Old way of making a sponge?

[jawnn]

I once read a book by an old miner. He would carry a large bag of flour to his cabin and the night before making bread, he would pour water into the open bag of flour to let it soak in over night. Then pull out the moist dough to kneed in the starter.

I think this was common until people stopped carrying bags of flour with them.

The starter should be kept as a “sponge” as the pioneers called it. Experienced miners and other settlers frequently carried a pouch of the starter sponge. around their necks or belts.

So what was the consistancey of the sponge???

I read a book about keeping a ball of dryish dough for the starter. it was not normal for it to be sour tasting. where as I believe that comes with acidity of age.


So why are all the web pages about a sour dough spone a wet batter?

 

[jawnn]

ok this is a sponge, all I did was to pour water into the flour.

The big question is Does any one do it that way now. or maybe they turned it into a batter prior to making the bread?

 

[jawnn]

I believe it was in Alan Scott's first bread book that has the info on a ball of dough / starter.

 

[Addie]

The very first starter I ever made was with grapes covered in natural fungus from the air that would fall and develop on the grapes. I made the best tasting starter I could have asked for. I experimented with it to make sweeter breads than sour dough. The first thing I tried was on sweet buns. The recipe could have used more sugar, but still I was happy with it. I didn't use the starter until all the grapes had melted and became part of the starter.

I enjoy making sweeter breads than sour dough ones. The only time I enjoy bread is in the morning having a sweet roll with my breakfast. To me, sourdough bread is mostly for the evening meal. And I am not a bit fan of bread in the evening. It likes to just sit in my stomach.

 

[jawnn]

good idea to start the starter, I will try it.