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The starter, one of the most important parts of the sour dough bread baking process, so the real question

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is what is a starter and what is the importance of a starter in our final bread?

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Because if you don't have a good, strong starter that has the characteristics that you're looking for,

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you're never going to get a bread that has the characteristics that you're looking for.

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They are one hundred percent related.

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So we're going to first talk a little bit about what is a starter and at its most basic elements, a

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starter, just a mixture of flour and water.

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And somehow through through this amazing process of fermentation, we're able to get this dough that

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doesn't have a lot of flavor.

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You probably wouldn't want to eat it if you just eat it raw and we get it to turn into something that's

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really magical in the way that we get to do this is through the magic of fermentation.

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And basically what fermentation is, is it's us giving successive feedings to certain types of bacteria

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and yeast to have a symbiotic relationship.

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And these bacteria and yeasts will colonise that that starter.

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And then we are trying to control their relationship through controlling variables.

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So what variables come in control?

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Well, we can control things like time.

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We control things like temperature, we can control things like what we feed them, and so you might

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want to keep a journal handy that will allow you to keep track of some different things that you're

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going to test out so that this way you find what works best for you and for the flavors that you're

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looking for.

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OK, but a starter is necessary in order to create 11.

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OK, so let's talk a little bit about the difference between a starter and 11.

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OK, so a starter is what we use to make 11 and that's starter should have some some strong smells to

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it should also be slightly acidic.

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And this is what we used to just kind of keep our colony going.

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The Leathern really should be young and ripe when you go to use it and it should have a little bit of

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a sweet smell.

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So the levonne, we don't typically let the lemon ferment as long as we would let a starter ferment

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for prior to feeding it, because that's what we're doing.

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Right.

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We're taking a starter, we feed it, and then eventually we're going to take that starter to create

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11 and usually feed the starter.

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We usually feed the starter after it's already risen and and collapsed, whereas 11, we're trying to

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feed it and get it to a point where we are going to use it at its prime stage, OK?

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And that's where it allows us to get some beautiful final characteristics that we can find inside our

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our dough.

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And the characteristics that are within the leaven are going to lead to the same characteristics of

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your your final bread.

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And so some characteristics that we're going to be looking for really are the flavors.

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Right.

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And so the question is, is how can we control the flavor of the lemon, which is then going to kind

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of have some implications on the bread?

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And one of the most important factors really is storage.

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And part of the reason for this is that, again, we're talking about a symbiotic relationship between

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some bacteria and yeast and some bacteria and yeast will thrive better in warmer environments, while

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some will thrive better in cooler environments.

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So in warmer environments, you're going to get a more acidic combination of bacteria and yeast, whereas

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in a cooler climate, you're going to get a little bit of a less acidic flavor inside your yeast.

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So typically, I like to keep my starter in the fridge because I like to have a little bit of a less

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acidic.

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And then what I'll do is I'll take that starter out of the fridge and then I'll use that to create my

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my lhevinne.

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But if you're looking for more of an acidic flavor, you might want to store yours outside.

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You're going to have to feed it a lot more often, but you'll get more of the characteristics that you

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might be looking for inside your bread.

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But the most important role of the oven is one to make sure that we're building the strength inside

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the bread, and two, to make sure that we're promoting the the acidity that the bread is going to have,

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which gives it that beautifully distinctive flavor and smell.

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And again, the acidity actually also will help us store the bread for a longer period of time.

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So, you know, your starter is a crucial part of the bread making process.

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And we'll talk a little bit more about how we can take care of that starter to create the best possible

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bread for you, your family and your friends.