While we were in Belize this past summer (2012), I was introduced to the fine art of fermentation in many forms, by Travis Van der Jungle, our intrepid guide during our stay. (aka Big Travis, or BT) He had sauer kraut going, he had kombuchu bubbling in several flavors, AND he had sourdough starter, from whence he created marvelous baguettes, philly cheese fake rolls, and my favorite – homemade english muffins. I resolved to find some starter when I got home and begin my own baking adventure!
SO…I posted to my ecomama FB friends group and received two offers of starter. My friend Lyn sent me some freeze-dried Carl, and my friend Rosalie happened to be babysitting some Herman, so she split me off a cup.
Herman as he arrived...
I started with the Herman, and after letting him acclimate, I pulled off a cup which I will be converting to a flour/water starter. This Herman is a water/sugar/potato flakes starter, so I left the remainder for that experiment. I’m combining info from a few sites to get this experiment going.
When I get Carl revived, he’ll be another whole flavor, having come from a different line, and having different instructions on care and feeding. You can get some Carl’s for free here: carlsfriends.net
For the english muffins, I’ll use the recipe I tried, which Travis uses, from this website: sourdoughhome.com – I love this site!
Let's call this one Hermanita!