injera
sourdough
starter
vegan mofo
Sourdough Starter Fail
September 25, 2013
I had such a good idea. I was going to make sourdough pizza crust and make Ethiopizzia. Like, with all the Ethiopian stews on the pizza, on the sourdough crust? It would be the best thing ever. So I followed a tutorial on youtube to make your own starter for injera bread. I have wanted to make sourdough for a long time anyway, so I figured this was the best time to try. I got all the necessary flours for my injera starter and a huge bucket, and set off in hopes of delicious sourdough to follow.
It says you're supposed to put some water on top of the starter, cover, and let it set overnight for 2-3 nights before using to make injera. I did just that, then opened it on what would be its third night. It smelled like vomit. Pretty quickly, the vomit smell spread throughout my apartment and made my boyfriend gag and throw up. It was pretty goddamn unpleasant. So I googled frantically, trying to see what sourdough starters are supposed to smell like. Most people said that sourdough is always supposed to smell yeasty, never cheesy. Others said it was an "acquired smell" and some said their's smelled like vomit at first and then it went away. Most people suggested adding some flour and water to it, so I did that. My recipe for injera didn't call for feeding it either, so I was confused about that. The next day, the smell didn't subside and turned pink. We dumped it down the toilet. Sad times.
I am not exactly anxious to try again. I'm also worried about attracting bugs while I'm fermenting the stuff. Have you ever had starter problems?
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