Skip to main content

Sourdough Starter, Day 1

So I made my starter after dinner. What I like about Everything Bread is that it gets really detailed, even with long-term recipes like a sourdough starter: Mix this, do this on the next that many days, take out so much and use it for pancakes or something ... she's really good. With something I've never done before, that style of writing gives me a lot of confidence.

This isn't, strictly, a "make it from scratch" one that kind of waits to pick up whatever yeast spores might be floating in the air. I used a cup of flour, a cup of water, and an eighth of a teaspoon of baking yeast. It looks bland now:
Sourdough Starter, First Day
but I'm sure over the next week we'll see interesting developments!

Herself is a bit skeptical, but willing to let me work with this as long as (a) it doesn't get in the way (it won't) and (b) the cats won't get into it (ha!). She's going to love the rye bread. So am I, I hope.

I got a promise from my mom this evening - she's going to send me recipes for barm breac (she's Irish, after all), crescent rolls (one of her specialties), and Sally Lunn (my favorite). I promise, as soon as I get the recipes they will be published here.

God speed, and remember, All sorrows are less with bread.
Labels:

Comments

  1. DanJune 29, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    From what I've seen online and from what I've seen personally you're not really picking up spores "from the air" although that is the popular explanation. The recipe I followed called for equal amounts (by weight) of flour and water, and covering the container with plastic wrap (nothing coming in from the air). A couple of hours after a second mixing the starter exploded with bubbles. The explanation I've seen from different sources that makes the most sense to me is that you're cultivating the wee beasties in the flour itself. Now, again I don't know how much truth there is to it (not a biologist and don't play one on tv) but I've also read that using yeast to kick off a starter is pretty much a non-starter (pun intended) because the critters in the flour will eventually overrun the yeast that you put in.

    Oh, don't ask what happened to my starter. It was doing just fine but this wasn't a good week to be starting an experiment. I'll try again when things simmer down a bit.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Consistency Of Coarse Meal

I decided to make biscuits this afternoon, and as I was following the recipe, I saw that I needed to mix flour, salt, and baking powder, then cut in shortening (butter is better than mar but marge is what we had). The recipe said to cut the shortening in "to the consistency of coarse meal." Now what the heck is that supposed to mean? I mean, I know what (for example) corn meal looks like; but does the casual baker? How are they supposed to know? It means this. Not that you'd go far wrong with these biscuits, anyway. I mean, it's the Pillsbury cookbook. The only problem I had is that, at some time in the past, I put a note in to myself to use 3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder instead of the recipe's 2. Well, I'm marking that back down. These are edible, but definitely taste of baking powder. Oh well, live and relearn, I guess. The finished product. Yum! Godspeed, and remember, All things are better with bread .
Post a Comment
Read more

Quick Bread Is Not So Quick

I decided I didn't have the time late tonight to do a rising bread, and then spent about an hour looking for a recipe for Irish soda bread, before Herself reminded me that we had got one from a family friend. I'll comment on how I did in the recipe itself. Irish Soda Bread 4 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt ½ cup raisins (optional – I don't use them) 1½ cup buttermilk (see below) Okay, so first of all, about the buttermilk. I knew we had some. What I didn't realize was that it was about three weeks past date. So I opened it up to smell it. It smelled fine, but it was the consistency of yogurt—and smelled a bit like yogurt, too. It wouldn't pour out of the container, either; so I added about half a cup of regular milk just to get it liquid again. It seemed to work, and it looked and smelled fine. Now, on to the instructions: Mix all ingredients and knead into a ball. Hmm. That doesn't look much like a ball. Let's try a bit more milk?...
Post a Comment
Read more

In Sickness and in Health - Sourdough Day 2

Well, I would have posted something last night, but I was feeling pretty ill, and Herself ... let's say gently suggested ... that I call it a night. Today I'm staying home, so here's yesterday's entry. Everything Bread says, "Stir [the sourdough starter] once a day for the next three days." So yesterday, I stirred it the once. It was bubbly and gloppy, just what it's supposed to be. I came out to check on it this morning and saw this: Or in close-up: Which I think is exactly how it's supposed to look at that stage. So I'm happy. (Note: I hope the picture quality is improved; I'm taking pictures with the actual camera rather than with my phone camera.) We're just about out of sandwich bread (the Amish White from Everything Bread ). But on the other hand if I had made two loaves, one would be hanging around forever in the freezer. I just go ahead and make it every week anyway. I might make the biscuits again as well, or maybe use my...
1 comment
Read more