Adopted yeast has arrived.

My new yeast has arrived and is showing promise after 24 hours of rehydration.  I've just fed it and I'm already noticing a difference in the smell.

There's a new loaf under way and I'm experimenting with the "no knead" system.  Basically you mix the starter, water, salt and flour together and leave it for 18 hours.  Then you fold, rest, shape and let it proof again before baking in a cast iron pot.  I'm using Yogi again and already the dough is rising very well.  I'm concerned that it's very soft and moist though.

Success!

I finally managed an edible loaf.  There's still some work to be done with technique and I didn't manage any oven spring, but the loaf is edible but not photogenic.

In the mean time, I have ordered a commercial starter, a lame and a banneton.  It will be interesting comparing how the two starters taste and perform.  Exciting....

Starter Revived

Well it took a couple of days, but I now have a viable sourdough starter.  It was the pineapple juice that did it.

SDJ - day 25

Another 2 sets of sourdough bricks have been produced using 2 different recipes and methods of proofing and shaping the dough.  It's so disappointing. 

It's time to take stock.  I now think that my starter is not as active as it should be and I'm experimenting with 3 different ways of reviving it.  No, reviving is not the right word.  The starter needs to be strengthened.  It just doesn't perform as it should.  The initial rise is very slow and not at all vigorous.  The dough becomes very liquid and virtually impossible to shape and retain any form.

• Starter version 2.1 is enjoying a feeding of a little rye flour.
• Starter version 2.2 will be fed some pineapple juice.
• Starter version 2.3 has consumed some grapes.

Now that I have read more, I do think I was hasty to discard Hooch.  Too late now!  My interpretation of the feeding instructions was actually starving the starters. I thought "Equal flour and water" meant by volume, but it's actually by weight which is a big difference.  Also, you can develop your starter using small amounts of ingredients and stay fairly small until you are reaching the stage of using the starter in a batch of bread.  Live and learn....