Starter

1. used in making sourdough breads, made with water, flour and sometimes yeast and/or milk, left at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours, during which time it develops two groups of micro-organisms produced by its natural fermentation: bacteria, including lactobacilli, and natural yeasts, including saccharomyces. The bacteria generate the characteristic sour flavor, while the yeasts generate carbon dioxide to make the bread rise.

A starter will alter, depending on its milieu: a San Francisco starter used in New Zealand may not get the same results, because it's a live culture that reacts to its environment. If a starter is kept in the refrigerator, it must be brought to room temperature at least once a week; a third is removed to either bake in bread or is disposed of; and then its original ingredients are added in again. This keeps the starter healthy, alive and reproducing. At one time, starters were handed down from mother to daughter. Famous bakeries maintain their distinctively flavored bread by keeping alive a starter that can be as many as 100 years old. See also sourdough. 2. see appetizer.

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