Sourdough

[Winter Hawk]

A couple of months ago I decided to give sourdough bread another go.  Made a starter, then it was on to baking bread.  I have done this before with pretty poor results.  This time I have kept all metal bowls, pans and utensils away.  Also used water from the reverse osmosis filter which takes out the chlorine.  I believe the later was what caused my failures before.  Anyway, the results have been excellent.  The first batch I let the dough rise to double its size before punching it down and making loaves.  That worked but took a l-o-n-g time; over two hours for the first rising and almost three for the loaves.  The next batch I dropped the first rising, but once I had kneaded the dough I shaped it into loaves and dropped them in the pans.  2 1/2 hours later they had risen properly and baked up very well.  The recipes call for 375* to 400* and almost an hour's baking time.  With my regular bread baking I have gone to 325* for 35 minutes.  I tried that with good results for the sourdough, although the bread was rather moist.  The last batch I made I went 5 minutes longer and it turned out perfect.

The only "problem" I have is that you need to make a sponge to refresh the starter every week or so by adding a cup of flour and a cup of water, then letting it sit covered with a cloth, overnight.  Then you put a half cup (or more) in a non-metal container and pop it in the fridge for next time but what to do with the rest of the sponge?  Make bread, or pancakes, or biscuits or???  I have a recipe for sourdough applesauce cake, my Carol likes banana bread for breakfast, so I substituted mashed bananas for applesauce this morning.  It came out quite good if I say so myself.  The ingredients called for 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves which sounded like a lot to me so I halved that.  It still tastes like something from the dentist's office although my Sweetie said she still likes it.  I think that next time I'll either cut the cloves down to 1/4 teaspoon or leave them out entirely.

All in all, the experiment has been a rousing success and the neighbors are getting fresh bread on a regular basis.

~Kees~

[BEAVERMAN]

Kees this sounds great, wanna share the recipe for the starter and such?

[Hank in WV]

I wish I was your neighbor.

[Winter Hawk]

Kees this sounds great, wanna share the recipe for the starter and such?

After reading an article on Sourdough in Countryside & Small Stock Journal a couple of months ago, going to several sites from a Duck-Duck-Go search, and consulting Alaska "Sourdough" Cookin' booklet, all of which have basically the same info slightly different, I put two cups of all purpose flour, two cups of filtered water, a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of yeast in a large ceramic bowl.  Covered this with a dish towel and set it on top of the fridge to stay warm.  Daily I took out a cup of this mixture and added another cup of flour and of water.  After five days I considered it good and put one cup of starter in a pint canning jar with a plastic lid and stuck that in the fridge.  With the rest I made my first batch of bread.  And not wanting to throw away good food, I used the previous cups of starter mix to make pancakes.

To use the starter I take my cup's worth from the fridge and put it in my large ceramic bowl, then add two cups of water, two cups of all purpose flour and a tablespoonful of sugar.  I mix this all up and let it sit in a warm place for 6 to 8 hours, or overnight to make the sponge.  I clean my jar after it's empty.  Then when the sponge has worked the required time and is bubbly I take one cup out for the starter jar which goes back in the fridge.  Then the sponge, which should be about 2 cups worth is used for the recipe.  The bread seems to want at least 2 - 2 1/2 hours to rise.  Biscuits, pancakes and such don't.  In fact yesterday's banana cake also went straight into the oven without sitting to rise.

~Kees~
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[BEAVERMAN]

  thank you Sir, gonna give this a try!

[Winter Hawk]

In the article in Countryside & Small Stock Journal, the author said she used 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of pineapple juice in a wide mouth canning jar, covered with a piece of muslin fastened on with a rubber band.  Then she added 1/4 cup of each every day for 5 days, "stir each time and replace the lid."  After 5 days it should have started bubbling.  Then add one cup of flour and one cup of water on day 6.  Daily thereafter take out 1 1/2 cups of the starter and add back one cup each of flour and water. after a week, cut back on the feedings until after 4 to 6 weeks you are down to one feeding per week.

"Before it's mature, you can still make lots of yummy loaves of bread that don't require such a high rise."

Paraphrased except where I have an exact quote....

A useful link: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe

~Kees~

[cwgrizz]

I saw this thread and remembered a not so funny story.  I had developed a starter from the atmosphere (No yeast, sugar, etc. just flour and water).  It was a great starter, but I had not been using it for a while and kept it was stored in the fridge.  My wife, who had not known me when I started the sourdough and the pains I went through to get it developed, decided it looked bad and threw it out.  I started looking for it to only find that it was no more.  My daughter, luckily had a starter and gave me a little bit.  Now my wife is interested in starting her own starter from scratch (water and flour).  She did and it was better than what I had from my daughter, so I started using hers.  Anyway, long story short, I feed it almost daily and keep it ready for various things ie pizza dough, bread, etc.  The discards are usually used for Sourdough waffles. Love my sourdough even though sometimes it seems like you are caring for a pet. 

[The Miner '49er]

WH, you're right about the non-chlorinated water, no metal bowls or utensils. Believe me as a l-o-n-g time Scout and Scouter I have made many dutch ovens full of sourdough bread and the right water is important. For home use, wife and I have an 8" DO, with cover, and we often bake bread in it. I got tired of messing with the starter, replenishing it, etc. and found this recipe which, while not sourdough, is mighty tasty and easier to make than falling off the proverbial log. It is important to measure ingredients exactly, don't use the "I guess this will be OK" method. This is for the 8" diameter DO.
435g all-purpose flour / 1 1/2t salt / 1/2t yeast / 1 1/2C water @ 90-100 degrees. In a glass bowl whisk together flour, yeast, salt. Make a well, pour in water. Let it sit 5-10 minutes, then with a wooden spoon mix into a shaggy ball. Cover tightly with plastic wrap then put it in a cold oven on the center rack, with the light on for 6-8 hours to let it rise. Remove dough, set oven on 450 and preheat the DO with the lid on for 30 minutes. This is important, don't begin baking with a cold DO. While the DO is preheating, turn out the dough on a floured mat, add some flour to the top of the dough. Quickly form into a ball. Don't knead it! Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let it sit on the mat. At the end of the 30 min preheat, remove cover and dust bottom of DO with cornmeal. Plop in the dough. Bake for 30 minutes with the cover on. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes. Bread is done when internal temp is 190-200 and sounds hollow when knocked. Grab some real butter and dig in!

[The Miner '49er]

I forgot to say, but the 8" DO we use at home is cast iron w/o legs (for home oven use). We have another cast iron outdoor 8" with legs and a lipped lid for cooking over coals. The bread recipe above bakes just as good in it. The recipe can be scaled up if you have a 12" or 14" DO. This has my mouth watering, I just measured out the ingredients and will bake a loaf tomorrow!

[Winter Hawk]

I'll try that.    When Carol & I got married I was making my own bread, but then she took over.  But now that arthritis and various other problems have hit her I am back to being chief cook and bottle washer which includes baking bread.  I only started the sourdough early this year, although I had tried in ages past with mixed results.  So thank you for the recipe.  I will most assuredly use it! 

~Kees~