Starting A Starter. On this page we talk about how sourdough starters work, and what you're doing when you start a sourdough starter. If you're in too much of hurry to read this and want to just make a starter, there are links to three tried and true methods of starting starters on the left and bottom of this page. This is the most hit upon page at our site. A lot of people think if they can just start a good starter, they'll have mastered the art of sourdough.
And if you look for sourdough starters on Google, chances are good that you'll wind up here. I cannot over-emphasize that the best way to get started in sourdough is with a known good starter. If you don't have any baking experience, I suggest you get some before you start down the sourdough path. If you are a sourdough beginner, I strongly encourage you to get a known good starter. While I strongly encourage sourdough beginners to get a known good starter, sooner or later, most sourdough fans want to start their own starter. Sourdoughbaker.com.au. Sourdough - benefits, catching and care, recipes. Why Sourdough? Commercial "baking" yeast is a single kind of organism that belches a lot of gas really fast and transforms grain into something that's even less good for you. Sourdough is two organisms, wild yeast and bacteria, in symbiosis. Together they transform the grain to make it more healthful, more digestible, and also resistant to getting moldy or stale.
Many people with wheat allergies or "yeast" allergies have no problem eating real sourdough. And it's free! How Does It Work? With sourdough, you are keeping and feeding a population of friendly yeast and bacteria, called a "culture", or a "starter". What You Need Flour. Water. A Glass Jar to keep your sourdough in.
Bowls and Pans, depending on what you're making. An Oven or at least a stove. Catching Sourdough Some people have sourdough cultures that are more than 100 years old -- that is, they have been separated from nature for more than 100 years. So: flour, water, jar, wait a couple days, it turns sour. Bubbly Sourdough Recipes. How to make a sourdough starter. It's easy to make and use. - (Build 20100625223402) Making bread at home is incredibly rewarding. Nothing beats the aroma of a fresh loaf in the oven, and your family is sure to applaud any homemade bread making efforts. Homemade bread is almost always going to taste great; but to make really outstanding bread, you need to take a few steps to slow the bread making process down a bit; and sourdough baking is a great way to do this.
Today's baking products are all designed with speed and convenience in mind. Bread improvers, fast acting yeast, etc. Unfortunately, while these products will get a loaf of bread ready for the oven in record time, they also tend to result in a fairly bland and one dimensional loaf. Great bread has a chewy and dark crust, with a substantial inner sponge. Make your own sourdough bread and be astonished at what truly great bread can be. Bread making involves a biological reaction between the yeasts added and the sugars extracted from the wheat. Sourdough bread, is of course, sour. Sourdough starter culture Day 1 Day 2. Maintaining a 100% Hydration White Flour Starter. The following is a description of how I maintain my 100% hydration (1:1 flour:water by weight) starter. The term 100% hydration refers to the baker's percentage of water in the starter, i.e. the water in the starter is 100% of the weight of the flour in the starter.
This maintenance regime assumes that your starter is already healthy, fresh, and active. This is not what I would do to "start a starter", but rather it is the maintenance regime I follow to store, revive, and use my starter over time. The following characteristics are for a 100% hydration starter. The characteristics, signs of health, problems, and readiness for use are different for starters maintained at different hydration levels. Characteristics of my 100% hydration white flour starter: The weight of flour and water in the starter are equal. Characteristics of a recently fed, fresh, active 100% hydration starter: Characteristics of a 100% hydration starter that is not yet ready or is possibly unhealthy: Feeding Storage Revival.
Flour + Water = Starter. Ah, summer… corn on the cob, lazy reading in the hammock, and… sourdough starter, of course! I’ve been taking advantage of this warm weather to try raising some starters from scratch. I had done it before in a week-long class (in fact, that’s the starter I’ve been using for months), but we were able to keep our cultures at a constant 80 degrees F, and we added extra malt to jump-start the process. I wanted to see how it worked with just flour and water, in the warm but fluctuating room temperatures of my non-air-conditioned house in these beautiful early summer weeks in northern California. Success! Raising a starter seems to be something that is perceived as mysterious, complicated, or hard. But in my experience, it’s not; it just requires attention and patience. I did this a couple of times, once with rye and once with whole wheat flour. Ready to try it? Sourdough Starter from Scratch Ingredients: White flour (bread or all-purpose), preferably one that contains malted barley flour.
