I don't have any DME on hand and I need to make a starter. If I crush and mash 1.5 lbs of 2-row in a gallon of water for an hour at 150-155F and then strain out the "wort", is there any reason that won't make a reasonable starter? I think 1 lb in 1 gal would give me a wort of 1.036 if I got 100% of the sugar. Since I won't get 100%, I thought I'd just go a lb and a half. I was just going to bring the water to temp, add the grain and adjust to hit my temp and then put it in the oven.
Any reason it has to be super clear? I won't be vorlaufing, just pouring it into another pot through a strainer and then boiling for a few minutes to sterilize. But, assuming I do a starter and then cold crash it and discard the liquid, what does it matter?