How to start a sour dough starter

[DrakeMaiden]

While I personally wouldn't (sourdough purist that I am) I think you could start with a touch of kefir . . . but just add it once. I read that a Tablespoon or so of yogurt can kick start a sourdough culture, so I don't see why kefir wouldn't work the same. Ultimately you want to grow what will thrive on your flour alone, so I wouldn't keep trying to add kefir or milk products to the mix. JMO.

Thanks for sharing the celiac study. I have always preferred sourdough bread and so it is fun to hear all the reasons it is good for you.

 

[Dace]

DM...what I am also thinking is that when I want to bake off a loaf, perhaps when I pull out the amount that I want to use I should feed it using whey as the liq and let that small aount sit for 24 hours before baking....I think that maybe what Free means when she says 'traditionally prepared'

I am going to get some rye flour today....although, I do have a spare coffee grinder (Hubby and I each bought each other a new one for Christmas ) I wonder how big of a pain in the butt it would be to grind my own wheat using a coffee mill?

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I'm not sure about using whey. You can try it and see how it works for you, but I will say I think you want to let the bread you make sit for about 24 hours between the time you add all of the flour to the dough and the time you bake the loaves, if you want to be sure of complete digestion of the gluten. So, don't just let the starter or a sponge sit for 24 hours, but the dough that has all of the flour called for in the recipe. That should also ensure a sour flavor to the bread. Mind you, that was 24 hours at body temperature. If your room is colder, it has to go for longer. How much longer? That will vary.

I don't have a wheat grinder yet either. I imagine a coffee grinder would work fine, but might be a pain, if the compartment is small and you can only do small batches at a time.

 

[Dace]

Yep, 24 hours with the added flour, that is what I was thinking.

I looked up SD in my NT book and it is just rye flour and water.....so maybe I should drop the whey idea.

 

[freemotion]

Had to go the the office, just here for a few minutes while I eat a quick snack before doing animal care chores!

I haven't thoroughly experimented with sd and NT methods...made the rye sd from flour and water. All veg materials have some lactobacilli on them, so if they are not bleached or blanched, you will have some good beastie growth in the sd process. Truly traditional sd is aged for two weeks, that is why I really like the artisan bread recipe from MEN, because it is so similar. You can "age" it for two weeks in the fridge. Just don't dust it with flour when you bake it.

But you can also use the 24-hour fermentation method. I think I might try boosting the bacilli by adding whey to the liquid when making the bread loaves, at the beginning of the 24 hour period just before baking, rather than adding it at the beginning of the sourdough process. One thing I learned from Sandor Katz' book about fermentation is that it needs to go through certain stages, and by adding whey you can artificially skip certain stages, which may or may not be advantagous.

Am I making sense? I'm faint with hunger!!!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

One thing I learned from Sandor Katz' book about fermentation is that it needs to go through certain stages, and by adding whey you can artificially skip certain stages, which may or may not be advantagous.

Makes sense to me. I guess that is why I would hesitate to add anything but flour and water . . . I'd rather do it the old school way.

 

[Dace]

Hmmm, yes you are making sense.

I bought my rye flour and am about to embark on starting my starter

Free let me know how it goes if you do bump up the lacto in your loaves, I would think it would help with the gluten.

 

[Old Sew'n'Sew]

I do sour dough too. I bought a culture of San Francisco SD several years ago from Sour Dough International www.sourdo.com, I still have it and feed it or make bread occasionally. I used to have one from South Africa but it was extremely sour and the family did'nt like it so I let it die.

You can capture your own local yeast by using just flour and water I have done this before. Set about 3 cups of dry plain unbleached flour in a bowl covered with cheese cloth secured with a rubber band out side on a covered porch or on a window sil with the window open for three days. Add enough 85degree F spring water or distilled to make it a thick soup, culture it in a draft free place at 85 degrees F til it bubbles and smells like yeast. ( I wrap a covered bowl in a towel and set it in the gas oven that has a pilot light.)

Of course fresh flour does have its own built in yeasts so you may get that instead but if you can bake a good loaf with it then its a keeper.

I still like the SF SD the best. Happy baking.

Get "Classic Sourdoughs" By Ed Wood

 

[Dace]

So it has been 15 hours and I am not seeing any activity.

One site that I have been using as referrence says to give it up to 24 hours. So I guess I will just keep peeking.

I set it in the pantry and I think it may not be warm enough....not in the pantry and not really anywhere in the house. I think we are running about 67-70* inside. I love that this house stays nice and cool, but come on! I gots to get my SD up and running!

I may put it out side this morning after it warms up a bit (in a shady spot).

I know that ORchick is sending me some starter, so I am not too worried, if this batch doesn't make it I may just try a new bag of rye flour as suggested (I got this batch of flour from the bulk bin...maybe that was not smart). Or I will just be patient and wait for the envelope from ORchick It would be nice to learn how to do this though.

 

[big brown horse]

I started a starter from scratch last year with just flour and water. I used my oven with the light on for the "warm spot". Give it a full 24 hours; more if it is a tad on the cold side.

DM gave me some of her rye starter when I killed my original by getting it too hot. It is now almost 1 year old.