Sourdough

[NH Homesteader]

I tried it once… the bread was amazing… DH could eat it with no discomfort (he seems to have gluten issues). Then my started molded so I quit😂 need to try again!

 

[Perris]

Yes I was just writing this!
Having had a long and sometimes trying journey to crack this, I think I might be able to help.
Follow steps 1 and 2 here https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sourdough
and then a week down the road when you've got a working starter, I'd switch to this method which Ronott posted on BYC

 

[wyoDreamer]

Sourdough is fairly easy - say's the gal who has let 2 starts go bad in the last 2 years, lol. I had one for over 6 years before this...
What is your fear - maybe i can help.
Is your starter dehydrated?
You can get some great info at: http://www.carlsfriends.net/
Download the PDF brochure - it has some great recipes and tells you how to take care of your starter.

My problem is that I forget it in the fridge for months on end without feeding it and it gets inoculated with bad wild yeasts.

If they could keep a starter going on a wagon train crossing the country, You will be able to do it in your kitchen.

YOU GOT THIS!

 

[wyoDreamer]

Ronott is awesome over on BYC. There is a home Bakers thread that has lots of sour dough information. In fact, the last couple of days there has been lots of advice to help a member refresh his start.

 

[Okiepan]

Why use a package when you can make the starter by scratch with minimal ingredients , flour , water , sugar , yeast , potatoes

 

[Britesea]

DH's method is even simpler. He discovered that, like grapes, the yeasts needed to ferment your dough are present ON the whole wheat grains. He grinds his flour, adds water to make a pasty mixture (remember paste from first grade?) and let it sit until you see bubbles. It should have a fermenting type smell. Check it every day- the starter should double in size anywhere from 24-48 hours. At this point, you can use it to make good bread, but it won't be sourdough per se for a while. Something a lot of people don't discuss is that, like most fermented foods, sourdough is kind of picky about the temperature. Most ferments do best in temps around the mid-50's to mid-60's. We have to be extra careful in the summer, because the heat can encourage all the wrong sorts to settle in the neighborhood, lol.

He recommends https://www.pantrymama.com/ She knows what she's doing.

 

[Perris]

That's a shame. I've never had that problem, so have no experience to offer insight on what went wrong. Perhaps using a container with a proper lid will stop it happening again? If it is slightly ajar to start you'll catch the local yeasts, then close it while it develops, just popping it open once daily to check on it? Once it's going you can keep it in a closed jar on the counter or in the fridge.

 

[flowerbug]

when Mom was young she worked for a while at a bakery and she was just talking about this bread they made once a week that people would line up to buy. after looking up the recipe for it i can see why:

Salt Rising Bread:

Salt Rising Bread

This bread demands a delicate, tricky process that will give you a uniquely delicious result. Starter is made from salt, cornmeal and sugar in milk, which can easily take a full day before the breadmaking commences.

www.allrecipes.com

it is considered a sourdough bread but Mom says she'd never make it. reading along it's a bit more than i'd like to do, but perhaps if i were snowed in for a few weeks in the middle of winter and had all the ingredients i'd give in a try.

she said it had quite a distinctive smell, and if so could you imagine a whole bakery of hundreds of loaves going full tilt with people lining up in the morning to start buying it?

*whew!* makes me tired thinkin' 'bout it...

 

[tortoise]

I got bubbles again! Its covered with a coffee filter this time.

 

[tortoise]

when Mom was young she worked for a while at a bakery and she was just talking about this bread they made once a week that people would line up to buy. after looking up the recipe for it i can see why:

Salt Rising Bread:

Salt Rising Bread

This bread demands a delicate, tricky process that will give you a uniquely delicious result. Starter is made from salt, cornmeal and sugar in milk, which can easily take a full day before the breadmaking commences.

www.allrecipes.com

it is considered a sourdough bread but Mom says she'd never make it. reading along it's a bit more than i'd like to do, but perhaps if i were snowed in for a few weeks in the middle of winter and had all the ingredients i'd give in a try.

she said it had quite a distinctive smell, and if so could you imagine a whole bakery of hundreds of loaves going full tilt with people lining up in the morning to start buying it?

*whew!* makes me tired thinkin' 'bout it...

This looks... interesting in a good way. My Instant Pot could hold the temperature for the starter. Need to check my corn meal.

I'm concerned the starter and rising times could get off and I'll end up baking it at midnight.

Also that "distinctive smell" might not be a good smell.