Carl's starter

[byounghusband]

I tried unsuccessfully to get Carl's starter going a while back, but only a small amount according to one of the sets of direction on his site.. It did NOTHING!!! Not sure why, but it just sat there.

Now I tried again with the rest and it it went nuts in the small jar I started it in. I transferred it to a bowl and added more water, and flour, plus sugar and potato powder and put it in the oven with a damp towel over it with the light on according to other directions on the site. It got bubbly and now has a clear liquid layer over it (alcohol?) and a hard crusty layer on top of that (?).
It smells sour, but not bad sour... The house has an odor to it....

I stirred it up again and pulled it out of the oven and transferred it to a plastic container to use in the fridge. I have it on the counter in the kitchen right now around 70*

Does this sound like it is going well?

 

[bassman]

You've got it going now! Just stir in the liquor and you're ready to roll. I keep about 3 cups of starter in the fridge in a quart Rubbermaid plastic jar. Every week or so, I either use it or feed it a bit of sugar or flour and water. Just to make sure yours is going real good, Mix 1/2 cup of starter with 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour. If it seems too thick, just add a little more warm water. Let it set overnight (covered) and by morning you should have a bowl of bubbly goodness.

 

[scarbelly]

Mrs Scar and I used some Carl's to get ours going again and it has been awesome. Glad the second try worked for you - there are good breads in your future

 

[meateater]

Just remember to use non-clorinated water and you will be fine.

 

[byounghusband]

NON Chlorinated water??

Hhmmm... I wonder if that might have been the problem at first? But I used tap water the 2nd time around. I will use filtered water from the fridge and warm it up from now on...

Yup... Carl's seems pretty good. The odor has dissapated and it has a nice sour smell to it. This weekend will have bread baking!! Can't wait.

I probably have about 2 cups going right now by following the instructions at Carl's site. I will add another cup of flour and water and a touch of sugar to get a good base going.

Does anyone know what the crusty layer was on top of the liquor was? There are bits of it in the starter now.

Oh yeah, I discovered that you MUST rinse your utensils off right after stirring, or it is about a hard as concrete to clean up....