zool lives!

[EFerrari]

Never has so much been done for so few to so little purpose and with such meager results.

:rofl:

He's not sour enough yet but he's very respectable bread. He also oould be taller; the oven may need to be a little hotter to lift him up.

(Okay, I'm going to bed now. Sorry for the bad light in the pix.)

[wildflower]

1. How is Zool doing?

I came upon this thread again in a search. I began a starter about 8 days ago, and it never seemed to do anything, except for a few occasional bubbles.

So last night I cheated and added a little store-bought yeast. Looking at this article, I think that's okay to do:

http://www.texascooking.com/features/may2000starters.htm

After I added the yeast last night, it finally rose, and now smells like strong beer. I hope to keep it going now for a while. Is yours still going?

[EFerrari]

2. My poor Zool will not stand up very well. He tastes great

but (lowering my voice) he's short. I'm thinking of buying some malt powder from KAF to see if that works.

He makes good bread, it just looks wrong. housewolf's suggestion to throw in a little rye flour really helped the taste. And now he has a friend, Pacha, as I decided that working two starters gives me more flexibility.

I can't think of anything else I can change out. When I start the starter, it foams and froths. When I go to proof it, the foam is not great but, the resulting loaves taste fine although they're still too dense and don't rise enough. This doesn't happen with any other yeast bread I make so, maybe the Universe is just testing my patience. That's all right. I'm really enjoying this whole process. :)

Yesterday I was out walking the dogs and the now tall grass grabbed both of my ankles and threw me into a heap. So, I can't do any standing for a day or two until one of these ankles gets a little better. Both of the pets are in the fridge, though, so they don't need to be fed for a day or so.

:)

[wildflower]

3. I named mine Sam :)

Naming really does help me remember to feed it! I mean, him. :)

I was thinking of trying a little rye. Originally I started with whole wheat flour (I read this was better than white) and filtered water.

Then I read that plain tap water, left to sit out to release the chlorine, was better. So I started adding that. And I stopped using metal utensils to stir it because I read that was bad.

But he just sat there, though he did smell sour and had a few tiny bubbles. But that was it.

I like what I've got after "cheating" with the store yeast. We'll see if it lasts.

Maybe we should start celebrating their birthdays, too...or is that going too far? LOL!

I hope you're feeling better soon. Did you see anyone about the ankles?

[pengillian101]

4. I give you credit for your keeping to it!

I absolutely love sourdough bread, just never had the skill nor patience with the starter. I tried it more than once.

I inherited that non-bread-making from my Mom, lol. Her first attempt went into the outside garbage can and blew the lid right off - seriously! My Dad wondered aloud what the hell was going on out there.

Eventually, I did learn on my own how to make a decent whole wheat bread with sunflower seeds. That was when I was divorcing and had a lot of anger and needed to punch bread dough around. :rofl:

:hi: