Anyone make Sourdough Bread?

I think I can help you here - I only make sourdough bread - and its scrumptious!

Starter (easy way) 11 Fl oz water
Strong Flour 9 oz
Sachet of Fast Acting yeast
Mix this lot in a LARGE wide bowl - It will rise for England - Then collapse! Cover it with a Tea Towel leave at room temp, mine took 4 days to react. Your results might vary. It will react like Vesuvious then settle down, give it a good whisk/stir every morning and wait till it has the consistency of double cream, it should smell pleasant and be a bit "sweet and sourish" You use this starter to make your bread, what happens is that the real yeast you have used to jump start the mix is used up and the natural yeast in the flour takes over, every time you use the starter you replish the mix with flour and water only and let it re-constitute back to the cream consistency, my starter is now 7 weeks old and I make 5 loaves a week out of it!

When you pour off some starter to bake you need to replenish it, so you need to replace like with like, the recipe I will give below uses 1 and a quarter cups from the breadmaker machine, so I put back a cup of flour ( and a ikkle bittie) and half a cup of water. stir it up (dont worry to much about lumps they will be assimilated) The trick is to watch the general consistency of the starter in the long term (expained in a minute)


Once you have a good starter you are ready to rock and roll. Here is my basic recipe (all taken using the bread maker 8 oz cup)

1 1/4 Cups sour dough starter (10 fl oz)
1/2 cup water (4 fl oz)
2 Table Spoon of oil
3 cups STRONG white flour (that is 1lb BTW)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon sugar


If working it by hand knead well - rest for 20 mins or so
Re- knead again give it a good work out and cut into two shapes as wished - lightly flour and allow to prove for about an hour and 10 mins ish.
Bake at Gas 6 for about 40 minutes or so.


Alternatively use the breadmaker and I use the wholemeal setting (long proving essential)

Nota Bene

The ingredients are very much as you find them, the consistency of your starter governs the amount of flour, you need to feel the mix, if its a bit sloppy them do not worry about adding a bit of flour, if dry add a little water, it is seat of your pants stuff - but you soon get the hang of it all. To make a traditional continental style Sour Rye Bread (The best IMHO) start off with the above mix and add only one table spoon of Rye Flour - The reason is that Rye actually destroys gluten and stops the bubbles forming, so.......start as I have stated then add the Rye as you knead the dough after the first rest (I use it to dust then stretch and fold the dough over the rye) You will like it I guarantee.

Hope this helps.