Questions about the sourdough

[skan]

Hello

Does it need to be kept in darkness?
How can I know if it has been spolied?
How can I prevent it from being contaminated by bad fungus or bacteria?

[Bill/SFNM]

- No, but I'd keep it out of strong sunlight - UV is used to sterilize surfaces.

- If it smells good, it is good.

- A strong, healthy culture won't get contaminated. Did you capture the culture yourself? Not all organisms will thrive enough in flour and water to be able to fend off invaders. If you have a strong culture, the best way to keep it strong is to feed it frequently. If you are going to store it in the fridge, it is a good idea to feed it and give the population a boost before it goes dormant.

[skan]

OK, maybe a strong, healthy culture it's difficult to contaminate.
But my concern is the contamination before you get that culture,
when you are trying the first steps to get the sourdough.
I've read some people get green fungus on the top surface of the sourdough.

[Bill/SFNM]

Sorry, I misunderstood. If you are trying to capture a wild culture, you are at the mercy of whatever is in the air, flour, water, etc. I've created some awesome, ugly fungus by coughing into a culture dish. You may have to try a number of times before you capture something both viable and useful for baking.

[skan]

And do you have any advise? Or just keep trying?
I guess if I start with something that already have a culture (like yogur) I'll increase my chances of getting a good result, isn't it?
I've also found dried sourdough at a shop but I don't know if it's intended to be used as sourdough starter or just to bake.

[Bill/SFNM]

And do you have any advise? Or just keep trying?
I guess if I start with something that already have a culture (like yogur) I'll increase my chances of getting a good result, isn't it?
I've also found dried sourdough at a shop but I don't know if it's intended to be used as sourdough starter or just to bake.

As someone who captured wild cultures for many years, I would suggest you buy one of the cultures from sourdo.com. They are better for baking than anything I was ever able to grow. 

[skan]

Hello

I'm not living in the USA.
I think I'll try to start the culture from scratch

[Bill/SFNM]

Hello

I'm not living in the USA.
I think I'll try to start the culture from scratch

Sounds like a good plan. BTW, the best wild culture I ever captured from scratch had a great flavor, but never was impressive for leavening. I usually ended up throwing in a pinch of commercial yeast.

¡suerte!

[skan]

I've  being browsing sourdo.com
Sourough it's a new for me, I didn't know so many different cultures were sold.
Sourdo don't explain how different are ones from each other, they just say all are wonderful.

[Bill/SFNM]

I have 4 of those cultures (I had 5 but one died in a tragic accident) and one wild-caught culture. They all have different profiles and also different reactions to temperature. I'm still learning how to tease the best flavor out of each. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. My current favorite is the Ischia culture which is part of the Italian package.

[TXCraig1]

Sounds like a good plan. BTW, the best wild culture I ever captured from scratch had a great flavor, but never was impressive for leavening. I usually ended up throwing in a pinch of commercial yeast.

¡suerte!

Much sourdough used in commercial baking is like this. Commercial cultures often employ lactic acid bacteria strains such as L. pontis and L. panis which are great for developing flavor because they can exist in much more acidic environments (creating more acidic cultures) and can ferment for extended periods without feeding, but at the same time yeasts die off, so bakers yeast is added to the dough for leavening. 

CL