Wow 70 years old starter, how awesome!!! Mine is only 1 year but I love it. I make bread, focaccia, pizza dough and of course pancakes with it. Thanks for sharing this story!
well, you're on your way to a longtime family tradition, if you choose. Robert said he's not the only one who still 'keeps' it - his aunt, his son, and I believe some of his cousins too, in addition to new friends he meets! what a cool gift. =)
My starter has been passed down from the wagon train days in Kansas. 1861 so 161 years old. The same family and the same female line. My Dad helped bake it when he was alive. He was born in 1905 and Mom was born in 1913. Mom and Dad didn’t have electricity when they first married. They kept the starter cool by hanging it in a bucket down in the Well.
agreed! He was kind enough to share some with us and I hope to keep it going for a long time! Have you thought of making your own? There are many recipes online, and I linked to a couple via link in description box.
I heard a story about a woman during the Yukon Gold Rush who made bread dough. She didn't bake it - she just sold chunks of dough to the miners. She carried it in a pack on her back and her body heat kept it ticking over. When the gold rush collapsed she was one of the few people who'd got rich. The miners paid her in gold dust or nuggets because of course it was the only currency they had... I believe she made a fortune.
I truly appreciate the simplicity of your starter. So many methods out there, with raison or potato water from 3 days to 10 days. Thanks for making so easy.
I just started my sourdough starter the other day, and look forward to it being 70 years old someday! By the way: that’s awesome you didn’t measure the baking soda, and just eyeballed the measurement.
Hello there. I am a 67 year old grandmother using sourdough for pancakes, bread and deserts. I started some myself 2 years ago but I value history especially in bread making and sourdough. Please let me know how I could get some of your 70 year old starter. I will pass it down to my grandchildren who at this time are a very important part of my using it. I will anxiously await your reply. Thank you so much and thank you for sharing your video and family treasure! Rachel
yay! I was always curious about it, how it lived, etc., so when I heard about Robert's long-lived starter, well, I just had to meet him! He was kind enough to give us some of his and I've been using it for pancakes (like he does). My next step is to make some bread. =)
The history of the Alaskan miners is true. I am currently reading a book by Daniel Carter Beard, He mentions the term "sourdough" as one who is very experienced in the woods. One quick search turns up that the term "sourdough" was used to describe the old and knowledgeable miners that kept the sourdough in a pouch near their body in case they wanted bread. It was used to get some warm food inside their bodies on a cold night and was kept in a leather pouch so it would not get wet. Don't you just love historical tales like this?
i have now made pancakes with my new sourdough starter many times. so thank you for the ti as I was not sure how to use it, as I dont have time nor space for making bread. just today I made them again and they were delicious today, this time I used only milk and flour (1 cup of each, but of flour a bit more), the batter was on a denser side, denser than the one in the video, I did not put any sugar but crushed 2 ripe bananas, no egg, half a teaspoon soda bicarbonate and half a teaspoon of baking powder and a bit of salt. greased the pan with butter each time, they were simply the best i have eaten. Oh, and I think a good tip is to wait for half an hour to use the batter.....
Your story about Alaska gold rush is true! But they never use milk they used water to flour mix 1to1, They never had refrigeration so is long as you feed your starter daily or every other day it would stay alive with body temperature.
personally I do not think there is anything wrong with asking for some of his starter to start their own ... part of them wants to carry on an old tradition and feel like they have a connection to those days when people struggled and made some great tasting bread... I don't know maybe it is just the thought of how old it is from what era that makes it taste extra special... I would love to have it also.. being an American living here in Ireland would love to have it here to share with the people and let them have a piece of American history... God bless you and may you always have great tasting bread...x
My husband’s pioneer ancestor became separated from her family as a teenager, on the way across the plains. She decided she would be fine, because she had a good sourdough starter and would just start a bakery. She opened her bakery out of a rail car, serving bread to the miners.
A couple of years ago, a friend gave me some starter to add to my collection. It was said to have been in use since the late 18th century! I already had some from the mid-19th cent.
