Post your grocery shortages.

[Toxxyc]

I heard some horror stories of people getting sick if you get it wrong and end up with the wrong bacteria... Is that scaremongering?

Keep your flour and equipment clean, and you shouldn't have any issues. A sourdough "plant" is exactly the same as any regular bread baked with yeast - you just use the wild yeast that naturally occurs on the grains and flour before it's milled. Those wild yeast cultures can survive for years, and you activate it when creating your sourdough plant. So yes, I guess there is a chance, but on the flipside, once the yeast actually gets going, chances of it "failing" is pretty low. Yeast strains are, for the most part, not friendly toward each other. That means that if you have a good starter going and your yeasties are multiplying and doing their thing, they will generally kill any wild bacteria or fungus (because yeast is a fungus) that enters the mix.

If you bake bread with instant or activated yeast, you do exactly the same, you just don't let the wild yeast grow. You introduce a cultivated yeast colony that's bred for a single purpose: To make a loaf of bread. I don't know if you could make a yeast plant with cultivated yeast though, I'm not sure what'll happen with the flavours after a while, although for all intents and purposes I guess it'll be fine.

PS: If you're a homebrewer, beer yeast also works well for baking breads. Takes a bit longer on the rising side and all that, but it works WONDERFULLY. Also, some yeasts are known for their esters, which are by-products produced when they ferment (which is what yeasts do when the bread rises, which is also why bread and any baked goods baked with yeast will have trace amounts of alcohol in it), so you can actually select your yeast based on the flavour you want. For example, a Belgian Abbaye ale yeast will give you sharp, spicy flavours, while a Saison yeast for example will give you more sour spice. Yeast is a fascinating fungus, really.

 

[ForceFate]

Was in local PnP and following aisle were cleaned out
Oil
Maize
Pasta
Longlife milk

Got what I came for: fruit and salads.
I may have to eat my words later but for now those of you with 2 trollies piled to overflowing.... idiots the lot of you.

Normal for some families

 

[IdlePhaedrus]

Keep your flour and equipment clean, and you shouldn't have any issues. A sourdough "plant" is exactly the same as any regular bread baked with yeast

Have been fermenting things for years, mostly vegetables but bread also.

No alcohol, but that might change , gin possibly.

I have never seen anything about a sourdough "plant". Besides ginger beer and "kefir" which might be considered "plants" the are not usually used in bread.

I can confirm that kefir does work as a starter, but given some testing is less effective than a proper "starter" or instant yeast.

For bread it is called a "starter", or a "poolish" or a "levian" or a "bigga" or a "sponge". Even "old dough". So your post is fascinating. Would love to know more if you want to respond.

Most of the resources online are from America and they appear to be terrified of "bugs" of whatever ilk due to some sort of social conditioning (or advertising) so far as I can tell. Anyhoo, moving on.

But the best guru on fermentation, and oldest proponent for all things for fermented in modern times is Sandor Katz who is also an American. Get his e-book if you are interested in fermentation generally it is called "Wild Fermentation". It's a great read. It includes the "wine of the gods".

The biggest killer with fermenting is botulism. I did some research a year or so back, and infections appear to be minuscule given the size of the general population in the US or elsewhere. I think it is reasonably safe unless you see mold (or mould depending on your spelling preference).

There is stuff that can go wrong with a sour dough starter, but in most instances it can be recovered.

Green, blue or black colours on top are bad. Google "what went wrong with my sour dough starter", but do your best not to be startled.

Some starters are supposedly hundreds of years old. If you are reasonably clean the "good" bacteria "should" overwhelm the "bad" bacteria so long as you also maintain it fairly regularly (or dry it out for restarting later).

Other than that you should be fine.

"Hooch" is not a problem, just take the hooch out and refresh your starter to reactivate it. It might however affect the taste of your next loaf.

Also, don't throw away half your starter when building it from scratch for each iteration. Terrible waste. Start your starter small, and just add to it incrementally with flour and water.

Same goes for later unless your starter goes really really plap.

There's a saffer chap who now lives in the UK who mostly ferments Chillies that he grows in his garden.

His handle is ChilliChump. He has a well respected channel on youtube, his own resale website and a patreon etc thing going on. He has a lot to say about sanitary precautions now that he is "thinking" about going commercial but already selling to others online (his sauces are frikken expensive though given the exchange rate, but he explains that too in one of his vids). I have done some of his recipes, and they are awesome. I like his "ferminator".

I just boil my bottles for ten minutes I put the sous into, and then douse all my equipment and bottles with vinegar before I give stuff away. No one has died yet.