Wild Yeast. Norwich Sourdough Bread Recipe. I love baking all kinds of bread, but a basic sourdough loaf is an essential staple at our house. Good with everything from blue cheese to blueberry jam, and quite possibly even better unadorned, we always feel something is missing if there isn’t a loaf resting on the cutting board, ready for a quick snack or a hearty sandwich. I first tried this recipe, adapted from the Vermont Sourdough in Jeffrey Hamelman’s Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes, about a month ago. I loved it then, and have made it several more times since, to make sure the first time wasn’t just beginner’s luck.
Nope; this one is a real winner. It’s a plain, honest, not-too-sour sourdough with a touch of pumpernickel for depth of flavor. With a thin, crisp crust and soft but substantial crumb, this is now my go-to bread for everyday good eating, anytime, with anything. The original recipe calls for 125% hydration starter. Yield: 2 kg (four or five small, or two large, loaves) Time: Ingredients: Method: Northwest Sourdough. NorthWest Sourdough: Blog. Leftover mashed potatoes are a good thing when it comes to baking. I used potatoes and flax seeds to help keep the bread moist for a longer period of time. It really works. I also used the double hydration technique to obtain a nice spring and crumb with a lower protein all purpose flour. Here ya go… Continue reading Potato Flax Sourdough It’s that time of year for baking with pumpkin and squash! I bought a pumpkin squash, baked it, and made not only pumpkin muffins but some pumpkin bread, all in one sitting.
(By the way, I cheat and use any squash that has bright orange, mealy flesh, the kind that bakes up thick and creamy instead of watery and stringy) Continue reading Pumpkin Muffins and Walnut Pumpkin Bread For the third year in a row, the folks who put together Kneading Conference West, did a wonderful job. It was also great to see baking instructors from past conferences, Scott Mangold of Bread Farm, Continue reading Kneading Conference West 2013 The Bread of Love and Friendship. Northwest Sourdough :: Care. The Fresh Loaf | News & Information for Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts. Sourdough Companion | A community of bakers interested in naturally risen breads.
About us | Companion Bakery. Artisan Baker Association. Definition: Sourdough is wild yeast and bacteria fermented without the addition of commercial yeast. How to Make: Organisms necessary for sourdough are generally present naturally on the surface of grain and flour. Sourdough can be made by making a paste or dough of flour and water. The mixture can be left in a cup or other food vessell, either covered or partially covered (to prevent drying out).
Fermentation can occur within several days, though often this first activity does not contain long term sustainable yeast and bacteria. Preamble: Sometimes it takes several weeks to develop fermentation that is sustainable and contains suitable yeast and bacteria to successfully rise bread dough. Please see this blog for a good technique to make sourdough: Agricultural chemicals can reduce the quality and quantity of yeast and bacteria. Rye flour in particular is known for good fermentation properties. Beginners' blog - a starter, from scratch. Contents: What you will need Background Recipe Troubleshooting Looking after your starter Glossary References What you will need: White flour (preferably organic) Rye flour (preferably organic) Water (preferably filtered) A large clean jar or container (ideally transparent so that you can see what is happening) A spoon (to stir with) a little patience… Background Sourdough is the oldest form of leavened (or ‘risen’) bread.
Sourdough baking uses a technique akin to that earliest form of baking leavened bread. Established starters contain a mixture of yeast and bacteria. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The technique that I am going to use in this blog is one of the simplest of all. Starter Recipe The flour that I have used here is a combination of Kialla white unbleached organic flour and Wholegrain Milling organic rye I made this starter in the middle of a Melbourne winter, so it was reasonably slow to get going. Day 1: Stir, and set aside for 24 hours. Day 2 There won’t be much to see yet, but that’s OK. Day 3. Make Your Own Sourdough Starter. If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, you may want to try creating your own sourdough starter from scratch. Baking bread from scratch is satisfying in its own right, but when you’ve also had a hand in the creation of one of the most fundamental components, the leavening agent itself, you’ll feel an even greater satisfaction and connectedness to the process.
Are there kids in your house? This little science project is ideally suited to sharing with any children you can convince to join in. Culture their budding scientific minds while creating your own bread culture. This video outlines one simple method that worked for me the first time I tried it. In the video, I give credit for this technique to Peter Reinhart. As I mention in the video, the wild yeast spores and lactic-acid bacteria that give your starter its leaving properties are all around you. I’ve listed the ingredients and approximate steps here to save you the note taking. Step 1.