Ok Ladies...we're gonna start learning how to make sourdough bread...

[westbrook]

well, guess i will have to get my starter going...again! wonder if the stuff I stored away 10 years ago will still come back? ROFL!!! wonder if it is still in the bottom drawer? I soaked a piece of cotton cloth in my started 10 years ago, dried it, then wrapped it in foil... wonder if I still have it?

[quiltys41]

I got the chocolate stash back here

 

Q (who makes bricks, not bread)

[Leah]

I understand the French make chocolate-filled bread.

[westbrook]

I have posted this link elsewhere.... I think it is chalked full of great info using different grains and recipes..

 

http://www.all-creatures.org/recipes/i-grains.html

[aboutnuts]

I'm in. I will be using the recipe posted on the page. will start as soon as I get the yeast and all purpose flour.

[Grubby]

I'm making sourdough starter. I'm using a very simple recipe.

I hope it turns out.

 

Starter

2 cups flour

2 cups water

2 tablespoons yeast

 

Day 1: make starter

Day 2: stir

Day 3: make dough (rising time)

Day 4: bake bread + feed starter

 

I can give you the rest of the recipe if you'd like. This was

just off the top of my head.

 

 

[aboutnuts]

Hey I want the rest of the recipe. Can you use self rising flour and leave off the yeast?

[dogmom4]

I'd like the recipe Grubby. I think I'd like to try but it's too late to send for the starter.

[westbrook]

here is an old thread on yeast

 

http://www.mrssurvival.com/forums/ubbthr...true#Post106633

 

 

[Grubby]

Sourdough

 

1. First make a starter. Mix 2 c. flour with 2 c. water

and 2 T yeast. Let the starter sit for two days, stir

occasionally.

 

2. Dissolve 1 T. salt in 1 c. water. Add 2 c. starter and

5 1/2 c. flour. Stir and knead into a ball.

 

3. Let rise overnight at room temperature.

 

4. The next morning, punch down and form into two round loaves.

 

5. Let the loaves rise for about 4 hours.

 

6. Put a pan of water in the oven and preheat to 400. Bake

bread for 35 minutes.

 

7. Replenish the starter by adding 1 3/4 c. water and 1 3/4

c. flour.

 

 

[Grubby]

I need someone experienced in sourdough to look over

my recipe!!

 

I think the T should really be t's!!!

 

I'm on day #2 where I make the dough. It says to let sit

overnight. Mine has sat for one hour and it's already

doubled in size!!!

 

Should I go on with the recipe or let it go on and grow?

Also my starter after being fed has doubled in size!!!

 

Another Q. Should starter be thin like water thin?

 

 

 

[rootdiggr]

Grubby,

 

The 2 tablespoons of yeast for the starter look right to me. So does the tablespoon of salt for the bread dough. I don't thing that either of those should have anything to do with the dough rising rapidly.

 

How warm is it where you have your dough? I know that I had the opposite problem with the dough rising in my kitchen, so I put it in the laundry room while the dryer was going, problem solved!

 

I would say that if the dough has doubled in size, it is ready for the next step. I have never heard of dough taking all night to rise, usually it only takes a few hours. It will not keep rising until it explodes, if that is what you are worried about. Unless you used some weird ingredient! Hey, I just had a thought. You weren't using self-rising flour by any chance? That might move things along, but I am not sure how it would taste. Just something to check.

 

The starter should not be water thin. More like pancake batter. After it sits, there is a watery layer on top, called the "hooch", but you can just stir it back in.

 

Hope this helps.

[rootdiggr]

You know, after I looked at your recipe, I got to wondering. I did not see any sugar, or honey or any other sweetener. All the bread recipes I have ever used had some sweetener in them. There is also no butter or any other kind of fat. Fat and sweetener are pretty basic ingredients, so I am wondering why this recipe does not have them.

[quiltys41]

I'm waiting to see how Grubby's turns out...I'm such a chicken when it comes to making bricks....er..bread. But I'll give it a try. Don't know about all this feeding stuff though. I'll keep reading and watching.

 

Q

[Grubby]

Originally Posted By: quiltys41

I'm waiting to see how Grubby's turns out...I'm such a chicken when it comes to making bricks....er..bread. But I'll give it a try. Don't know about all this feeding stuff though. I'll keep reading and watching.
Q

I love to experiment EXCEPT when something goes wrong and I don't
know how to handle it. Then I run around like a chicken with it's
head cut off!!!!

[Becca_Anne]

My starter came today!!!

[Grubby]

Originally Posted By: Grubby

I'm on day #2 where I make the dough. It says to let sit
overnight. Mine has sat for one hour and it's already
doubled in size!!!