I have been looking for an EASY Sour Dough recipe for some time now and it looks like I have found one. Two questions if I may. One, you mention that this starter can be used to make bread but mention to add enough Flour to meet the needs of a bread dough. Not being a Chef, what amount is "enough flour" if I just want just one or two loaves of bread? I know it is based on many (unknown to me) factors, but I'd hate to waste a starter with a simple mistake. Second, the same goes for how much Bakers Yeast should I add to encourage the dough to rise? And unless I'm mistaken, I should let to dough rise in either a floured baking pan or on a floured baking sheet to just over the top lip of the bread pan or until an unrestrained loaf is of a suitable sized round loaf. Thank you for your video and I'd appreciate any suggestions and recommendations you can provide. Have a GREAT DAY!
Beautiful starter!!! I am not fortunate enough to have a starter handed down to me, but do you have a basic starter recipe for someone like me, (Flour: Water ratio)? I would really appreciate it.
I have never used milk, but used water. I used equal amounts of flour and water, mixed it well, covered with a light weight tea towel and left it on the counter. Many people refrigerate their starter .. I only do that if I'm not feeding it everyday. To feed it, I remove some of the starter (maybe a healthy cup full) and then mix up the amount I removed with equal parts of flour and water, then add it back into my existing starter. Grew up eating sourdough.
More than. It's been in his family 70 years, but the neighbor they got it from claimed it came from the Alaskan gold rush so it's prob well over a hundred years old
The milk has sugars in it, and other nutrients, that the bacteria and the yeast need in order to live. The milk doesn't stay in its original state, it gets broken down through the fermentation process. As a result, it's a living eco-system (between the yeast and the bacteria) that's able to survive over time. Check out our website - link in the description box of the video - there's some additional information that may be helpful.
Can you "catch" wild yeast by leaving the milk/flour mixture open to the air? I believe I read something about the history of sourdough originally being done this way.
Tell us how to use the starter n how to maintain it. Like for new bakers how much starter should be use in 1 kg of flour what kind of flour should be use
how long can it sit out on the counter before it goes bad? Could you feed the starter you've left out before using it to make it stronger and if so how would you do that and how long would it have to sit before use? Thanks!
Liliana, mix a quarter of a cup of preferably wholewheat flour with enough water to make a gloop the consistency of thick paint. Put it in a clean glass jar, cover it with a thin cotton hanky or suchlike and hold it in place with a rubber band. This lets air in and keeps bugs out. Keep in a warm place. Day 2 same thing. Day 3 double up your quantity but chuck half of your existing stock out. It's still weak and so you need to refresh the lactobacillii and you don't want fifteen tons of sourdough because you will have the FBI on your doorstep claiming you're building a Weapon of Mass Destruction. Of course if this happens Hollywood will buy the movie rights from you and make a B-grade movie called 'The Sourdough That Ate Minnesota'. If this happens you will be very rich and won't need to make your own Sourdough. But in the meantime carry on until you've got a largeish jar of a thick tart - smelling gloop with bubbles in it*. Then go onto a youtube channel called Ilovecooking Ireland and watch Patrick Ryan walking you through the bread - making process. You'll have more fun this way. *(Ideally it should snarl quietly at you when you take the hanky off...)
hello, wondering if there's a way to get a starter from your starter? silly I know but I had one 27 yes ago that was am omish fruit bread..loved it! yet while in hospital someone being helpful (ugh!) not realizing what u had in the giant jar on the counter tossed it (Ahhhh!) is used it daily to bake. ed unable to get a be one from original gifter sadly and have longed for one ever since.
how much do I need to know to pull out and how much to save and how much to add to the starter that I will be saving in the fridge? nobody ever shows this. what I pull out to save for next time do I let it sit out a few days to get good and sour before I put it into the fridge?
How can I get some of that starter? I'm at the age where all of my kids are grown and gone with their own kids, so I'm wanting to experiment in the kitchen. Sourdough bread is at the top of my list! :-)
Start your own! There are LOTS of ways to get one started. My wife started one of hers by soaking ORGANIC grapes in some water for a few day. She then mixed it with some flour and put it on the counter lightly covered. She has also started some by buying organic flour (rye) and then just mixing in some water and lightly covering it.
Hoping for a little help here. Made some sd starter for the first time this spring. Produced some great bread. Summer got to hot to bake in the kitchen so starter has been in the fridge since. It has separated and the liquid portion has grayed-towards a black color. Smells fine, not rancid. Is it ok to use? Or do I need to continuously feed it forever? Thanks in advance for your reply.
