehydrated like the cloned back up culture. I suspect it would survive. The UV might even generate a stronger starter through UV-induced mutation!
By the way, while the starter's ability to weather some of the challenges didn't surprise me, it's resistance to ovens, blowtorch and bleach were amazing!
Thanks. I was recently reading up on UV rays. They are actually used to damage cells in labs. So the direct sunlight probably would do some damage but not likely kill it. And in most cases, the starter would be in glass or plastic, so direct UV exposure is a pretty unlikely scenario (but so is a blowtorch).
Nope, UV rays don’t kill starter. I live in Indonesia & i leave my starter overnight on my windowsill. In the morning the sun would blast through there by the time i’m out of my room at 9am, my starter’s been sunbathing for 3,5hrs. It sometimes overflowed coz it rose more than triple. Btw we got recipes here that use fermented cassava that calls for letting the dough sit in the hot sun for 2hrs until double. So the UV rays will not kill the yeast.
@@ima7333 I work in a lab where we use UV to sterilise surfaces. UV kills microbes but it cannot penetrate normal glass. Starter in a glass jar will therefore be safe. Interesting to hear about fermenting cassava. I'm not sure how deeply UV can penetrate dough - perhaps not very deeply. To kill a starter, with UV, one would need to spread it wafer thin, then expose it to direct sun with no intervening glass.
@@1misago that dough that’s leavened w/ fermented cassava is usually put in a plastic/metal bowl. Glass jars & bowls are pretty pricey around here. The locals, particularly in the rural areas, would make huge batches of those dough and put it under the sun at 11ish am when the sun is very strong for 2 full hrs until it literally look doubled in size. I supposed if you were to spread it thin then put it under the sun it might die but mine hasn’t. Coz that’s how i dehydrate mine. Too cheap to pay the electricity for dehydrator but the sun is free. The same goes for my laundry where i’d hang it up at 7am & it’d fully dried by 9am. That’s how strong the sun is where i live.
@@ima7333 That's interesting. It seems like you're right that UV doesn't kill the starter after all. The sun where you are must be pretty intense. I'm thinking the explanation is that, unlike a lab where UV is directly striking microbes, the dough shields microbes from damage.
Oh man I tossed mine away that I forgot to feed that was in my fridge and had hooch but no mold.
But now I know as well to scrape down sides as I didn't know that that can cause mold. Even if it's in the fridge... you still should scrape it?
Yes, always keep the sides scraped down.
Hello, thank you for your interesting video. I have a question. Don't you introduce other yeasts/bacteria when you dry your starter to have "exact clones of your starter". I think you pick other clones from air in your kitchen. This issue of introduction of new yeasts/bacteria in your culture leads me to another question. Do we introduce new clones every time we open our jar, use non-sterile utensils and let stay with not closed lid. So you people really have 200 years old starters ore they just maintain live culture that can be very different from the original one. What do you think. Thanks.
Most of the microbes in a starter actually come from the flour, not the air. Once established, your starter is constantly picking up new microbes in small quantities from the air, but an established starter creates a unique pH environment that repels the growth of other microbes and keeps other microbes from gaining a foothold and reproducing, The existing population repels new entrants this way. This is how a starter lasts without significant changes, the yeast and lactic acid bacteria uniquely create an acid and alcohol bath as their byproduct that keeps other microbes from establishing themselves in the culture. The 200-year old starter question is a good one. The average life span of yeast is two weeks, so no one technically has a 200 year old starter, but because of the asexual reproduction (which I call “cloning”) it is possible that a starter culture still has replicas or very, very old starter in it. So in this example and when I use the term “exact clone” it refers to the vast majority of the starter population, but probably not 100%.
Enjoyed your video. Had to laugh at some of your comments! I was starting to feel a bit sorry for that sour dough starter.🤣🤣
Thank you. If you like my sense of humor, check out this new video with my brother. It is a comedy. th-cam.com/video/WVebYEH63xM/w-d-xo.html
I do not have a warm area. Side of frig is cool. Top is cool. Temp of starter 75F. What can I do to get it active?
I was given a mature starter from my daughter. Day 1 I took out 10g put it in a clean jar. as a discard. Fed the original jar with 10g water, 50 g of organic unbleached AP flour and 50g filtered water. Day 2 I took out 10g starter put it in the discard jar. Added to original starter jar 50 g of flour and 50 g of filtered water.
My daughter said I ruined it. Start over with a new clean jar.added 10g of starter, 50g flour and 50 g water. The jar with the 10 g will be my new discard. So I have 3 jars. One on the counter that I feed. Discard jar in frig, The original jar with the 100g flour, 100g water and 10 g starter is in the frig. What can I do with this?
What you’re doing is fine. You are giving it a large feeding (5 times flour and water compared to the original amount), so it will take a while to rise. Just be patient and wait for it to rise. If you are impatient and you discard and refeed before it peaks, it actually weakens it.
Be patient and wait for it to rise. It will rise. It doesn’t know how to do anything else.
I loved this! I had a crockful of neglected starter with a couple inches of black hooch on top. I would have tried CPR if I’d known!
It is amazingly resilient.
Welp, I gave up on 2 starters when the hooch appeared. 😞 Thanks, to your videos I now know better. Thank you so much for these videos and for making them very enjoyable. 🙂
Thanks. Good luck.
Hi Tom, I just thought would be cool to try make a starter out of a baked loaf. If yeast didn't die even with serious temperatures with your fire, should be able to survive to the oven no? Actually that can explain why sourness increases a bit overtime on a baked bread, yeasts still do its job in a very very dry environment.
