Sourdough starter

[happystuff]

Well, I am trying again! I have a jar of flour and water sitting on my shelf in the kitchen. I'll let you know in about a week if I get a decent loaf of bread out of it.

Wish me luck! :)

[Rosemary]

Good luck! I've tried sourdough at least 5 times and always end up deciding it's too much work for me. I prefer to use an aged sponge, and use it all in the bread recipe, rather than try to keep it going.

[Hattie]

Good Luck!! I have tried so many times, but like Rosemary, it is just too much work. I have heard of families with starters that are a decades old! Mine usually goes skanky after a few months. I think unless you use it faithfully every few days, it will go off. I have even tried air drying it and then crushing it and storing in a sealed jar until I need some. That works sometimes, but usually it goes moldy while it is air drying. Let us know how you make out!!!

[Brian]

It has been years but my first exp's as teen ended in "sour" or DOA starter. Then on second old starter gift attempt... it took off and it still lives in the family. Hmm well maybe lives like little turtles in childhood... there is still a couple of starters in fridges of family.

[Hattie]

there is still a couple of starters in fridges of family.

I'm curious - don't you find it goes moldy if you don't keep "feeding" it on a regular basis?

[daisy]

I sent for the Carl Griffith's sourdough starter (again) this past fall and I have become a sourdough maniac! I now have a white flour starter going and a rye starter going. The rye is really aggressive and would probably achieve world domination if I didn't keep it in the refrigerator. I've already gotten one friend hooked on it and I'm about to give the starter to 2 more people.

[Brian]

Absolutely the starter needs to be fed and used at least once a week or it gets thin and acidic, though it usually can be saved. In the family the starter tends to get shifted around with DM as the gate keeper, based on where we are in our lives.
DM used to have a yeast "muffin" starter that was GREAT but that was years ago... the real treat was taking a scoop out of the container and into Pyrex fruit cup then microwave... more a steamed pudding than muffin it was never the less a study treat and quick. It did not live too long, as we were eating far too many muffins in DM's eyes. In typical DM B.F, Skinner style they were not taken away but raisins and brown sugar ratio became scarce while the oat bran content zoomed... we were conditioned off and back to carrot sticks. :)

[happystuff]

Was looking pretty good at this morning's feeding! Maybe another day or two and I'll try some bread!

[Reyes]

I've had my starter going for years. I make sourdough on almost a weekly basis so it gets fed often.

[happystuff]

Have my first dough rising right now and the remaining start is in the fridge. I'm optomistic!

[happystuff]

Okay, so it didnt' rise at all. I think my frugal sourdough is clashing with my frugal lower heat. I'm thinking our house is a tad bit too cool. BUT... I am going to continue to feed and nurish my starter - which will hopefully get stronger - and I'll use the dough I make from it for tortillas! I figure I'll end up with a good loaf by spring - LOL!

Thanks for all the support!

[Hattie]

Have you tried placing it in the oven? Leave the oven turned OFF and put a pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven. Place the dough on the rack above the pan of hot water and put a dish towel over the dough. The heat and moist atmosphere you have now created in the oven make a perfect rising environment for the dough and no need to turn up the heat in your house. *S* I use this method all the time when I make bread from scratch.

[happystuff]

I'll try that. Thanks!

[puglogic]

Good luck happystuff. I'm on a new batch of starter (about 3 mos old) given to me by a friend. She lives in the fridge and comes out to eat once a week. Her name is Bubbles. (my starters are always named, and always named Bubbles)

Yeah, I know. I'm a sourdough freak. But whenever I make Sandor Katz's sourdough pancakes, it makes it all worth it. Blissful.

[happystuff]

puglogic - where can I find that pancake recipe?? TIA!

[puglogic]

Sandor Katz has a great book called "Wild Fermentation" with lots of recipes involving live culture foods, from sourdough to hard cider to sauerkraut to tempeh to kimchi, and on and on. The pancake recipe is in there and it's amazing.....like eating raised doughnuts flattened into pancake shape, or something equally yum. I think it's also around on the web - look for his name and Alaskan Frontier Sourdough Hotcakes. But really, this book is great to have on your shelf.

[happystuff]

Thanks!

[Simplicity]

I've started my starter. Now, about how many days does it need to ferment? 4 or 5 maybe?

Does anyone have a good recipe for sourdough bread? Most of the ones I find online are either really complicated or they use yeast.

[daisy]

Simplicity,

This is the basic recipe I started with and still use most of the time. http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm Most of the time I omit the olive oil and replace it with water, just because I've found it doesn't make much of a difference.

If you bake it as instructed, it yields a pale San Francisco type sourdough loaf. You can also play with it by baking hotter, with or without steam, letting it rise in the refrigerator (for a more sour flavor), etc. Sourdough experimentation is a lot of fun!

[Simplicity]

Cool! Thanks Daisy! :)

OK so I have my first attempt rising right now. Hopefully it WILL rise - not sure if the starter was at its peak or not. Will find out in a few hours I guess.

So now my next question is: I took out a cup of the starter, so I fed it a cup. Now do i let that grow for a few days or put it in the fridge right now?

[daisy]

Good luck with your first loaf!

I stir the fresh flour/water into mine and let it sit out for an hour or so, then refrigerate it. I'm not sure if that's really necessary, but it's become my habit.

I haven't baked bread in a couple weeks, so I'm feeding my starter now. The power of suggestion was too much to resist! :D

[Simplicity]

Well it's looking like my starter wasn't at the right point when I decided to use it. My bread has been "raising" forever, but it really hasn't raised much. I think my first try is a fail. I'm determined, though, so I will just try again.

[happystuff]

Haven't been online for a while and thought this thread would be dead - very cool that it is not!

My starter is ALIVE!!! LOL. I've been making edible bread about once a week, so I'm considering this all a success. I've actually been using the recipe and method in The Tightwad Gazette, and I've cooked my last two batches in my Pullman Pan! So I have a regular shape and size loaf of bread for school sandwiches, etc.

Simplicity, I'll confess that my dough does not seem to rise much at all during the two rising periods, BUT... it does eventually rise in the oven during cooking. I'm thinking it is still my temps here and am hoping that, come warmer weather, I'll see clear evidence of pre-cooking rising. Hang in there and continued good luck!!!

[happystuff]

Wanted to do an update on my starter. It's been going well! In fact, we are having homemade pizzas with sourdough crust for dinner tonight. There were 1 or 2 occasions where I almost lost it (didn't use it or feed it for a little too long...), but it bounced right back and is fine.

Just thought I would post an update. :-)

[treehugger]

Glad this got bumped up since I didn't see it the first time.

I started a starter in July, following the method in Tartine Bread. It's just equal parts of a 50/50 mix of white and whole wheat flour and water. Once it got going, I store it in the fridge and make the most delicious sourdough I have ever had every few weeks. I am really having fun with it. It feels so satisfying and so productive to get bread out of a starter I made myself.

I have also made sourdough pancakes (using a King Arthur Flour recipe) with "Tartine" but have yet to try making pizza dough with it (I love the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes olive oil dough for that).

Kara