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. 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.
Making yogurt without using commercial yogurt or starter
I am happy to see that there has been a positive response to my posting about ant-yogurt. It actually seems like a plausible means of bacteria transference, more so than the cow stomach theory (which I am not saying is not true). I mean, the stomach and the udder, as far as I know (I am no zoologist, but feel confident about this claim), are not connected in a cow. So how would the "contamination" occur? I imagine something like this conversation on a farm way way WAY back in the day:"Hey Ma, daddy and Jose just butchered the cow and gave me this here cow stomach. It's naaasty. The ant approach, on the other hand, is much more logical. (Incidentally, "yogurt" is one of a tiny number of Turkish words that made it into English. I mean, it seems like it could happen pretty easily, some ants carrying the appropriate bacteria could easily find themselves in milk. "Hey Ma, I'm thiiiiirsty. Anyways.
Carl's Sourdough Starter - My hyperactive child
I recently sent away for some of Carl's sourdough starter after reading about it here. After having it awhile and using it I have a question that i am almost afraid to ask since most topics here relate to starters that won't start...'Carl' has been revived and I have been baking with it. I am keeping 'Carl' at room temp. and am having a heck of a time finding a feed schedule that lasts a full 12 hours. I began with a feeding routine of 10:37:50 = 75% hydration. I switched to 10:13:20 = 65% hydration. Today I dropped to 5:15:25 =60% hydration and still not making it to 12 hours.... I was leery of only using 5g of starter because I have read that is too little to use to keep a starter viable but I did it anyway and 'Carl' seems just fine... So, do I keep dropping the hydration level since that is the main thing I can control in this process.... I want to keep him on the counter rather than storing in the refrig. if I can....have some in there as a back up... Any ideas? Thanks
Fankhauser's Cheese Page
Here is an abbreviated (roughly) alphabetized table of recipes on this site. Note that some are homesteading recipes beyond cheese: Links? Here is a new page for beginning cheese makers which lists a series of cheese making projects starting with the simplest to the more challenging. I have been making cheese since the early 1970s when my wife, Jill and I began "homesteading" on a little farm in SW Ohio. Here are recipes for cheese and other fermented food products, and milk-related information pages, all alphabetical except for the first and newest additions. Alphabetical listing of Recipes and Topics. Links to other Cheesemaking sites, Discussion Groups, etc. Here are some links that I have participated in over the years. If you are interested in an email-based discussion group, try "Cheesemakers List - Artisansrus.com". I have purposely tried to develop recipes which use ingredients easily found locally in supermarkets. Send Email to:
EasyBreadBaking
Assignment: Yogurt Cheese!
Hi all!! Did you think we left you in the lurch with two semi-tough assignments (gouda & cheddar)? Not to worry. For those of you still a bit nervous about making your own cheese...and those who want to forge something between lengthy assignments, we promised we'd keep adding some quicker/beginner cheeses to the mix!! The books author, Karen Solomon, says "Yogurt cheese- sometimes called strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, or labneh- is a sharper alternative to cream cheese, but it has a similar consistency and thus can easily take its place atop bagels or toast, stirred into mashed potatoes, or plaing the starring role in cheesecake. Yogurt Cheeseadapted slightly from jam it, pickle it, cure it by Karen Solomon 1 (32-oz.) container plain yogurt Instructions: Line a large bowl with a clean, think cotton or linen towel, positioning the middle of the towel in the bottom of the bowl. You'll end up w/ ~12 oz. of whey in the bowl and a very thick, spreadable tangy cheese in the cloth.
Sourdough starter tips
How to take care of your sourdough starter Congratulations! You've just received a jar of King Arthur Flour's fresh sourdough starter . Your sourdough starter may look a little the worse for wear after its trip to your home. It may also have a sharp, astringent odor; this is normal. Here's your container of starter. 1) Add 1/4 cup lukewarm water to the starter in the container. 2) Add 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water and 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All- Purpose Flour (hereafter known simply as "flour"). 3) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature (about 70°F) for 8 to 12 hours. 4) After 8 to 12 hours, the starter will be bubbly. 5) Stir the starter, and discard about half. 6) The starter will be fairly thick, like pancake batter. 7) Cover the bowl, and let sit at room temperature for another 2 to 4 hours, till bubbly. 8) Stir the starter, and divide it in half; discard half, or give to a friend. 9) Feed the remaining half with 1/2 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup flour.