Should I go on with the recipe or let it go on and grow?
Also my starter after being fed has doubled in size!!!

UPDATE:

My bread and starter stopped growing. So, I just
let it sit overnight like the recipe states. This morning
I just continued on.

The dough smelled really good this morning! Like beer!

[quiltys41]

Wow that's great! So let us know how it turns out after you get it done please! I may stop being so chicken and try this one more time.

 

Q

[rootdiggr]

Grubby,

 

How did your bread turn out?

[Grubby]

You would have to ask me that now wouldn't you?

 

I had to leave and go to town so...I was stupid and

shaped my loaves and put it in the fridge. I took it

out and let them rise and rise. Nothing. That dough

stayed as cold as the fridge. It is cool here and I

didn't have anywhere warm to put it.

 

I fed my starter but it is still thin as water. I tossed it.

 

I am going to make more. Different recipe. I'm going to

use this one.

 

http://community.southernliving.com/archiv....php?t-506.html

[Skagitgal]

Ladies,

 

I would say that you are not allowing your starter to 'mature' enough, before you are using it.

The sourdough taste becomes more pronounced as the starter ripens, also it's ability to affect a rise in the dough.

 

A true sourdough pot is the ugliest, smelliest kitchen happening you will ever come across. So be forewarned.

 

2 cups AP flour

1 cup warm [not hot] distilled water. NO CHLORINE

1 Tablespoon regular yeast.

Stir together. It will be dry, lumpy and not totally moistened.

 

Do not use metal bowls or spoons. Grandma's old bean pot with a lid is just about right.

Let this sit on the counter...do not refridg. for 2 days.

 

On the 3 rd. day, feed again with 1c. flour, 1c. warm water. Let sit 2 days.

 

Your starter should be bubbly, and have a nice yeasty aroma. It thins as it works, so don't be alarmed, thinking it's too thick in the beginning.

 

The night BEFORE you want to bake; add another 1c. flour & 1c. warm water.

 

You always want to use/bake on the strengthing upside of the starter.

 

If you DO NOT have good yeasty bubbles, feed it again. The flat looking slurry will not give you the results you desire.

 

All the sourdough sites say to keep your slurry in the refridg.

This is for their protection. HOWEVER, if you do; you have to let the slurry come to room temperature, then feed it, let it work 8 to 12 hours, then use it.

 

A sourdough pot 'likes' to be warm. Mine sits next to my Braun coffeemaker. The Braun has warm water in it all the time, just about right temp..could be a touch warmer.

 

The best place for sourdough is on top of the warming oven of a wood stove. Feed and use daily for best results.

 

Now, if the starter turns pink or orange, it has a bacteria that is killing the yeasty beasties.....throw it away. Scrub the pot, flush with boiling water, and start all over again.

 

There is nothing magicial about sourdough. The cook has to understand if true sourdough leavening is acceptable to her/him.

The baked goods will not raise as high as we are accustomed too; unless you add commercial yeast. Also, true sourdough burns easier than those made with commercial yeast. Lower your oven temps by 25 degrees, and watch carefully. When done, sourdough goods have a much more pale appearance.

 

A sourdough pot can be left to 'fester' by itself without cleaning. However, it gets nasty. I clean my pot every week, on Sunday morning.

 

Hold back a cup of pure starter, [use or throw the rest out..chink your cabin, drink the hooch..which is pure alcohol.] Just DONT feed it to any animals. It can raise enough, to give even a pig stomach distress. Don't ask..just take my word for it.

Add 1 cup water & flour and let it bubble again, and your back in business.

 

If you are interested you can start a 'starter' using the wild yeasts in the air. Do the same steps, but without the commercial yeast. It is tricker, sometimes you may have to try 3 or 4 starts to get one to take.

 

Just remember, when you refridgerate your starter, you suspend the action. If you are on the downside of the 'renewing action' your starter may not recuperate. Toss it, start another.

 

Homemade sourdough sticky buns will send eaters to heaven.!!

 

[rootdiggr]

Tonight for dinner we had sourdough pancakes, bacon and eggs.

 

I have been using and feeding my starter for about 3 weeks now, and it is getting a good flavor to it. But I expect it to be a month or more before the flavor is strong. That's OK, my son is more than happy to have me experiment with it in the meantime. And let's face it. ANY bread warm from the oven, with butter and/or jelly is going to taste pretty darn good. And disappear pretty fast. That is a good feeling.

[Grubby]

I made up a new batch of starter. This time it looks 'right'!

 

It's going to work this time I know it!

[quiltys41]

How's the new starter coming along Grubby?

 

Q

[ArmyOfFive4God]

I have to bow out of this til spring. I'd forgotten how cold this house gets. *sigh*