I'm not one of the experts by any means but here's what I've experienced so far. You can purchase a variety of dry starters from a company that specializes in this, International something, or you can get a starter that's been around for over 150 years from Friends of Carl, almost free, info on their web site or someone will generously share some with you, me included. You can start your own by capturing wild yeasts in your area, I would not use yeast, however, and there are different ways of doing this which I'm sure someone else will share. One novel way I've found that's worked for me is, if you have a favorite sourdough bread is to purchase a fresh loaf, take a chunk (about walnut size) from the center of the loaf, use a sterile jar, soak it in 1/2 cup distilled water, add 1/2 cup flour, set it in a comfortably warm place for about 24 hours. You may or may not see activity this soon but feed it 2 or 3 times until you do. None of the sourdoughs will give you a sourdough tasting bread, however. You will get the sour taste by delaying the ferment time, even when you use just yeast for leavening. Check out the info and video regarding 5 minute Artisan bread and/or No-knead bread videos at Breadtopia.com. I have a number of starters but the differences are very subtle, at least to me. The biggest difference is the activity but this is probably just a reflection of how healthy your starter is. My 1847 Carl Griffith Oregon Trail starter can double or triple in 4 hours sometimes. I've had this one since 2001. I've heard that unless you are in a sterile environment and use sterile flour that eventually all your starters will end up the same. And that is probably why the 1847 starter is so hard to kill, it's full of the hardiest beasties it's picked up along the way.

I've made English muffins once but not sourdough, just yeast, and I just cut them with a tuna can and baked them on a griddle. They held their shape fine and disappeared quickly.

Good luck to you in your endeavor. Starters are fun and can be used for several recipes including chocolate cake and pancakes.

terrapots gave you a very good explanation of various starters. I can send you some of the "son of Carl" 1847 Oregon Trail starter if you want some of that.

There are starters that you can make using commercial yeast, my favorite being the dried potato flake starter. Just let me know if you want that recipe.

I tried for years to incubate starters on my own and never had much luck until I sent away to the Friends of Carl on the web. Working with sourdough recipes requires a lot of patience and rising time, but sourdough English muffins are very easy to do. Let me know if you want a recipe.

Teresa

Wow! You both are so generous! And informative. I had heard, don't know if it's true, that over time a starter will take on different characteristics based on your particular environment - similar to what terrapots said about them all becoming the same over time. I bought a sourdough starter from King Arthur Flour a few years ago. It was really good for a few weeks, then less good, then turned pink so I threw it out.

OK, I will see how the one I started turns out, just for fun, but then I will quit trying to start my own and go to ones that we know are good.

Given that shipping conditions aren't ideal here right now (25 below zero yesterday morning), I will wait to beg, borrow, steal, or buy starters! But I will either purchase the one you recommend or write to one or both of you and I appreciate the offers so much!

Teresa, is your sourdough E muffin recipe different than the one I've seen on this forum? Yes, I would appreciate the recipe.

Thank you both so much, thanks for the lesson in starters!
Ann

Starters - how people use them and what they put in them are as varied as the people that use them. Just Google - Care and Feeding of Sourdough Starters - for a real lesson in contradictions.

The good news is you can try a wide variety of "starters" until you find the one/s you like. My favorite is a 100-year old starter method called Everlasting Yeast. I can feed it rye flour if I want a rye starter. I also use whole wheat flour or spelt.... I use what kind of flour I have on hand that might need to be used up, as well what type of starter might work best in a recipe.

"Starter" is also called levain, desum, barm, or sourdough. According to "Crust & Crumb", those names indicate a certain method of creating the starter, and the level of acidity and complexity. "Old Dough" is also a starter method - where you keep a bit of dough from your last breadmaking to use as a starter for the next. For more information I'd suggest finding a copy of "Crust & Crumb" by Peter Reinhart and "The Bread Book" by Thom Leonard. Both men are experts in the world of naturally-leavened breads. I've also included a link below for more information.

But when it comes to plain old fun and a lot of recipes, you can also choose "Friendship" or "Amish" Starters - which are a modern version of "starter" that includes using bakers' yeast along with flour and water.

Starter "purests", flour/water ONLY - usually avoid the "modern" starter versions, but I say to each their own.... The bakers' yeast quickly dies out, and if you're lucky, naturally-occuring (aka wild) yeast will take over.

In the book, "Sourdough Breads and Coffee Cakes" by Ada Lou Roberts, she has starter recipes for these starters, as well as recipes using them. She also includes a few homemade yeast recipes.

-Grated Raw Potato Starter
-Cooked Potato Starter
-Peach Leaf Starter
-Beer Starter
-English Beer Starter
-Hop Starter
-Alaskan Sourdough Starter

"Adventures in Sourdough Cooking & Baking" by Charles D. Wilford includes simple recipes for Primary Batter "A", and Primary Batter "B".

Then there's the every popular, "World Sourdoughs From Antiquity" by Ed Wood.

