Hi Again,
There is some great feedback and excellent questions coming in from the testers so let me address a few of them right here:
--Here's a new instruction for the wild yeast seed culture formula: stir or knead your starter each day even if you don't feed it. This will keep any non-desireable, invading bacteria spores from taking hold. The growing acidity will take them out of the game and encourage only those organisms to thrive that make tasty bread . The mixing also will aerate your starter and encourage faster activity. The few who have tried this technique have reported good results. Thank you Debbie W., again, for offering this suggestion (she of the "pineapple juice solution" team).
--If you are using volume measurements (cups, spoonfuls, etc.) instead of weights you may be getting a thicker starter than predicted due to how you scoop. If this is the case, read the instructions for visual cues, how it should look or feel, and adjust accordingly. If you feel the need to add additional liquid, go ahead, and then mention this onthe questionnaire. Don't give up on your starter even if it seems to be just sitting there. Cooler temperatures and altitude could throw your timing off but it should eventually come to life. Try the aeration technique as mentioned above--this may solve your concerns.
--Any brand scale will do and if yours only gets to within 2 gram increments (or ounces only), go with your best estimate. It will get you close enough. If you happen to have a really good scale, like the My Weigh i2500 that Elaine R. told me about, that's great! But the recipes should work even with the scoop measurements, and slight differences in salt and yeast, though critical in large scale production, should be negligible here.
--You do not have to fill out a questionnaire for the starter or the mash unless you have a problem with them. Otherwise, consolidate that response into your feedback on the actual whole wheat bread recipe, which should be e-mailed on Monday.
--For those who asked, yes, please keep your starter refrigerated once it has been established. If it seems over-ripe, throw some out and build it back with a fresh feeding. But once it reaches the proper acidity level or shows signs of ripeness, fridge it. It will not rise to four times or even three times its original size as white flour starters do, because of all the fiber in it, but it will smell and look ripe and ready. Use your best intuition to make that call--it will probably be correct (ph paper, if you can get it, also takes some of the guess work out).
I'm heading back to finish writing the formula. It's almost ready to send out--look for it tomorrow (Monday) and do check your spam filters or bulk mail boxes as I think some of you are running into that problem.
May your bread always rise!
Peter