Anyone make Sourdough Bread?

Fivenations

Dan Lepard has a great website with an active and helpful forum http://www.danlepard.com/forum/. Great thing about this site is that Dan actually responds to question and is very generous with his recipes, probably in the hope that you will feel guilty and go out and buy his books!

I've had a starter made from his recipe going for over a year. It worked first time and I second the oponion that it gets better as you go along.

To revive the starter I follow Dan's advice "To revive the leaven: Carefully take 1 or 2 tsp of the grey putty-like leaven from the bottom of the stored jar, and stir this into a fresh quantity of 100g (100%) water and 100g (100%) flour. Leave at room temperature for 24 hours, then remove 3/4 and refresh in equal quantities. Leave another 24 hours, by which time the mixture should have fermented again. For the next refreshment add sufficient fresh flour and water to make enough leaven for your baking. Stir well, cover for 24 hours, and use in baking the following day."

A bit of advice - If you decide to prove your bread in teatowels you will need to get hold of some rye flour which needs to be rubbed in to the towels to prevent the dough sticking. Nothing else seems to work as I found out. I tend to make my loaves in tins as it makes it easier to cut for sandwiches.

Recently I have started adding sourdough to my breadmaker and playing around with the timing since this type of leaven is much slower acting. It's not as good as hand made bread but still better than shop bought.

[Deleted User]

oh that IS a good website. I am getting very enthusiastic again. There really is no taste as good as home made sourdough bread. I found this site on the dl forum

http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?act=ST&f=108&t=27634&

wigglebeena

OMG, sourdough bread, so easy, I used to make it all the time (when I was a student with time on my hands. Studying, what is that anyway?).

You don't need to keep and re-use the same starter, complete myth. All you need is a WHOLEMEAL flour (any white flour will not support life adequately due to having practically no nutrients). Doesn't have to be wheat: brown rice flour, rolled oats, maize meal, barley flour, i've found them all fine. I would be wary of rye due to all the warnings about dodgy fungi which infest it).

Mix a couple of tablespoonfuls into a cup of water and leave with a clean tablecloth over it for a couple of days. Will ferment, (you can tell when it looks frothy on top), add to a whole lot of flour and enough water plus a pinch of salt to make a dough. Leave to rise for 12-24 hours, then bake at 200 degrees C for one hour.

Used to work a treat for me, super cheap too. Rose beautifully.

wigglebeena

Tablecloth!1111LOL!!!

Obviously I meant teatowel...

wigglebeena

Oh, and I forgot the kneading too! Give it a good hammering, folding over, capturing air into the dough, but no nonsense about 'knocking down' and re-rising.

npsmama

I've discovered (with great joy!!) that sourdough works great by NOT kneading it.
I mix 1cup starter, 1.5cup water, 1 1/4ts salt and 3 cups flour. I leave it 18hrs or so, fold the dough twice. Place a covered casserole dish in the oven and preheat the oven to the highest setting. When as hot as possible, tip dough into pot. Bake covered for 30min. Remove lid, bake 30min more.

:j

[Deleted User]

I used to make sourdough bread many moons ago but I have decided to start again because this yeast bread that I make every other day just does not have the same, satisfying, wonderful taste

I started the starter on saturday in a plastic bowl. Just (in my case) bacheldre strong white flour, water and a few bashed red organic grapes. I read Dan Lepard`s book that night (has been at the back of my bookshelf) and bought a kilner jar on sunday, so I can see the bubbles come up. Kilner jar with rubber ring off and closed

I decided to add a few organic raisins and a couple of teaspoons of live yoghurt last night and some more flour and water. It is going great guns and there are like mini volcanoes rising up through the leaven. I rushed out to get some rye flour this morning and popped some in and some more warm water. The rye gives a lovely sour flavour and I want the yeasts to get used to fermenting it

Well I can`t believe how quickly it is working. Tomorrow night, I`ll strain it and and get rid of 4/5ths and I`ll feed it with 100g water and 125g flour. I`ll keep doing the last bit(not the straining) for 8 more days or so by which time I`ll have a sharply flavoured leaven, I hope

In the meantime I have found some proving baskets called bannetons and and ordered some because last time the dough tried to crawl sideways. You can also use a linen tea towel in a colandar but I know I`m a consistent breadmaker so the investment in the bannetons is worth while

I am just waiting to get the feeling back re handling this live thing in my cupboard

npsmama

How exciting Kittie!

Dan Lepard's book is great.

Where did you get the bannetons?

[Deleted User]

I am finding it exciting!!

Bannetons are incredibly difficult to find in the uk

This site is a bit odd but they received my order and are just about to post them to me
https://www.manufactum.co.uk/product/838298/group/173833/dmc_mb3_search_pi1.pos/1/track_flash/0/Product_Details.2700.0.html

dannahaz

You can get bannetons from Amazon £3.30 plus delivery

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Faringdon-Collection-Bakers-Pride-French/dp/B0000BVFCG/sr=8-2/qid=1169472064/ref=sr_1_2/203-5430625-4287126?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen

Edited to add: Sorry, these are french bread bannetons.

If you don't have a bread proving basket then you can used a colander lined with a tea towel, dusted with flour.