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Farm Kitchen:  Sourdough...Again  |
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BarefootGoatGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1495 Posts
Corrine
North Carolina
USA
1495 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 09 2006 : 07:19:23 AM
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I recently bought Sally Falons cookbook, Nourishing Traditions (great cookbook by the way) and she recomends making sourdough starter with rye flour. According to her, it has a better success rate than wheat. Since I am out of rye, I havent tried it yet, but thought I'd pass the info along anyway.
Trina
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Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. Proverbs 27:23 |
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tziporra
True Blue Farmgirl
234 Posts
Robin
Seattle
WA
USA
234 Posts |
Posted - Nov 09 2006 : 2:12:29 PM
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This is how I make my starter -- organic rye flour (just in the beginning). Works great!
Best,
Robin |
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LauraH
True Blue Farmgirl
305 Posts
Laura
North Creek
New York
USA
305 Posts |
Posted - Nov 09 2006 : 3:46:01 PM
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Hi Trina thanks for the tip, I never used rye flour & my sourdough never comes out right.
Robin would you be willing to share your recipe that you have success with?
thanks
LauraH |
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tziporra
True Blue Farmgirl
234 Posts
Robin
Seattle
WA
USA
234 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2006 : 1:10:43 PM
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Sure, I'm happy to share my starter recipe. With a few caveats, that is.
-- This is a "wet" starter, so if you like "dry" starters, don't use this recipe. It's goopy. That's how it's supposed to be.
-- I've never had trouble getting a starter going. I don't attribute it to my fabulous skills at attracting yeast. I don't know if it's the weather or the altitude or what, but I find it easy to keep a starter.
-- That said, my starters are never "sour" in the way we expect sourdough to be. Again, I think it's probably the wild yeasts' fault and not mine. I keep a starter to save money on yeast, not to make sourdough bread. Maybe if I lived in San Fransisco I'd get the flavor I'm looking for. Until then, I'm happy to just save the cash on yeast.
Here are the steps:
DAY 1: Combine scant cup organic rye flour and 1/2 cup bottled water. I like to use a mason jar for my starter, but any very clean container should work. Stir until a very stiff dough is formed. Cover with plastic wrap (if using a mason jar, use the ring to hold the wrap in place). Place in a cool-ish spot (65 degrees) and let rest for forty-eight hours.
DAY 2: Nothing happens
DAY 3: With a clean spoon, throw out half the starter. Stir in a scant 1/2 cup flour (I use unbleached white, you can use whatever you are going to be baking with) and 1/4 cup water. Cover again with plastic wrap and let sit for 24 hours at room temperature (70 degrees or so).
DAY 4: The starter may have a funny smell. Don't worry. With a clean spoon scoop out half the starter and throw it away. Mix in scant 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup water. Leave at room temperature 24 hours.
DAY 5: The starter should be showing definite signs of life -- the volume should have increased dramatically since the last time you checked it. If not, repeat DAY 4 until you see this kind of activity.
Once it's active, again scoop out half the starter and throw it away. Stir in scant 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 4 hours until doubled. You can now "expand" it (check your sourdough recipe) to use for baking bread. BUT the flavor will be better if you keep it around for 2 weeks or so -- if you are going to hold off, feed it again (with 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup water), let sit for 1 hour and then refrigerate.
Remember to feed three times per week for the first two weeks, pouring off half (or down to one cup of starter), then adding 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup water and allowing it to sit outside the refrigerator for 4 hours. After the first two weeks you can feed only once per week. Pour off any alcohol "waste" from the yeast (which looks like water) before feeding.
Hope this helps, let me know how you do!
Robin |
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Bluewrenn
True Blue Farmgirl
1122 Posts
Erin
Texas
USA
1122 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2006 : 2:12:40 PM
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Probably a dumb question... Why do you keep throwing half away? To keep from getting too much in the crock?
