Questions on Desem Sourdough Starter

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• From Cortney at 7/11/11 11:15 PM
  • I'm on day 6 of activating my desem starter per the instructions that came with the starter and the how to videos on this site. For one thing, discarding all but 1/2 cup of starter twice a day when feeding it has not left me with much to bake with, it doesn't seem that the starter is "growing". And secondly the starter is just getting drier and more bread-dough like the longer it's activating. As I'm reading more about Desem online, it appears that this starter is more of a sponge/solid starter as opposed to a softer, "goopier" starter, is this true? Tonight I reserved more starter and added the corresponding amounts of water and flour and now I have a little loaf-like starter that I'm keeping in a bowl overnight. Am I doing this correctly?!
  • To begin with, it sounds like you definitely need more water, or less flou. The starter should be anywhere from batter-like to spongy, but not denser than that. Different environments can require some adjustment to the basic instructions.
    
    The reason you discard dough while you are activating is so that the newly activated starter is not trying to do too much work until it has become stronger. Once it is activated and you are ready to begin baking, of course you will want to let it build up.
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• From Lori at 12/4/11 6:30 PM
  • I have been working with my whole wheat sourdough starter for a couple of months now. I feel I've come a long way, but I'm still having some difficulties. Instead of 3 feedings, I find my starter rises better if I feed it at least 6 times before using it. I'm getting better at kneading, too. The dough now fills the pan and rises a bit above it by the time I'm ready to bake it. However, as soon as I poke it with a knife to put the slits in the top, the dough collapses. Is this normal? I'm not using bread flour, but regular flour and I'm wondering if this is the problem. I've read on another website that whole wheat bread will come out softer and rise better if 1/3 cup of gluten is added to the dough. Do you recommend this? Thanks for your help!
  • A note from Rosalyn :)
    Gluten is what lets the dough rise high (because it is stretchy and holds the flour together). A long rising time means the dough is really puffed up, and if the gluten is over-stretched, poking the loaf will cause it to collapse. More gluten will help. More kneading is good too, because that's what activates and distributes the gluten. Gluten is a protein, so if there's not an allergy problem, added gluten can provide additional strength to a dense, heavy flour like whole wheat.​
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• From Victoria M. at 1/19/12 3:13 PM
  • I am new to sourdough and am curious, how is this starter activated and how long does it take?
  • http://www.culturesforhealth.com/sourdough
    
    Check out our expert advice articles and FAQs for information on sourdough. For more specific questions, please contact our Customer Service Departement.
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• From Amy M at 2/9/12 9:08 AM
  • When working with this starter do I have to bake with straight wheat flour as well? For example - can I feed my starter with whole wheat flour but then bake with a mix of whole wheat and spelt flours?
  • Yes. At that point, you could add different flours for a nice multi-grain bread.
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• From Anna at 3/29/12 6:51 PM
  • Can I use whole grain bread flour to activate my starter? Is there a difference between bread flour and regular whole grain flour? Thank you :)
  • Bread flour is high gluten, high protein, and doesn't have the right proportion of carbohydrates for the sourdough to work best. You can use it, but it won't give the best results.​
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• From Genet at 7/25/12 8:07 PM
  • Can I freeze some of my sourdough starter as "insurance" in case some of it goes south?
  • Absolutely. For long term storage, you can also dehydrate a portion of your starter and store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
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• From Dorothy at 10/9/12 7:55 AM
  • Can you use the Whole Wheat sourdough starter with white flour as well? Why the different kinds?
    
  • The Desem whole wheat starter has been fed whole wheat and should be activated with whole wheat. Once the starter is active, you can change it to anther kind of flour, see this article for instructions: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/how-switch-sourdough-new-type-flour Always keep a backup when you switch types of flour: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/create-sourdough-insurance-backup
    The different sourdough starters include wild yeasts found in specific regions and will have slightly different flavors and characteristics. The product pages include descriptions of flavor and unusual characteristics (short proofing time etc.).
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• From Moira at 1/14/13 12:09 PM
  • Is this a yeast free starter?
  • Our sourdough starters do not contain traditional baker's yeast. However, sourdough does naturally contain bacteria in symbiotic combination with yeasts.
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• From Bethany at 1/14/13 1:26 PM
  • We use King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour at home. Should I get this starter or a white flour starter?
  • Whole white wheat flour is a variety of whole wheat flour and would be well-suited for the Desem Whole Wheat Sourdough starter.
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• From jen at 5/9/13 5:54 PM
  • is your sourdough starter dairy and egg free? Want to double check as we have severe food allergies. Thanks!
  • While the sourdough starters do not contain any dairy or eggs, the starters are all packaged in a facility that also manufactures products made with wheat, soy, eggs, nuts, and fish.
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