I wish him luck. You should check him out if you like chillie sauce and his vids are excellent.

Lastly @Randhir you didn't come back on what Jim Lahey's no knead bread tasted like. Enquiring minds would really like to know.

 

[RanzB]

Lastly @Randhir you didn't come back on what Jim Lahey's no knead bread tasted like. Enquiring minds would really like to know.

Tasty Thank you.

 

[Tom427]

Wine

 

[Techne]

Skaap rib tjops and ribbetjies

 

[R13...]

There's a shortage of fresh fruit in most places. Actually fresh produce seems hard to come by since the shutdown. Not sure it's delivery or the preppers are snapping it up and freezing it.

 

[maumau]

If you're in JHB www.dailyfruit.biz.

Not fantastic quality but delivery was within 3 days. We ordered twice, both times threw away the microgreens, once threw an avocado away but overall when you're craving fruit/ vegetables ......

Also try www.ferreirafresh.co.za, although I've never used them myself.

 

[Toxxyc]

<longpost>

I'm no expert, to be honest. I've never made a sourdough starter but since I've made booze, I know yeast a little bit. LITTLE bit.

 

[Magnum]

I'm running out of everything. And my flour is bleached most probably. Local shops are not even opening anymore. Shelves are empty and not getting restocked. will have another look a bit later.

 

[Toxxyc]

I'm running out of everything. And my flour is bleached most probably. Local shops are not even opening anymore. Shelves are empty and not getting restocked. will have another look a bit later.

Bleached should still work. There is yeast everywhere. Every single breath you take contains thousands, if not million of spores that'll do the job.

 

[rietrot]

Local Checkers was out of eggs and had very little flour.

Seems like everyone is baking too much.
We also consume a lot more eggs than normal.

 

[Magnum]

Bleached should still work. There is yeast everywhere. Every single breath you take contains thousands, if not million of spores that'll do the job.

You want me to eat My Corona now? Shame on you...
We like family already.

 

[Tom427]

white wine

 

[Hemps]

Two cases beer left, other than that sorted for meals, just need more meat to braai though.
But Ja I can see things getting really bad if there's a massive outbreak and they extend the shutdown.
Spoken to friends overseas , UK, Canada and some are on week 4 lockdown with extension to past May.

 

[IdlePhaedrus]

I'm no expert, to be honest. I've never made a sourdough starter but since I've made booze, I know yeast a little bit. LITTLE bit.

Thinking of maybe making this:

Spontaneously Fermented Sparkling Apple Cider {fall's easiest ferment!}

Wherever you live, I want you to get your hands on as many organic apples as you can... the uglier the better... so you can make spontaneously fermented sparkling apple cider! Fall's easiest ferment requires only fresh-pressed cider and a glass container! It's so easy!

traditionalcookingschool.com

Have done a full cider vinegar before which was great.

When it got to the fizzy and then alcohol phase it smelled fantastic but I didn't taste (silly me).

Might get some of them apples tomorrow

</edit>
Here's another resource:

11 Things You Need to Know Before Drinking Apple Cider

Get to the core of your favorite fall drink.

www.delish.com

 

[IdlePhaedrus]

Seems like everyone is baking too much.

Tomorrow they might be out of apples also

 

[dualmeister]

Zero eggs at Checkers today

 

[access]

There's a shortage of fresh fruit in most places. Actually fresh produce seems hard to come by since the shutdown. Not sure it's delivery or the preppers are snapping it up and freezing it.

some of those essential type exports should be redirected inward.

 

[Toxxyc]

Thinking of maybe making this:

Spontaneously Fermented Sparkling Apple Cider {fall's easiest ferment!}

Wherever you live, I want you to get your hands on as many organic apples as you can... the uglier the better... so you can make spontaneously fermented sparkling apple cider! Fall's easiest ferment requires only fresh-pressed cider and a glass container! It's so easy!

traditionalcookingschool.com

Have done a full cider vinegar before which was great.

When it got to the fizzy and then alcohol phase it smelled fantastic but I didn't taste (silly me).

Might get some of them apples tomorrow

</edit>
Here's another resource:

11 Things You Need to Know Before Drinking Apple Cider

Get to the core of your favorite fall drink.

www.delish.com

While a wild fermentation in your sourdough is great, I highly, HIGHLY doubt that you'll be able to make a good cider with a wild yeast. It's pretty damn hard to make a good cider using every single thing correct, including proper juice, the correct yeast, temperature controlling, sanitary environments, etc. etc., and the few times I've tried it's came out pretty OK, but still required aging. I would really recommend you try and ferment another type of drink, rather. Kombucha, ginger beer, etc.