Rusty - You've got it (sorta').

Even the recipes for this starter, and ways to use it, differ from person-to-person and recipe-to-recipe. I've collected a file on it over the last decade, or so, and no two seem to be alike.

It's an overnight sponge method, would be the best way to describe it. I feed it rye flour when I want it for rye bread, as well as wholegrain spelt or wheat, but plain old all-purpose flour (milled in the town she lived it) is all my friend, who gave me the starter, ever used.

I got my starter from a woman in her late 80's (she's now in her late 90's). She got her starter from her mother when she "set up housekeeping" as a young bride. She had used this method growing up, as did all her sisters. From the research I've done, it's a method that goes back about 100-125-years.

She gave me a quart jar with about 1-cup of starter in it, along with some cryptic instructions. Good thing I was a seasoned bread maker and had used starter before or I doubt I'd have even gotten a loaf made.

I quickly adapted to the overnight sponge method and used Everlasting Yeast cup-for-cup for any sourdough recipe I had used in the past from other types of starter.

The night before: Mix the 1-cup starter with an equal amount of water, 1/4 c. sugar and beat in enough flour so the batter is about the thickness of pancake batter. Cover (I use a Quick Cover with a few air holes poked into it to off-gas) and let sit overnight in a warm place (my oven with the light on).

The next morning: Remove 1 cup and store in the refrigerator in a 1-quart jar. My original jar had a sheet of waxed paper on it, held in place with a rubber band, and a few holes cut into the paper. I replaced that with a small Quick Cover with a few holes in it.

The gal I got my starter from had never made anything other than white bread with the starter, while I've incorporated it into lots of different baked goods, pancakes/waffles, biscuits, cake, wholegrain breads, rolls, cinnamon rolls, etc... I like the overnight sponge, usually with a whole wheat flour in it, which lightens the loaf.

I make sure I use the Everlasting Yeast at least once every 2-4 weeks to renew it. I never use tap water in it, although my friend did.

We're not sure what the original recipe was, but here's some from my file. The methods used in the recipes below aren't anything like what my friend used.

Recipe #1: Source - Capper's Weekly - C.P.W. Topeka, KS, January 18, 1947

EVERLASTING YEAST

4 med. potatoes, peeled
1 quart potato water
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. salt
1 package granulated yeast, dissolved in 1/4 c. water

Cook and mash potatoes, saving water. Add enough water to potato water to make a quart and combine with mashed potatoes, sugar and salt. Cool. Add dissolved yeast. Place in 1/2 gallon jar or other container and allow to ferment at room temperature overnight. Then keep in refrigerator. One cup starter equals 1 cake yeast.

To Make Bread:
The night before, mix 1 cup starter, 1 cup water, 1/4 c. sugar and 2 cups flour. The next morning, add 2 cups water, 2 T. salt, 1/4 c. shortening and about 10 cups flour. Knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise. When light, divide into loaves and let rise again. Bake 1 hour at 325F.

When down to last cup of starter, it may be used to make another batch of starter instead of using yeast. That's why it's called "everlasting yeast."

Recipe #2

Use glass container.

1 quart potato water or 1 qt. water + 1 T. potato flakes
1/2 cake yeast
2 T. sugar
2 T. flour
1 t. salt

Mix well and let stand covered with net at room temperature for 12 hours. Leave about 1/3 c. in bottle. Use the rest when you make bread, do not need extra liquid with this yeast. To the 1/3 c. starter, add all the original ingredients except the yeast. Let stand again for 12 hours then store in refrigerator until needed. This can be kept going indefinitely, if you use it every 3-4 weeks.

Recipe #3: (copied as written)

Peel two medium sized potatoes and grate them into a plastic bowl, pour 2 cups of boiling water in them and stir until sort of thick like. Cool to lukewarm. Then put two packages of yeast that you have dissolved into the mixture and stir.

Add 1/2 c. of sugar, stir in and set aside with a towel over the top. It will all bubble and when through bubbling take out all but one cup and use for the yeast called for in your recipe and put the leftover cup in the fridge. The day before you are ready to make bread again, take out your cup of yest and start over with the raw potatoes again and when this has cooled to lukewarm add the yeast that you saved, add 1/2 c. of sugar again and set aside to bubble. Always save a cup when you use it to keep your yeast active. You should keep this yeast fresh every couple of weeks at least.
--------------------------------
This starter always makes a mild-tasting loaf of bread. Back 100 years ago they never called it "sourdough" bread. It was just "bread" using a natural leavening. If the starter got to the point they were getting "sour" bread, they would do what is called "sweeten the pot". This was done by taking a very small amount of the starter (a tablespoon or two) and repetedly feeding it until it was back to a couple cups of starter.

Google - Everlasting Yeast - and you'll probably find even more recipes and stories of it's use. I have one newspaper clipping from Checotah, OK "Bread Starter 71 Years Old" and another from Bartlesville, Ark. "Bartlesville Family Has Antique Bread 'Starter' about using this same type of starter.

-Grainlady

THANK YOU! ! ! I appreciate you taking the time to post all of that. I have clipped your post, & will get brave enough to try it one day soon, I hope! I really like the idea of using different grains, we much prefer whole grain breads. Only problem I have, there is no choice of different kinds of flours or grains available near me, it's quite a drive to a store that does have all that 'good stuff'.
Rusty