Oh the bounty I have reaped from Jean Talon Market. :) Payed a visit to my local vendors yesterday to stock up in case of an impending blizzard (too bad it was pretty much already blizzarding (and hailing on the way back) yesterday). Going to the market is pretty much a work out in itself... or at least the coming back bit... if you're me, that is, and fill a backpack and large Trader Joe's bag full delicious veggies and the like... my shoulders are still in pain. Boy is it worth it though (except for maybe the tripping up the metro stairs... I could have done without that). Listened to Radio Lab's "Numbers" podcast at the market and learned about Frank Benford who discovered a "cosmic preference for certain numbers" and Paul Erdos, a curious mathematician who wrote more mathematical papers with more people than anyone and as a result, there exists a relationship between him and many other mathematicians... like the six degrees of separation. It was an interesting episode. (Although... it took me twice as long to listen to it as I was so engulfed in my surroundings that I had to essentially restart it on my way home.)
Anyways...
Wednesday marked the first day of my starter's twice a day feedings with all-purpose flour. The King of Flour (King Arthur) tells me that this is because the rye flour developed the yeast and the all-purpose flour is now feeding said yeast. For me, doubling the feeding essentially means doubling my love and attention for my new friends. :P I wake up every morning thinking of my starter, enter the kitchen and strike up a conversation... well... not a conversation... let's remember, I'm not crazy. More like a "hello, buddies. How are you? Are you comfortable? Hungry? Doing well?" That sort of thing... and of course, it is pretty much one sided... but again... gardeners talk to their plants, do they not... so why can't I talk to my developing (or hopefully so) yeast?
I've combined days 4 and 5 mainly because I began to write this yesterday... eked out one sentence... and then stopped from exhaustion. Ha. But also, the starter has not changed much in appearance since yesterday... so these pictures and descriptions serve double duty.
This is a curious process because every time I discard and feed it, the mixture gets thick and gloopy, but as it rests and feeds for about 8 hours, the mix thins out... while still maintaining some of its elasticity. The smell, also, has mellowed out a bit and is far less pungent... almost smelling sourdoughy. Dare I mention the taste...? Or rather... dare I mention that I tasted it a bit when it was just the rye flour and water? I couldn't help it... Sir Arthur mentioned how it should taste after a week and I had to have something to compare it to. (I taste EVERYTHING... I make cheese and peanut butter treats for my dog occasionally (separately, of course... not so sure I'd be okay with feeding my dog a cheese-peanut butter combo... not that she wouldn't gobble them up and look back up at me with a face that says "what... no more?") and since they actually taste decently good... I decided a while back that I had to compare them to store bought dog treats. BAD IDEA! Boxed dog treats taste utterly disgusting. What do they put in them? And why do dogs like them?) The starter on days 2 and 3 tastes almost like it smells... not so pleasant. However, I can happily say that today my starter is beginning to taste like actual sourdough. :D
The color is more agreeable as well. No more unsightly discoloration and and strange dissociation. There doesn't appear to be as much activity now as there was the first couple of days, though. The bubbles are smaller and changes in appearance less drastic. But I guess it's good that there are still bubbles of any sort... signifying some feeding frenzy going on in the inter-workings of the flour.
This whole process is quite fascinating to me. Who would have thought that flour had so much liveliness within it? By the time my starter is fully developed, it will be strong enough to raise a loaf of bread, sans store bought yeast. How cool is that?
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