Hi Jon,

On 2 Aug 2007, at 11:21, Jon Salenger wrote:

>
> ... The sour flavor is due to lactobacilli in the
> starter with the yeast (the competition is what makes the leavening
> more
> difficult).

That's not so I'm afraid Jon. There's no competition, coexistence
yes. More difficult that what?

> I've never started with a starter other than my own, but I'd
> guess that one could take that chunk of dough, mix it with the
> flour and
> water, put it in a jar and let it sit at room temperature, feeding it
> daily, until it starts to smell sour. Of course, that also makes the
> dough that was purchased unnecessary. You can get a working sourdough
> without it.
>


Sorry Jon, you're making a mistake that many people do and that is to
make lots of assumptions based on the writings of people who are
more interested in romance than facts. I realise it's impossible to
know what you don't know but you'll get further here buy asking a,
who to listen to and b, asking those people a few simple questions.
You'll get better bread much quicker.

Jim