Walter Sacolic You take what you saved and feed it equal parts water (or milk) and flour to keep the yeast alive. Some people keep theirs on the counter and have to feed much more often then those who use the fridge, but either way you need to feed it before you use it. You can start your own by mixing equal parts water and flour and leaving it on your counter. Wait until you see bubbles then take out some, discard it (or cook with it) and feed what is left. The discard seems wasteful, but it is important. Also, the first week or so, weird things happen as its not stable, but once it is, you can keep jt for a long time like this guy.
Hi Leonard, Go to our Cooking Up a Story site and submit a request through the form and I will send you Robert Jordan's email: cookingupastory.com/contact-us
Robert shared some at a recent fermentation event (where we met). You could make your own - there are videos that show you how, just google it. I understand it isn't difficult but does take a little time.
The recipe for his sourdough pancakes? If so, there's a link to the written recipe in the description box; just click 'show more' up above - it's the first link.
Hi Fario. If you submit a request through our Cooking Up a Story site, we will send you Robert Jordan's email. He will send you a sample of his sourdough that you can grow and continue to use. cookingupastory.com/contact-us
Hate to burst your bubble but you (and millions of other ppl) are wrong about sourdough starter - the sourdough yeast IS ALREADY present on the flour. This was accidentally discovered about 10+ years ago by Egyptologists trying to brew up a newly discovered mead recipe they deciphered. They flew to Egypt and had flown in a special ancient Egyptian grain that had been recultivated in the USA to be as authentic as possible but when they tried it, it never fermented. Desperate to not waste their trip to Egypt, they grabbed some modern local flour and the batch worked. So when they got back to the USA, they tried again with a new purchase of the ancient grain and it worked. After retracing their steps, they discovered that Egyptian customs had IRRADIATED the shipped grain to kill off any unwanted pests and by doing so, killed the yeast cultures on the grain. They passed this info onto the lab on campus who confirmed their discovery: When you manually ferment grains the yeast comes from the grain itself, not the air. Another thing that has been disproved (that ur REALLY going to hate to hear) is keeping a starter going has no benefits - the yeast does not improve (or get worse) with age. So that Alaskan gold rush starter you've been slaving over is no different than if you started a new batch from scratch. Sadly it's an old wives tale from before ppl understood how bacteria works.
Wow 70 years old starter, how awesome!!! Mine is only 1 year but I love it. I make bread, focaccia, pizza dough and of course pancakes with it. Thanks for sharing this story!
well, you're on your way to a longtime family tradition, if you choose. Robert said he's not the only one who still 'keeps' it - his aunt, his son, and I believe some of his cousins too, in addition to new friends he meets! what a cool gift. =)
My starter has been passed down from the wagon train days in Kansas. 1861 so 161 years old. The same family and the same female line. My Dad helped bake it when he was alive. He was born in 1905 and Mom was born in 1913. Mom and Dad didn’t have electricity when they first married. They kept the starter cool by hanging it in a bucket down in the Well.
This is a Great family tradition to pass down! Man, I wish I had some of John's starter. I'd start the tradition in my family. Thanks for sharing.
agreed! He was kind enough to share some with us and I hope to keep it going for a long time! Have you thought of making your own? There are many recipes online, and I linked to a couple via link in description box.
Okay, thanks for sharing it. :-)
I heard a story about a woman during the Yukon Gold Rush who made bread dough. She didn't bake it - she just sold chunks of dough to the miners. She carried it in a pack on her back and her body heat kept it ticking over. When the gold rush collapsed she was one of the few people who'd got rich. The miners paid her in gold dust or nuggets because of course it was the only currency they had... I believe she made a fortune.
So what did the miners do with the dough
@@elijahhall8889 They baked it.
I truly appreciate the simplicity of your starter. So many methods out there, with raison or potato water from 3 days to 10 days. Thanks for making so easy.
And good job for keeping the starter alive.
I just started my sourdough starter the other day, and look forward to it being 70 years old someday! By the way: that’s awesome you didn’t measure the baking soda, and just eyeballed the measurement.
