I have a new pet

KmH · Jan 21, 2017

Right now I have to feed & water my pet daily.
In about 5 days I'll be able to put my new pet in the refrigerator, and will only need to feed & water my pet once a week.

My new pet, pets actually, are kind of unusual - a friendly bacteria (lactobacilli) and wild yeast (a tiny fungus).
Lactobacilli and wild yeast are all around us and the pair have a wonderfully symbiotic relationship. When the two are brought together in flour and water, the result is the bacteria breaks down flour's complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. The yeast eats the sugars and produces carbon dioxide gas.
The elastic wheat gluten in bread dough traps the carbon dioxide, causing the dough to rise.
My pet is known as sourdough starter.

My pet is going to help me with some baking - sourdough baking.
Bread, pretzels, pizza dough, crackers, pancakes/waffles, buns, cake, baguettes, boule, muffins, popovers, Oh My.

Derrel · Jan 21, 2017

brings back the 1980's allllll over again!!!

Gary A. · Jan 21, 2017

Nice. I've been feeding my pet for about six months now. I feed it and it feeds me. :<)

smoke665 · Jan 21, 2017

My wife kept "Herman" around for several years worth of tasty treats. Unfortunately he passed and there's not been any to replace him. Now I consider myself lucky if I get frozen biscuits from the store

KmH · Jan 22, 2017

It's pretty EZ to make a new Herman.
Just one of many resources:
How To Make Your Own Sourdough Starter

I was inspired by an Iowa guy, Richard Proenneke, I read about in the book One Man's Wilderness.
In the 60s, and at the age of 50, he moved to the Twin Lakes area of Alaska about 140 miles as the crow flies from Anchorage.
He had been there before and had already scouted out a where on the shore of one of the twin lakes he was going to live.
While there he cut down trees so they would season and be ready for use building his cabin the next spring.
The book is a daily journal he kept of his building of the cabin and him getting settled in.

The only way to get there was to fly in, so he made arrangements with a bush pilot to fly him and his first load of supplies in.
He stayed in someone else's cabin while he built his own, using all hand tools.
He flew in in the Spring and had his cabin done by mid fall.
The bush pilot regularly brought him supplies.

He lived there for another 30 years. Once he got to 70 years old he no longer spent the winters at Twin Lakes.