Pre-ferment Experiment

This may be a bit premature but I thought I'd get you on at the ground floor.  Prior to posting my umami post I had mixed 1 kg of rye flour with 10 liters of cold water and about a teaspoon of instant bread yeast.  I Mixed it up and waited.  Of the different flours that I use rye flour is the most "active".  All things being the same in a recipe, one made with rye flour will proof the fastest.  I've also read that it has a high level of enzymes that will break down its starch and protein faster.  So I chose rye flour.  My original plan was to use just the liquid to add flavor to my dough so the rye flavor of the flour wouldn't really come through in the final product.

On day one, there were some bubbles coming up and it didn't really have much of a smell.  On day two, there were still bubbles but it had a definite smell of alcohol and faintly of apples.  On day three, there was a definite smell of hard apple cider.  On day four, same thing very strong smell of apple cider, with more depth (like really ripe apples).  At this stage the liquid on top looked relatively clear.  By no means could I see to the bottom but all of the sediment was definitely at the bottom.  I decided to take a taste.  To be honest some people who smelled the stuff thought it had a bad smell.  So, I took this as a dare and asked Kathryn, another baker who was with me at the time, if she wanted to join me.  She got two little plastic condiment containers and we both took a sip.  It smelled a lot more like hard apple cider than it tasted but I thought it wasn't too bad.  We both showed up for work the next day so it was deemed non-poisonous.  On day five, a white film formed on the top of the liquid.  I had no idea what this stuff was.  The smell was still that of hard apple cider but it was definitely getting "riper".  At this point, my excitement and not knowing put me over the edge; I had to know what was going on in there. Thankfully I live in a university town and called up the food science department at the University of Nebraska.  I left a message and am now waiting to see if I can get some help from someone.  I'd like to me sure levels of umami, organic acids, anything that might give me some insight into what is going on in my bucket; not to mention in all of my pre-ferments and long fermented breads.  Today is day six and the film has thickened/chunked up a bit.  It smells similarly but as things have been going, even more ripe apples.  I don't want to say rotten because it's not that.  Steve and Kathryn think it smell like wet dog after having a bath with apple scented shampoo. 

I'm not sure how much longer I'll let this go.  I hope I can bring it in to get tested or better yet, start a systematic testing program to see what things change over set periods of time.  I hope I can find someone who is as interested in this as I am.

Below are some photos that show you what has been going on with my little experiment.

Day 2

Day 4

Day 6

Since I started writing this post I have heard back from the food science department.  They told me that the machine that would analyze my solution was booked up and I'd have to go to a commercial lab to have it tested; which, depending on the tests I wanted could cost me a lot of money.  Well, I don't have a lot of money.  I certainly have a lot more questions than than money.  This means that I'll have to do the tests myself and my taste buds as the test equipment.

As I finish this post, my hooch is at day nine.  I will make a dough soon and will let you know how it turns out.