Sourdough Success!

My previous attempt at making sourdough bread failed miserably.  So I was pleased that this week and a half's careful, meticulous, scientific approach to bread baking was a success!  This time I followed Peter Reinhart's recipe for sourdough starter. (Once again: Artisan Breads Every Day--my bible for bread baking.) It includes pineapple juice which he says kills a bacteria (leuconostoc) that can sabotage your starter--and it produces a mixture that smells pretty good in the beginning too!

First: The Seed Culture
The seed culture takes about 6 days: Day 1 begins with a combination of flour (I used whole wheat) and pineapple juice which sits at room temperature for 48 hours.  Day 3 adds more flour and pineapple juice and another 24-48 hours at room temp.  Day 5 now adds flour and filtered water to the culture at room temp.  And Day 6 the same.  At this point the seed culture is ready to become the Mother Starter.

The Mother Starter:
Day 7 a combination of seed culture, flour and water are combined and kneaded, placed in an oiled bowl, covered and left to double in size.  This is the Mother Starter. It is ready to use or refrigerate and is good for 5 days.  Some of it can be used to make bread immediately.  The rest is refreshed periodically and kept in the refrigerator for future use.

I then followed his recipe for San Francisco Sourdough Bread which produced a nice workable dough.  This one took another two days because it involves a wild yeast starter ( part mother starter, part bread flour, and water) that needs to sit for a day before use. They shaped and baked nicely.
                                          
And they had a wonderful taste and texture!   I will definitely be baking these often.