> "A sourdough starter is a stable symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast
> present in a mixture of flour and water.
>

I bake a lot of sourdough bread and most of my problems are with the
starter, not the sugars I add. However, I have noticed that honey, when I am
making the sponge, does seem to slow things down a bit, but not enough
compared to the time needed for sponge.

I "captured" yeasts and bacteria from several different locations (Honolulu,
LA, Maine, Michigan) and settled on the LA batch as the best sour and rise.

The key to a good starter is to keep it going, which I do not do. But it is
easy to re-start. If you use a slightly old starter, you will get a slower
rise in all stages, so any additive that can even slow things down a little
will effect rise times even more. Which is why many commercial bakers create
an overnight sponge, then add yeast along with flour and whatever else they
might want the next day to get a quicker rise, since time is money.

I do not go down that route, but rely on the starter to do everything. Since
my starter is not that fresh, it can take 16-24 hours from start of sponge
to baked loaf. If the starter is fresh, the time can be cut considerably.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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