"CookWise" by Shirley O. Corriher includes information about:

-Firm Sourdough Starter
-Wet Sourdough Starter
-Starter with Yeast
-Sweet Yeast Starter

I've found most types of starters I've made over the years can be used successfully in recipes that call for "starter". The differences come with hydration of the starters and the mixture of flour/water and any of a number of other ingredients used in them. But they all have the same thing in common, the naturally-occuring yeasts that make them work.

When it comes to Sourdough English Muffins (and English Muffins in general), I cut my muffins - either with a circle cutter or to save time I'll cut them into squares with a pizza cutter (and eliminate second-cuts that are more tough than first-cuts), but I don't usually cut them with my English Muffin Rings. I've never made a "batter" English Muffin recipe, nor do I bake English Muffins with the ring around them. I bake them on an electric griddle without the ring. However, I bake Sourdough Crumpets on a griddle using 4 English Muffin Rings. It's a King Arthur recipe and one of the best uses for that 1-cup starter people toss.

You can find the entire recipe in their recipe file entitled: Sourdough Crumpets Or How to Resurrect a Neglected Starter.

Sourdough Crumpets
(1 c. starter = 8 crumpets)

Note: If you make 1 cup of starter into crumpet batter, place it in a 4-cup measuring cup (easy pouring), but the batter expands a LOT and you need that 4-cup volume.

For each 1 cup of sourdough starter, sprinkle over the surface:
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda

Whisk these in thoroughly. Caution...the batter expands. On a pre-heated griddle (medium heat), place the greased rings. Fill rings with about 1/4-inch of batter and cook it over low heat until the tops are set and full of holes. Remove the rings and flip the crumpets over for a minute or two.

After they've finished cooking, stockpile them on a cooling rack (don't stack them like pancakes, they stick together). When cool, pop them in a toaster or toaster oven to brown and crisp. Serve them with butter and jam.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Sourdough Home

Peach leaf starter??? Now that's a new one to me.

Grainlady, once again, I learn so much from you. Thank you!
The starter into crumpet batter....the recipe is just straight starter plus the sugar, salt, and b. soda? That's it? I've got crumpet rings and want to try this.

I don't use rings for my English muffins either. I'll post my recipe when I get home this evening.

teresa nc7 - Here's a portion of the recipe and the link for the complete recipe...

"Take your starter out of the refrigerator, wrestle the top off your jar and stir all that evil looking liquid back into the starter until it's smooth. For each two people that you'll be feeding, pour 1 cup of starter into a ceramic or glass mixing bowl. Pour the remainder of the starter into another mixing bowl so you can give its container a good washing. Feed the starter in the second bowl equal parts of flour and water, cover it with plastic wrap and watch for tiny tell-tale bubbles to appear on the surface. When you see them, let the starter revive for at least 12 hours before you put it back in the fridge."
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The peach leaves, much like cabbage leaves and grapes used in starters, have a coating of naturally-occuring yeast on them and they contribute to the colony of yeasts that you hope gets established in a starter. The silvery/gray haze on both grapes and the inside of cabbage leaves is a type of yeast. The carbohydrates in the juice in the grapes also feed yeast, for a secondary reason in a starter.

The same thing for whole grains - they are coated on the outside with yeast. That's why the "experts" say you'll get more "wild" yeast from using wholegrain flour than you can "catch" from the air when you begin a new starter. In bleached and unbleached flour, that yeast-covered coat (the bran) has been removed. But saying that, I've made a fine starter using unbleached flour and water - go figure...

The Peach Leaf Starter also has water, baked potatoes, yellow corn meal, sugar and salt in the recipe (ingredients common to other starter recipes). To feed it, when there is only 1 cup left, add 3 cups water, 3 medium-size baked potatoes, 1/2 c. corn meal scalded in 1 cup of water, 3 T. sugar and 2 t. salt - WHEW!!! This is more care and feeding than it takes for my husband!

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Sourdough Crumpets

I have a sourdough starter that I made using instant mash potato flakes. I made it many years ago & continue to use it. I feed it potato flakes, sugar & water. It makes 3 or 4 loaves of bread (according to weather conditions). I have well water and all my work friends that I have given a starter have city water & complain that their bread doesn't taste the same as mine. I think the clorinated(sp) water changes the taste. If you want the recipe I will be glad to fax on snail mail to you or if you are near Macon GA, I'll give you a starter. The recipe is several pages because I keep adding info to it.

I had the sourdough started you spoke of using instant potato flakes years ago and I'd love to have the recipe.Could you email please. cjlpn3@yahoo.com

cjlpn - I emailed the recipe to you. Hope it's what you are looking for. - Willene

Thanks so much for the recipe. I can't wait to make some of this delicous bread.

Willene, I also used to use this recipe. I thought I had found it again, but it doesn't turn out the same. Would you mind sending me a copy of your file?
TIA Lisa