Hello there. I am a 67 year old grandmother using sourdough for pancakes, bread and deserts. I started some myself 2 years ago but I value history especially in bread making and sourdough. Please let me know how I could get some of your 70 year old starter. I will pass it down to my grandchildren who at this time are a very important part of my using it. I will anxiously await your reply. Thank you so much and thank you for sharing your video and family treasure! Rachel
that starter is like a chain letter. you don't want to be the one to break it.
Wow! This is crazy to think about. Im falling in love with bread making. Was looking for starter tips Im glad I came across this video.
I have always wanted to make sourdough... this just spurred me on !
yay! I was always curious about it, how it lived, etc., so when I heard about Robert's long-lived starter, well, I just had to meet him! He was kind enough to give us some of his and I've been using it for pancakes (like he does). My next step is to make some bread. =)
The history of the Alaskan miners is true. I am currently reading a book by Daniel Carter Beard, He mentions the term "sourdough" as one who is very experienced in the woods. One quick search turns up that the term "sourdough" was used to describe the old and knowledgeable miners that kept the sourdough in a pouch near their body in case they wanted bread. It was used to get some warm food inside their bodies on a cold night and was kept in a leather pouch so it would not get wet.
Don't you just love historical tales like this?
It is pretty cool to hear such tales.
They kept it against their body so that it wouldn’t freeze.
Amazing,would love to have some of that.
i have now made pancakes with my new sourdough starter many times. so thank you for the ti as I was not sure how to use it, as I dont have time nor space for making bread. just today I made them again and they were delicious today, this time I used only milk and flour (1 cup of each, but of flour a bit more), the batter was on a denser side, denser than the one in the video, I did not put any sugar but crushed 2 ripe bananas, no egg, half a teaspoon soda bicarbonate and half a teaspoon of baking powder and a bit of salt. greased the pan with butter each time, they were simply the best i have eaten. Oh, and I think a good tip is to wait for half an hour to use the batter.....
Your story about Alaska gold rush is true! But they never use milk they used water to flour mix 1to1, They never had refrigeration so is long as you feed your starter daily or every other day it would stay alive with body temperature.
personally I do not think there is anything wrong with asking for some of his starter to start their own ...
part of them wants to carry on an old tradition and feel like they have a connection to those days when people struggled and made some great tasting bread...
I don't know maybe it is just the thought of how old it is from what era that makes it taste extra special...
I would love to have it also..
being an American living here in Ireland would love to have it here to share with the people and let them have a piece of American history...
God bless you and may you always have great tasting bread...x
My husband’s pioneer ancestor became separated from her family as a teenager, on the way across the plains. She decided she would be fine, because she had a good sourdough starter and would just start a bakery. She opened her bakery out of a rail car, serving bread to the miners.
A couple of years ago, a friend gave me some starter to add to my collection. It was said to have been in use since the late 18th century! I already had some from the mid-19th cent.
wow
I've also used Boiled Potato water with flour mixed in. Equal ratio let stand 4-5 days before using it.
Oh my goodness! I would love to have some of that starter! I bet it is delicious!
it was very 'sour' and made great pancakes!
I bet :)
Thanks very deeply for sharing this awesome receipe with us You tubers!!!
Thank you for sharing, this is a wonderful method
I have been looking for an EASY Sour Dough recipe for some time now and it looks like I have found one.
Two questions if I may.
One, you mention that this starter can be used to make bread but mention to add enough Flour to meet the needs of a bread dough. Not being a Chef, what amount is "enough flour" if I just want just one or two loaves of bread? I know it is based on many (unknown to me) factors, but I'd hate to waste a starter with a simple mistake.
Second, the same goes for how much Bakers Yeast should I add to encourage the dough to rise?
And unless I'm mistaken, I should let to dough rise in either a floured baking pan or on a floured baking sheet to just over the top lip of the bread pan or until an unrestrained loaf is of a suitable sized round loaf.
Thank you for your video and I'd appreciate any suggestions and recommendations you can provide.
Have a GREAT DAY!
Beautiful starter!!! I am not fortunate enough to have a starter handed down to me, but do you have a basic starter recipe for someone like me, (Flour: Water ratio)? I would really appreciate it.
