Mikey S. wrote:
> Oops..that wasn't the exact link I meant, it's part of it..try this one
> http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/sourdoughqa.html
>
The FAQ is a very rich document, which means it is often confusing to
beginners.

Why? Because it covers the opinions of many sourdough bakers, using
very varied techniques. It is, as a result, contradictory.

There are a gamut of techniques in there that are currently out of favor
with sourdough bakers in rec.food.sourdough, such as starting starters
with yeast, or starting them with grapes. (If those have been removed,
well, it's been a while since I looked at the FAQ, so please consider
that illustrative of my idea rather than factual.... there were enough
other contradictory offerings in there that I am sure many survive.)

I used to think all of the "bad" sourdough techniques should be removed
from the FAQ. However, I have come to a point where I think that the
techniques we don't currently subscribe to should be maintained in the
FAQ because their inclusion is important from a historical point of
view. But it causes enough confusion that I don't recommend the FAQ to
beginners. I suggest they find a good book, a good web site, or a good
teacher until they get the results they want and have developed an
understanding of the techniques offered by their guru.

Then, branch out and look at other books, other teachers, other web
sites. You can add what they offer to a solid foundation. However, too
many contradictory opinions too soon just lead to confusion and
sourdough dropouts.

Actually... I most often suggest that sourdough beginners not make their
own starter. I get more angry notes from the "how to start your
starter" page on my www.sourdoughhome.com web site than all the rest of
the pages put together. And that's after I try to discourage people
from starting their own starter. The more times you use the word "new"
to describe an activity, the greater the chance of failure. I get notes
from people who have never baked anything more complicated that
refrigerator biscuits, have never kneaded dough, don't know what
sourdough is, but have decided to bake with sourdough. They've never
seen a healthy sourdough starter, so they can't recognize one if it
accidentally forms in their mixing bowl. So.. some of them are new to
baking, new to sourdough, new to starters.... their chances of success
are slim.

I suggest those people begin by baking some easy yeasted recipes, which
I include on my web site. And then get a known good starter from The
Friends of Carl. Once they have experience with a good starter, it
becomes a lot easier to create one.

Mike


--
....The irony is that Bill Gates claims to be making a stable operating
system and Linus Torvalds claims to be trying to take over the world...

Mike Avery mavery at mail dot otherwhen dot com
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