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Re: refreshing starter with milk?

"Mike Avery" <mavery@mail.otherwhen.com>
Sat, 27 Sep 2003 18:03:31 -0600
v103.n043.5
NorthStarKennels@aol.com wrote:

>A friend told me of occassionally adding milk rather than water when 
>refreshing starter for sourdough---any advice from the seasoned sourdough 
>bakers on the list?

Some people do it, but I can't recommend it.

It adds a big variable to your starter, and you are depending on the 
starter to prevent milk putrefaction.  If you ignore your starter too long, 
you could have a real problem.  Spoiled milk can be dangerous.

As a result, I prefer to avoid adding anything other than water and flour 
to my starters.  There are people who will tell you that their mother and 
grandmother did it for years, and no one got sick.  And I'm sure they are 
right.  But, I still prefer to avoid adding milk to starter.

I have no problem with adding milk to dough, or using milk in dough. The 
issue here is the length of time between the milk is used until it is 
baked.  Once baked, it's pretty stable again.

Some experienced bakers add a bit of salt to slow the speed of the 
starter.  I haven't found that necessary with any of my starters, but your 
mileage may vary.

Mike
-- 
Mike Avery
MAvery@mail.otherwhen.com