I have never used milk, but used water. I used equal amounts of flour and water, mixed it well, covered with a light weight tea towel and left it on the counter. Many people refrigerate their starter .. I only do that if I'm not feeding it everyday. To feed it, I remove some of the starter (maybe a healthy cup full) and then mix up the amount I removed with equal parts of flour and water, then add it back into my existing starter. Grew up eating sourdough.
Today on BBC world service a Lady had a starter 180 year old
what was his pancakes recipe? sourdough (milk and flour) , 2 eggs, a bit of baking soda?
70 years old!!!
More than. It's been in his family 70 years, but the neighbor they got it from claimed it came from the Alaskan gold rush so it's prob well over a hundred years old
Ella Ye I love that
AWSOME!
so, he just puts it back to the fridge? without feeding it?
mine is only 16 days old lol
Did he say he mixed two cups of milk with flour? Would that cause it to spoil? I only use water for that reason. What benefit does the milk offer?
The milk has sugars in it, and other nutrients, that the bacteria and the yeast need in order to live. The milk doesn't stay in its original state, it gets broken down through the fermentation process. As a result, it's a living eco-system (between the yeast and the bacteria) that's able to survive over time. Check out our website - link in the description box of the video - there's some additional information that may be helpful.
So lucky you have this starter......I wish that I had family ties like you do"
Can you "catch" wild yeast by leaving the milk/flour mixture open to the air? I believe I read something about the history of sourdough originally being done this way.
Yes you can watch Bake With Jack if you want he explains all of it and shows how to make starter
My starter is 30 years old. I try to keep it going.
V5R7N
still going?
That’s impressive! Mine is 6 years old
Wowww thats amazing but how much starter do you need to make bread
Does it taste good?
I wish I could get some of your starter!!
Really cool video, but I was expecting to se the process of making the starter
Tell us how to use the starter n how to maintain it. Like for new bakers how much starter should be use in 1 kg of flour what kind of flour should be use
how long can it sit out on the counter before it goes bad? Could you feed the starter you've left out before using it to make it stronger and if so how would you do that and how long would it have to sit before use? Thanks!
I gave u the 1k th thumbs up
Would you be willing to share some? I could pay for postage.
Liliana Thirdgill lol just make your own
C. E. Abrams He doesn’t have the time to wait 70 years.
Liliana, mix a quarter of a cup of preferably wholewheat flour with enough water to make a gloop the consistency of thick paint. Put it in a clean glass jar, cover it with a thin cotton hanky or suchlike and hold it in place with a rubber band. This lets air in and keeps bugs out. Keep in a warm place. Day 2 same thing. Day 3 double up your quantity but chuck half of your existing stock out. It's still weak and so you need to refresh the lactobacillii and you don't want fifteen tons of sourdough because you will have the FBI on your doorstep claiming you're building a Weapon of Mass Destruction. Of course if this happens Hollywood will buy the movie rights from you and make a B-grade movie called 'The Sourdough That Ate Minnesota'. If this happens you will be very rich and won't need to make your own Sourdough. But in the meantime carry on until you've got a largeish jar of a thick tart - smelling gloop with bubbles in it*. Then go onto a youtube channel called Ilovecooking Ireland and watch Patrick Ryan walking you through the bread - making process. You'll have more fun this way. *(Ideally it should snarl quietly at you when you take the hanky off...)
If I could buy that bit from you it would be great even for 200 gram of starter I would love that
@@suecollins3246 wow... We got a real comedian over here..
hello, wondering if there's a way to get a starter from your starter? silly I know but I had one 27 yes ago that was am omish fruit bread..loved it! yet while in hospital someone being helpful (ugh!) not realizing what u had in the giant jar on the counter tossed it (Ahhhh!) is used it daily to bake. ed unable to get a be one from original gifter sadly and have longed for one ever since.
Love it!
how much do I need to know to pull out and how much to save and how much to add to the starter that I will be saving in the fridge? nobody ever shows this. what I pull out to save for next time do I let it sit out a few days to get good and sour before I put it into the fridge?
Is there a difference between an old one and a new one??🤔
Is there such a thing as gluten free sourdough? I’m going to google it I guess. I miss sourdough
To answer my own question, yes! There is gluten free sourdough. Off I go to learn more!
Great!
Robert Jordan how can I obtain some of your family treasure sourdough starter?
