[Sca-cooks] Sourdough -- Herman rides again

[david friedman]

 From time to time I take bits of sourdough that have gotten where
they shouldn't be--on the outside of the jar, say--and dried and put
them in a bag. I think at some point I did the equivalent to your
experiment and it worked, but it would have been quite a while ago
and I may be mistaken. I know sourdough is sometimes sold as a dried
culture.

>Two years after subjecting him to the cryogenic depths of the refrigerator
>freezer, Herman has returned to bubble on the counter.
>
>After allowing the starter to come to room temperature, I turned the plastic
>storage bag inside out in a couple of cups of tepid water, broke the starter
>apart and recovered most of what was in the bag.  I stirred in four cups of
>flour, covered the bowl and let it stand.  It took about a day to reactivate
>and was then fed twice daily.
>
>The starter was used to produce four dozen rolls for the Baroness's Lunch at
>Protectorate last weekend.  The result was a little dense and chewy, but
>acceptable.  The flavor had a moderate sour tang which went well with the
>meat and mustard.  I need to experiment with rising times and baking
>temperatures for this incarnation of Herman, so I may be commenting on
>various sourdough recipes over the next few months.
>
>A couple of cups of Herman went back into cryogenic sleep just in case I
>need to reincarnate him again.
>
>Bear
>
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--
David Friedman
Professor of Law
Santa Clara University
ddfr at best.com
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/