Carl Griffith's 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter

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jo7hs2

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Hey folks,

Just curious, because I know there is a lot of overlap between homebrewers and sourdough bakers...

Has anyone tried out Carl Griffith's 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter, that you get for free with a SASE? See http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/source.html

I'm just wondering what kind of flavor, rise, texture, and other characteristics anyone who has used it has experienced. I just requested a packet, and I'm curious as to what I should expect.
 
olllllo,

Sorry, there are some many categories I got lost. :)
 
No need to apologize. The topic just needs to be front and center where it can get the most attention.

I am trying to get my wife to bake bread as a companion to my brewing. It has not worked out as I had planned. :(.

I'll probably be the one sending ion the SASE in the end.

I know that Cheyco has been known to bake a loaf of treberbrot.
 
Wow, that is pretty cool. One funny thing about sourdough though is that it tends to localize. What I mean by that is your local wild strains eventually dominate. I have read stories of people literally a stones throw away from one another sharing starter. The one ladies starter would always turn very sour no matter what she did, while the other lady who sourced it to her would always have a very mild one.

At our house, the starter never gets sour. It would be interesting to hear of anyones results on this.
 
Well, the stuff came the other day, and I have to say, I'm impressed. It started faster than any other sourdough starter I've tried, and it smells amazing.

I'm going to make a batch of pancakes with it tomorrow night, and once it has a few feeding cycles down I'll make some bread or pizza dough with it to test it out.
 
ok - i need some help here. i got mine (at the suggestion of this very post!) and i have it sitting in H2O and flour (i DO follow instructions to the letter) and nothing.... ummmm am i doing something wrong?
 
Melana,

How long has it been? What kind of flour did you use? Around what temperature is it where your yeast is? Have you been shaking it up a little once and a while?

It shouldn't take more than a few days. Mine fired up almost immediately, but I've had some starters take almost a week.

If it has been more than 3-4 days, I'd suggest moving the yeast somewhere warmer, around 75-80 degrees, but no warmer than 85, adding a little sugar or honey, and giving it a few more days. Anything more than 10 days and I'd ditch it, and write them for a new starter.
 
i think it's been a week or so. it smells pretty sour... i added some sugar and will wait and see. it's not too warm in my house these days (60-70 tops).
thanks for the advice. i'll give it a little more time.
 
Melana,

It smells sour? Did it froth up or anything, because a sour smell from a sourdough starter (unless you used milk) usually indicates that it is working...

If there is space, add a half cup of flour and a half cup of warm water (like 80ish) to the starter. It may have started working and quickly exhausted its supply of food. Mine started so fast that I can imagine this happening.

I'd almost suggest trying to make something with it. It may be alive, just not showing the signs you are expecting. After a week it *should* have started.
 
IT'S ALIVE!
I added some flour to it yesterday and was proofing bread anyway and it was a bubblin' and a rockin'.
Thanks to all... time to step it up!
 
Please keep us informed from the first batch on wrt flavor. I am curious to see what happens where you live over time. At my house now, my sourdough starter from scratch never got sour through the entire last winter. I mean you can hardly tell it is sourdough! It made fantastic bread, but no noticeable sourness to speak of. Now some people find this a sign of the very best sourdough, but others want it sour. It's all a personal preference really. I am happy enough just to keep a starter going :D
 
Zoebisch01,

I've made two things with my starter so far. A batch of pancakes after the initial burst of life, and a pizza dough after a few weeks of refrigerator life.

The flavor that I've experienced with this particular yeast is fairly strong, and pretty sour. If anything, it seems to be exhibiting more sourness and sourdough smells over time.

Hopefully Melana will keep us updated about how it is holding up.
 
Hey folks! I've tried this starter a couple of years back. It's pretty good, but I thought it was way too sour. Anyway, I dried a couple of batches and bagged it. It's funny that I bump into this thread because I just found the dried stuff in one of my kitchen cabinets! Good luck!
 
zoebisch01 said:
At my house now, my sourdough starter from scratch never got sour through the entire last winter. I mean you can hardly tell it is sourdough! It made fantastic bread, but no noticeable sourness to speak of. Now some people find this a sign of the very best sourdough, but others want it sour.
I got my starter going just about a year ago, and since then have made about 20 loaves of bread. Like you, I've found the bread to have little or no sourness, tasting pretty much like bread baked with conventional yeast. I do get a little denser texture, which I attribute to the sourdough rising much slower.

I still find it enjoyable, and it appeals to the homebrewer side of me. I haven't baked a loaf in a few months...wonder if that starter has developed some sourdough "funk" by now....

9557-DSC00546.JPG
 
Nice loaf! I'm planning on baking my very first loaf of bread with my starter this weekend... and will keep you posted on it's progress.
Boy after the painfully slow start the starter is really taking off!
 
Made some of the MOST delicious rolls tonight. they were crusty (but not too crusty) and had a wonderful crumb. mmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmm
I used the Alaskan bread recipe and they were great! :mug:
 
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