OhMy....what a treat. Love your Wubbys and their tale of success! And, how I would love a loaf of your fresh baked treasure.

Many congratulations..... After a long absence from naturally leavened breads (due to going gluten-free), last week I fostered a new quinoa starter so I could make Sourdough Oat English Muffins, which were pretty good for not having an English Muffin in many years. I "spiked" the starter with some whey from my dairy kefir, and that got things going quickly. We're finishing the muffins this morning for breakfast. Unfortunately, they are really poor keepers, don't freeze well, and quite crumbly, but a better choice than the commercial brands with "odd" ingredients in them.

I also have milk kefir grains and water kefir grains, and those are also never-ending "pets" to contend with. I'm culturing sour cream (takes 24-hours) in the oven with the light on, this morning.

Loved your story about your pets. Alas, I have gone gluten free also, because I just feel better and can't seem to stop myself around bread and pasta. I don't eat gluten free processed foods, either, mostly a whole food diet. But,,,,I do have a pet SCOBY. I can't really remember what that stands for and could look it up but I'm feeling lazy. Anyway, he is used to make my kombucha which is a fermented tea that gets all fizzy and has probiotics due to the fermentation.

Oh Plllog what a marvelous story! I love the way you wrote it. I'm glad Wubby2 is all right, and is recovering nicely.

Years ago I did the Friendship bread thing. It grew, and I didn't care for the breads that it made......they were sweet. I gave away my starters as they multiplied on Freecycle. I also don't care for the taste of sourdough bread so I've never done that one.

You tell a great story.

Think about it: offer this story to your local newspaper. No money for you, but you can share with others who do similar things.

Love it! I have been known to pet and talk to batches of wheat grass I am sprouting LOL! Or when I sprout seeds, after rinsing and and shaking them to drain I might say "Now, you guys be quiet in there!" before tucking them in for the night.

Dances.

I have a sourdough "pet" in the back of the refrigerator that I haven't checked in ages. I guess I should add that to my 'to do' list. I also have cut back on my bread consumption.

I could read it repeatedly. Nice!

Great story - I agree as to it being potential newspaper material.

ole joyfuelled

Great story! I had to go check my un-named Amish friendship bread starters (equal amounts of flour, sugar, and milk), which have been neglected in the fridge, too. Both are doing fine, smelling lovely, with a golden layer of hootch on top. One of them is a mix of the friendship starter and some kefir instead of milk. I use them mostly for sweet quick breads and pancakes.

I culture kefir to use in yeast bread, too, and always try to start the sponge the night before, and leave it open as it works, to capture some of the yeasts in my kitchen. My DD says it gives the bread a cheesy taste. We don't care for the taste of bread made with sourdough starter--I tried it when my in-laws once brought us a start from their travels out west.

I know from other discussions about starter that plllog doesn't like crumpets, but for everyone who has a neglected starter sitting in the back of the refrigerator (named or unnamed ;-), this link at the bottom is to information about how to resurrect that jar of "goop", and also how to make a batch of crumpets with it at the same time.

When starter was in regular use at our house, I never tossed a cup of starter. There were too many things I could make with it, from cookies, to cakes, noodles..... Crumpets were made by-the-stack and kept in the freezer (tip: make sure you place a divider between each crumpet or they will stick together - don't stack them like you would pancakes). They were also a fun kitchen gift to send home with visitors, along with a jar of jam/jelly.

Anyway, enjoy the How-To for getting that starter up and running again, and if you are of a mind, try making the crumpets (you need to have a set of crumpet rings, and for each cup of starter you will make 8 crumpets). I liked to add flavorings, like Fiori di Sicilia (a natural citrus and vanilla flavor from K.A.), or orange flavoring, or add some chopped herbs and tiny bits of chopped ham for a lunch or brunch crumpet. I found this recipe superior in flavor (and much simpler to make) than a traditional crumpet recipe made from scratch.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-crumpetsbrior-how-to-resurrect-a-neglected-starter/i-recipe

Y'all are so kind! You'll like to know that Wubby is getting his rise on. Thanks for the encouragement to publish, but it's not my kind of thing, really. We also don't have the kind of local paper that takes reader submissions of this type, so it would be a slog just looking for a venue for submission. The whole world can read it here, so that's fine. :)

Grainlady, your quinoa starter sounds interesting! Knowing how many people have issues with gluten and FODMAPs and grains in general makes me glad that at least this is something I don't have to worry about. I always get a feeling of wellbeing after eating my good home baked, fresh milled whole wheat breads. You're right about the crumpets -- though I certainly trust your recommendations -- I have some discard in a bowl going to be waffles, though, and I may do biscuits on the weekend.

Jasdip, while I believe that the yeast in the Amish Friendship starter is the same as any wild yeast -- from what I've read, there's really only one kind, no matter the original source, because it will dominate and push out all others as you get your starter going -- so it's the milk and sugar that make the bread sweet. If you ever want to revisit it, you can make a regular starter out of the Amish F. by decreasing the milk and sugar for a few feedings and substituting flour, then go to just flour. That's how I got a white starter, too. Just decreased the whole wheat and added in unbleached white flour until it could ever remember what bran looked like. :)

The bread doesn't have to be sour. That's why I put "sourdough" in quotes above. That's what we think of, but what makes it sour is using less starter with a longer rise time. If you feed up your starter for a few days (i.e., don't discard), you can use more starter and a shorter rise, and it will be savory (if you don't put anything sweet in) but not sour.

I'm so glad you all liked the story. I know it's silly to feel this much affection for yeast, but it's so satisfying watching it grow!