Babylonian Bread

You guys are on track. I think when the quoted author mentions "thickness of gravy" he was talking about the consistency after the enzymes have done their job.

I'm not a chemist either.

Wait till you see that yeast go to town in your mash. They'll love it.

I have my fingers crossed that you have yeast growing in there. I've never tried to culture wild yeast, but from my understanding it can be a hit or miss kind of thing. Especially if you're hoping it just floats in on a dust particle from who knows where.

I'm thinking even those old timers used known sources of good bugs, either from previous batches or borrowed from someone else.

You guys are really starting from the beginning though, but I'm not saying that it's not happening for you, because yeast is a very common thing and it just might be.

Inoculating from a natural source of yeasts might be a thought though. Like from grape skins or other berries. Some trees and some leaves have yeast on them too. It's a whitish, powdery like substance on them. I know you've seen it on grapes. It's that white powdery stuff you can wipe off with your finger. If you get a true wild culture of good yeast going, treat it kindly, 'cause you got something special going on.

I remember a long time ago, watching TV and eating grapes. I was just picking them off the stems without really looking and BAM! I get one that tastes just like vinegar! I didn't care then, but I wish I would have spit that thing out and tried to culture it. Never tasted one like it before or since.

Keep us posted on what you see in the fermenting mash. I'm pretty sure that initial gassing you're seeing isn't from yeast, but from a common and harmless bacteria. If all of a sudden the gassing stops within a day or so, you'll know that was the case. The same bugs are in operation in your experiment that would be present in any vegetable ferment, so you can expect it to begin to sour soon after. The question: Will a viable colony of wild yeast inhabit and thrive along side of the bacteria making it sour? That's what we're all hoping for. Indeed, time will tell.

You're probably right again, Rod, as the bubbling activity has stopped.

I have confidence that this is going to work. If not, I'll start over, adding just a pinch of commercial yeast to get the seed culture going.

Tomorrow morning starts phase two. This is almost a repeat of phase one, with less water (the phase one mix makes up for that), and without the diastatic malt.

Phase 2 (Day 3)

28.5 grams (1 oz) mash
28.5 grams (1 oz) barley flour
28.5 grams (1 oz) water at room temperature
All of Phase 1 sponge

Add the new ingredients to the Phase 1 sponge and mix with a spoon or whisk to distribute and fully hydrate the new flour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours. Stir with a wet spoon or whisk to aerate two or three times each day, as before. There should be signs of fermentation (bubbling and growth) during this period. When the dough becomes very bubbly or foamy or at the end of 48 hours, whichever comes first, move on the Phase 3

HistoricFoodie wrote: Wednesday, 7:30 AM: Mixed phase 2 ingredients. Checked phase one sponge first. There was no change in appearance or consistency, and it smelled clean, with no hint of either yeastiness or sour.

   Uh oh.  Maybe this will be part 1 of 2

   This really is some neat stuff though, Brook! 

   Okay, I'll be starting part 2 today, I'm bringing it up to room temperature now.

Dan

Just a side note: I was able to find date molasses in a Mideastern grocery, yesterday. It looks like a thin sorghum.

Tasting it I found it to by not as cloyingly sweet as sorghum or honey, with a distinct flavor of dates.

This is what I'll use when we get to the bread-baking point with this project.

Phase 3 (Day 4 or 5)

42.5 grams (1.5 oz) barley flour
28.5 grams (1 oz) water
Half Phase 2 sponge

Discard or give away half of the Phase 2 sponge. Add the new ingredients to the other half and mix as before. The sponge will be thicker as we reduce the percentage of water, but it will still be wet, spongy, and sticky. Cover loosely with plastic wrap0 and leave at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours, stirring with a wet spoon or whisk to aerate at least twice each day, as on the previous days. Within 48 hours, and probably sooner, it should be very bubbly and expanded. If not, wait another day or two, aerating as before, until it becomes active. (If the sponge was active and bubbly prior to this phase, it could become active ad bubbly in less than 24 hours. If so, proceed to the next phase).

Friday, 8:00 AM: Followed instructions for this phase. Being as there was, literally, no activity I added a pinch of instant yeast to the mix to kick start the process.

Friday, 1:30 PM: Stirred mixture. Yeast activity is starting.

Looks good, Dan.

Mine never reached that stage of activity. Just a few bubbles that soon stopped, as Rod suggested it might.

That's one reason I'm so glad several of us are trying this, Dan. Obviously, different environmental factors come into play to determine the success of this process.