How can I get some of that starter? I'm at the age where all of my kids are grown and gone with their own kids, so I'm wanting to experiment in the kitchen. Sourdough bread is at the top of my list! :-)
Start your own! There are LOTS of ways to get one started. My wife started one of hers by soaking ORGANIC grapes in some water for a few day. She then mixed it with some flour and put it on the counter lightly covered.
She has also started some by buying organic flour (rye) and then just mixing in some water and lightly covering it.
Hoping for a little help here.
Made some sd starter for the first time this spring. Produced some great bread. Summer got to hot to bake in the kitchen so starter has been in the fridge since. It has separated and the liquid portion has grayed-towards a black color. Smells fine, not rancid. Is it ok to use? Or do I need to continuously feed it forever?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Just got the scoop on your website. Good to go! I will revive it and go from there. Thanks!
So I can put milk in with my flour instead of water when I feed it? Does that make it taste different?
Shane K it'll be softer because of the fat in the milk
how can I get some of your starter?
You can make your own. See my comments above.
He never explained how to keep it going do you add what you saved into another batch then save some of that ???
Walter Sacolic You take what you saved and feed it equal parts water (or milk) and flour to keep the yeast alive. Some people keep theirs on the counter and have to feed much more often then those who use the fridge, but either way you need to feed it before you use it. You can start your own by mixing equal parts water and flour and leaving it on your counter. Wait until you see bubbles then take out some, discard it (or cook with it) and feed what is left. The discard seems wasteful, but it is important. Also, the first week or so, weird things happen as its not stable, but once it is, you can keep jt for a long time like this guy.
Can I get a starter from you? Willing to pay for it. Thank you
Hi Leonard, Go to our Cooking Up a Story site and submit a request through the form and I will send you Robert Jordan's email: cookingupastory.com/contact-us
Milk? I’ve only seen people using water
you mentioned about get some from is that possible???
Robert shared some at a recent fermentation event (where we met). You could make your own - there are videos that show you how, just google it. I understand it isn't difficult but does take a little time.
Would you be willing to share some? I could pay for postage.
you can easily make it yourself. Search for sourdough starter here in youtube. Just a few days patience is enough..
I wish you could give us the recipe .
The recipe for his sourdough pancakes? If so, there's a link to the written recipe in the description box; just click 'show more' up above - it's the first link.
i mean the recipe for your sourdough.
Hi Fario. If you submit a request through our Cooking Up a Story site, we will send you Robert Jordan's email. He will send you a sample of his sourdough that you can grow and continue to use. cookingupastory.com/contact-us
Whats up with the speaking inside of this video? Whenever he is talking I hear a second voice at a very low volume.
2:14 I guess they never miss, huh?
Ha dead meme
Impressed,the purpose of watching the video is to know how to make the starter, not use the starter.
Not really teaching how to get started. But great tradition.
I feed my starter with sugar
Hate to burst your bubble but you (and millions of other ppl) are wrong about sourdough starter - the sourdough yeast IS ALREADY present on the flour.
This was accidentally discovered about 10+ years ago by Egyptologists trying to brew up a newly discovered mead recipe they deciphered. They flew to Egypt and had flown in a special ancient Egyptian grain that had been recultivated in the USA to be as authentic as possible but when they tried it, it never fermented. Desperate to not waste their trip to Egypt, they grabbed some modern local flour and the batch worked. So when they got back to the USA, they tried again with a new purchase of the ancient grain and it worked. After retracing their steps, they discovered that Egyptian customs had IRRADIATED the shipped grain to kill off any unwanted pests and by doing so, killed the yeast cultures on the grain. They passed this info onto the lab on campus who confirmed their discovery: When you manually ferment grains the yeast comes from the grain itself, not the air.
Another thing that has been disproved (that ur REALLY going to hate to hear) is keeping a starter going has no benefits - the yeast does not improve (or get worse) with age. So that Alaskan gold rush starter you've been slaving over is no different than if you started a new batch from scratch. Sadly it's an old wives tale from before ppl understood how bacteria works.
Fungi, not bacteria. mm mm good
Actually a combination of fungus (yeast...usually Candida) and bacteria...Lactobacillus.
My error.Thanks for the info.I just had a smoked pastrami on sourdough.Mm mm good again.
bbkb
That is so cool!!! Great video, thanks.