I don't think so....just dried bits of the flour.

After several days at room temperature (depending on what that temperature is at your house) it is probably developing what is called a "scarf", which is a dry layer of mold on the surface. Typically, that portion is peeled off and the inside portion used to make your starter.

I've never read instructions for leaving "old dough" at room temperature for several days, but that's not saying it's not done. If you leave it at room temperature, I'd make sure the temperature is quite cool - between 50-65 degrees F.

Personally, I would leave it in the refrigerator (no more than a month, and it can be frozen), but that's the method I was taught. Another method I was taught was making the dough from freshly-milled flour and water and leaving the dough ball inside 5-pounds of the same flour used to make the dough ball. Then every couple days you remove the dough ball, peel off the "scarf" and use the raw starter inside to make a new dough ball for several days running until the naturally-occurring yeast get a chance to develop enough to raise a loaf of bread (source: The Bread Book - by Thom Leonard).

-Grainlady

grainlady,

interesting, i've never heard about encasing a dough ball in flour.

i took off the 'scarf' and used the dough inside as starter. the yeast is developing, but it's quite slow at the moment. i'm sure that once the dough has sat overnight, the yeast would develop nicely.

vinh