Awaiting my King Arthur starter later this week….
I’ll be at the store in the next couple days - for sourdough so I want an all purpose or bread flour?? I know some said they do use KA or Bob’s Red Mill
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I just use unbleached all-purpose flour, any brand, for both starter and bread, although I did use rye flour to cultivate a new starter at the cabin using that link from @dietz199 I posted upthread.
Once that starter was vigorous, I slowly converted it to unbleached all-purpose flour through subsequent feedings as we like the rise/crumb of white flour breads. Rye and other whole-grain flours produce denser breads, which you may prefer. That’s the fun of sourdough; you get to experiment until you achieve a bread taste that delights your palate. Truly a lesson in chemistry. Enjoy the process @abasket, and let us know how you progress.
I baked a loaf yesterday to have this week while our son/DIL are visiting:
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Beautiful!
That looks great!
That’s a beauty!
I use bread flour, although I have used unbleached AP flour as well. As mentioned by @ChoatieMom, experimenting is part of the fun!
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I use bread flour to bake my bread but all purpose to feed the starter. I usually feed with a small amount of rye or whole whear and the rest all purpose.
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That’s how I do it, also.
Helpful!
We made some for supper tonight! 
I got my starter in the mail!
I think I don’t want to start it till the weekend for two reasons - tell me if I’m nuts:
- I go back to work tomorrow so would rather wait till the weekend so I can monitor it better over 3 days next weekend.
- It’s unseasonably cold right now. To be honest, the house is NOT staying at 68-70 degrees - there is no “warm” part of the house right now!
If I don’t start it right away should I store it in the refrigerator?
I had a dinner guest who has a long list of allergies, particularly corn, wheat, and rice. I wanted to let her have bread with the chicken stew so found this almond bread recipe that ended up being a hit with everyone. Keto Bread (Almond Flour) - Healthy Recipes Blog
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I may try this for my neighbor !
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I would put it in the refrigerator, and bring it out to use when you are ready.
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Here is my contribution (the fork is shown for scale).
Since my wife and I are empty-nesters, I have started making smaller loaves for just the two of us. Also, I have started brushing my loaves with an egg wash before I put them in the oven.
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That’s a great idea, @gandalf78! I may have to try that as I keep giving full-size loaves away.
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I would put it in the fridge, but do the instructions give any advice?
The instructions did not… the box said “perishable” but it was not packed in anyway to keep it cold. I compromised and put it by the door to the garage which is a cold spot right now with the zero degree temperatures! I’ll put it to use either late Thursday or Friday.
The only thing on the label or in the instructions was a “use by” date which was some time in February.
@abasket — don’t let the starter freeze! Although you CAN freeze mature starter (reviving it is another ball of wax and professional bakers will tell you that freezing reduces its rising power and that drying is the best way to deactivate starter for long periods), you should not freeze this unfed baby culture. Unfortunately, it IS possible to kill starter by improper freezing, so just put the KA starter jar kit in the fridge.
Save freezing/drying for when you want to deactivate your starter for long periods of time (like many months/years).
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Oh it won’t freeze!! That spot where I have it is not as cold as the refrigerator but cooler than the main kitchen area! But I’ll stick in the refrig when I get home. 