And another contributing for future yeast slaughter, maybe try exposing starter to sun? Thanks for your work!
Thanks. Someone else suggested the "recovery from a baked loaf." I will definitely try that next time. Thanks for the suggestion. I have also noticed my baked bread continuing to sour the next day.
The torch cracked me up!
Very educational. Thank you Tom
Thank you. Also check out my website for more info… thesourdoughjourney.com
What about chloramine? Chlorine evaporates off, but chloramine (which is added to my tap water) doesn’t. I am in the process of creating a starter, and am doing this with 2 batches in parallel; one using tapwater, and one using mineral water (Which I boil to evaporate off the chloride content, and which I then cool before use). I want to know if I can just use my tapwater for starter creation. Will let you know.
I talk about chloramine in some of my other videos. You are correct it does not evaporate off, and does not boil off as easily as chlorine. Let me know what you learn.
I didn't watch the whole thing but it was very entertaining and informative what about did he try starving the starter for a couple days. and did he pre feed his starter before it was time to feed the starter.
There is a 90-day starvation segment in the video. I do not have an “overfeeding” segment but will consider that for Part 2!
"What's that smell?" Haha, I've had two friends who have tried to kill their starters in the oven, ALWAYS put a note on the part of the oven someone else needs to touch in order to turn it on...
Yes. Good idea. Highly recommended.
Did you feed the three mold jar experiment during the eight or so days they were in the dungeon?
No, I just let them sit there.
My starter is a few weeks old but never made bread. I changed from whole wheat/all purpose blend to whole wheat/bread flour blend and now it isn’t rising. Did I mess it up? Should I continue with the bread flour blend or go back to the all purpose blend?
Sometimes new starters don’t like change. I’d go back to what was working.
@@thesourdoughjourney Thank you. I’ll try that.
You are hilarious!! I’ve been loving your videos ♥️
Thank you!
Thank you very much for the very informative video. I wonder if I can use some sourdough discard to start again in the situations you mentioned.
Thanks. Yes, absolutely. You can always revive your discard by feeding it a few times.
@@thesourdoughjourney Thanks ever so much for your reply.
Extensive and informative video. Thanks!
Thank you.
Great, just great!
Thanks for this educational video.
Like your humor as well.
Are the bananas on the background real or plastic?
Thank you. The bananas are real. In my upcoming video you will see one of them starting to unpeel while I'm recording. I ate one of them during a break and the other one started drooping during the next segment.
Also, if you like my sense of humor, check out my "Preview Video" for The Sourdough Journey: Beginner Mistakes and Tips. It is a comedy.
You are an answer to my prayers. I accidentally fed my starter with sterilizer solution id been soaking my filter jug with. I forgot the jug didn't just contain the usual water. I will just keep giving Sylvester love and nice water and flour and I'm now sure he will feel bubbly and enthusiastic again.
What was in the sterilizer solution?
@@thesourdoughjourney its a chlorine type based stuff used to sanitize baby bottles and drink bottles etc. Its not toxic for a human to drink. Well the human wont die. But it isnt advised to drink it though.
This video is EPIC Tom 😂🎉
Thank you!
This was one of my first, and favorite videos.
LOL, great video Tom, you had me laughing for sure. I’m finding that a well-fed starter can be refrigerated at its peak and used directly from the fridge as levain. Have you tried that (yet)? Stay funny👍🏻
Thank you! This was probably my favorite video to make. I have not tried what you’re recommending but am pretty certain it would work.
If you like this video, you may also like my new video “The Sourdough Journey: Preview Video.”’ It is also a comedy.
That was awesome! In Round 10, though, microwaving, I’m wondering why you fed the first starter a 1:2:2 feeding instead of 1:1:1, like all your other experiments. It went back to the ‘overfeeding’ that you teach against.
Thanks! I may have misspoken there. I think all the “recovery feedings” were 1:1:1 but I’ll double check.
You are correct. I rewatched it. I needed to add more water because it was such a small amount of dried out starter from the microwave. And to keep the ratio consistent I added 2x flour also.
You mentioned red, pink, black and green mold but what about white spots on top of a 4 day old starter? Clean jar, no sugar, a 70 degree kitchen and loosely covered.
Very common. Dried flour or sometimes blooms of microbes (the good ones).
I noticed during the starvation segment that you used the same spoon to stir both the hooch and non-hooch samples. I've always made an effort to avoid what might be cross-contamination of my starters when doing experiments. Was that a mistake on your part or does it not matter?
Good point. I don’t view the hooch as a contaminant I guess. It is a naturally occurring by product of any starter.
Thank you Tom for such an educational video! But now I am wondering what if add bleach to the starter with mold.. possible mold will be gone but starter. I don't have mold in my neglected starter in the fridge debris but can't help to stop thinking to try 😅
Good question. I’ve never tried it. I’d need to test that some time.
It always better to keep a backup of your starter in the refrigerator), or dehydrated, so you would just refresh the backup.
Absolutely LOVE your videos! Very helpful and funny!
Thank you!
I am a "starter" at baking. My doubt is: if I am using whole wheat to feed the starter and I accidentally feed it rye flour, are the micro organisms going to be different after that?
Good question. No. The dominant strain of microbes is strong and is unlikely to impacted by an infrequent rye feeding. That is why I don’t recommend it continuously. But occasionally it should have not introduce a new strain.
Will you ever sell your dry starter???
I recommend the fresh starter from the King Arthur website.