Can you just split it into two batches and use the "throw away" parts to make additional starters? I realize that this is silly unless you have a place to store all these canisters of starter, but here's my thought... If for some reason I needed to make a lot of sourdough, then would it make sense to save the "throw away" parts and make a couple of batches of starter, so I can do it all at once?
And can you freeze unbaked sourdough dough? Like for pizza dough, pretzels or rolls?
My Homesteading Journal http://toomyvara.livejournal.com
My craft journal http://bluewrenn.livejournal.com
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tziporra
True Blue Farmgirl
234 Posts
Robin
Seattle
WA
USA
234 Posts |
Posted - Nov 12 2006 : 11:41:49 AM
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1. You throw half away because otherwise you'll have too much starter. Once the starter is active, you can give away the parts you'd ordinarily throw away to other people who want sourdough starters. I keep enough starter on hand to "start" three batches of bread -- sandwich bread, pizza dough, and english muffins, plus enough left over to feed for next week's baking. I guess that's about 2 cups of starter (all in the same crock) or a little more on hand all the time. I wouldn't save any of the "throw away" bits before I was sure I had an active starter.
2. Yes, you can freeze sourdough just like any other dough.
Best,
Robin |
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jo Thompson
True Blue Farmgirl
603 Posts
Jo
the mountainside of the Chugach
in Alaska
USA
603 Posts |
Posted - Nov 12 2006 : 10:36:58 PM
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I'm having big sourdough success, baked two loaves today, they were great! I read that throwing away half and rebuilding it sweetens it, otherwise it gets too acid, (sweeten, alkaline?) I think the byproduct of the yeast creates the acid in the crock. It won't rise as well if it's too acid.....
To start your bread recipe, you bring it out of the fridge stir it up, and then discard a cup, "feed it" with 1/2 cup non chlorinated water and 1 cup of flour. let it sit for 4-12 hours before you use it in the recipe. Start your sponge, and then feed your leftovers again, cover for 2-4 hours and then refrigerate again. I've been making a sponge and letting it rest overnight when I start my recipe, a slow cooler overnight makes a nice sour sourdough!! jo
FYI, in alaska a sourdough is slang for oldtimer, anyone new here is called a cheechako!!
"friends don't let friends eat farmed salmon"
http://homepage.mac.com/thomja/Anchorage/PhotoAlbum15.html |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Nov 13 2006 : 04:54:32 AM
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I found something awesome for my sourdough loaves. I like to have sourdough once in awhile, but I also like other kinds of loaves. There's no way we could eat enough to justify running a starter all the time. The King Arthur Flour website has wonderful starters from France where you can make just enough for one run. You put a quarter teaspoon of their bacteria (from a tiny packet)in a bowl with warm water and flour to make the sponge, and set it on the counter. Use the whole thing within seven days or refrigerate and use later. They have two to choose from, the LA-2 Pain de Campagne starter, or the LA-4 French Sourdough. It's easy and the flavor is uniform and wonderful, loaf to loaf. Each packet makes about a dozen loaves of artisan type breads.
Pain de Campagne starter-- http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/detail.jsp?id=1039
French Sourdough starter--
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/detail.jsp?id=1040
They have lots of other sourdough starters, too! |
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jo Thompson
True Blue Farmgirl
603 Posts
Jo
the mountainside of the Chugach
in Alaska
USA
603 Posts |
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PocketFarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
119 Posts
Sarah
Utica
New York
119 Posts |
Posted - Nov 14 2006 : 10:39:00 AM
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I'm cracking up over here...I just pulled out my King Arthur Flour Cookbook (best baking cookbook I've ever owned) and started some starter. The deli down the street was saving a glass pickle jar for me, and the new kid threw it out, so my starter is on the counter right now, aging a bit more.
I didn't know the thing about throwing part away, though. I like a really concentrated sour flavor, so maybe it won't matter for me? My loaves rose fine. |
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Farm Kitchen: Sourdough...Again |
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Sourdough...Again
