Day 4 Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter

Today I am going to make a loaf with my first whole wheat sourdough starter ever. I have to admit, I'm a little nervous because the smell of it is getting very strong and I'm beggining to wonder if it has gone rancid. There is no mold or off-colored liquid, besides the hooch which I will be pouring off and discarding, so I feel that there isn't any harm in baking it. Has anyone out in the blogosphere gotten poisened from a "bad" starter? If so, please do not hesistate to share. Anyways here is the sourdough recipe I am using. Like my starter, it also comes from George Burnett's "The Breadman's Healthy Bread Book" and it is made for use in your bread machine. Although, it could easily be prepared by hand and baked in the oven.

Sourdough Wheat Bread

(from The Breadman's Healthy Bread Book by George Burnett)

(yields one 1 1/2 lb loaf)

1 cup whole wheat sourdough starter (this can be found on my blog also, Feb.23)

2/3 cup (5 1/2 ounces) warm water (100 degrees F)

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 tsp liquid lecithin (I used granular and the measurement would come out to 3 tbsp, or a tablespoon for each cup of whole wheat flour)

3 cups whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons powdered whey

2 tablespoons gluten flour (aka vital wheat gluten)

1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (I used bread machine yeast in the same amount and it rised up nicely)

1.) Put all the ingredients in the inner pan in order listed, or in the reverse order if the manual for your machine specifies dry ingredients first and liquids last.

2.) Select whole wheat cycle and 1 1/2 pound loaf setting and push start. This loaf also came out well for me when I used the "rapid" cycle, or the cycle that only takes about an hour.

3.) When the cycle ends remove your loaf from the machine and allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan. Then remove from pan and allow to cool completely before slicing. Please tell me how yours comes out! Thanks!