7 minutes ago, Ann_T said:A sourdough starter should never have yeast added. When I started my "mother' back in 2019 it was started with organic rye and bottled water and when it was ready to maintain, I fed with organic rye and bottled water. Nothing else. Pure sourdough.
No, totally agreed. I don't mean added yeast, I mean that starter is always a dynamic system, an ecology that develops naturally over time, some blend of wild yeasts and bacterias (which we can manipulate via changes in ambient conditions). There will always be some drift because it's not static, just wondering if the method would tend to naturally move the overall balance one way or the other.
I maintain three basic starters - a liquid rye, which is renewed with "ASG," Anstellgut, cold starter left in the fridge maybe 3-4 days; water at 40C; and Central Milling's "Medium Rye," which is equivalent to the German T 1150 rye at 1.15% ash. I find that gives a good, steady development when refreshing as whole grain rye can really cause the starter to scream. Occasionally I will do whole rye, to goose the starter if it's not been refreshed for too long. I also maintain a Lievito Madre (AP & Water), and a Hefewasser (water, some existing Hefewasser, and Munich liquid malt extract, used in brewing).
Point of interest, the late great French baker Gerard Rubaud started a new mother every month or so, for this reason - he watched performance constantly and felt his starter drifted too much for him over a matter of weeks, so he always regularly started with a new starter about monthly. After learning that I stopped worrying if I had to let go of an old culture and start another.
QuoteInterestingly Gérard renews his levain regularly (every 4 to 5 weeks, sometimes 6 in the summer and every three months in the winter) as he finds it impossible to control the acids otherwise.
http://www.farine-mc.com/2009/11/meet-baker-gerard-rubaud.html
