Anyone make Sourdough Bread?

[Deleted User]

well I`m waiting for this baby starter of mine to reproduce. It doesn`t help that the weather is cold this week so I`m nurturing the jar of starter like I would a new born baby. It is fed this afternoon after taking 1/5 of the original mix and it is thicker and has more substance. I am standing it on a radiator cover at the moment as the temperature there is a nice constant gentle warmth. I think it is going to take quite a few more days to get enough oomph to rise my bread

I can`t wait for the bannetons to arrive and I`m getting my dh to cut some of his mounting card for me so I can have a temporary peel.

Tomorrow I`ll be looking around b and q etc to see if I can find some unglazed quarry tiles to use as a baking stone

Just got to wait for this baby to arrive first

[Deleted User]

I`m getting really addicted to making this sourdough. My starter took off all of a sudden and the cane bannetons arrived. I have limited cool storage and an excess of spelt flour so I got into make-do and mend mode.

I made some bread with wholemeal and spelt. I split it to use 2 bannetons and I baked it using a pizzastone and steam and it was absolutely fine. I would have done better if I hadn`t split the dough but I was a bit worried about it coming over the top of the banneton and that is why I used two

For a peel I used a piece of card and for ease of transfer I used a piece of baking parchment. The pizzastone is too thin so I bit the bullet and ordered a 3 cm thick stone plus a peel. The slash I made was pathetic as the razor sunk into the holder I made, so I have ordered a lame from a sourdough site in aus. It is too scary making a good slash when the razor blade is exposed so the lame is worth it as the slash lets the dough whoosh up

I worried about accidentally using all the starter in a bread so I have put some white starter to sleep in a lock n lock at the back of the fridge. I also started feeding a bit of starter with rye flour so I can have a rye starter to hand and that one will also be put to sleep

I am making a mill loaf at the moment, recipe from Dan Lepard`s book. I am making half the quantity. So far so good and it is an easy dough to handle. I can`t wait to make an all white loaf but need to use up more wholemeal in order to make a bit of space. I have ordered some flour from shiptom mill for the first time

Well I am well and truly away and I `m wondering where I got the enthusiasm from but I remembered that my uncle owned a small bakery in Holland and my grandfather, who I never met, owned a bakery as well. So it is all in the genes. How earthy is that!!

Before I forget. I have wheat grain soaking to make the ground malt. All easy for me as I sprout seeds daily anyway. Back to my loaf, it needs a quick knead

[Deleted User]

I`m about to cook my fourth loaf in an hour and the stone is heating up nicely while I`m baking a madeira cake. This sourdough bread is amazingly good my dh keeps giving pieces away so my starter is on the go all the time.

It`s so easy now I`ve got going and I`m finding that I get a good 1kg loaf from 200g starter, 325g water and 500g flour :j

ShauntheSheep

I've been trying for a couple of weeks to get a starter going, but I'm not getting any fermentation. I've followed different methods on this forum and also Dan Lepard's website, but still no luck. Is there any successful baker out there who'd be prepared to post me a bit of their starter? Or any other suggestions. Thanks for your help.

Crispy_Ambulance

Has anyone got a good recipe for making their own sourdough starter? Or has anybody bought a good one?

Crispy_Ambulance

*bump*

Bueller?

Anyone? Anyone?

Gingernutmeg

I've tried a few times and there are some good recipes in 'Country Bread' by Linda Collister and Anthony Blake. It has a whole section on sourdoughs and starters. I don't have them, but I've heard that Dan Lepard's books (Baker and Spice) are very good for sourdoughs, and are good baking books generally.

Tbh I've never had much luck with the starters though, mine seem to go 'off' rather than go 'sour', they're very tempermental ... maybe I'm just too lazy to keep it going though lol. I have heard about buying in the starters, and apparently they do work well, if you're willing and able to keep them going.

Must have another go, because when they DO work you get the nicest crust you'll ever get from bread baked in a domestic oven, and the bread lasts really well

pinksleepybear

I've just started one at the weekend. It isn't yeasty yet, but it's only been 3 days now. I'm following this recipe by the crazy fundamentalist lady,
http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-make-ultimate-amazing-bread.html

She says it takes a week, so I'm feeling quite upbeat about it so far.

If it doesn't work, I'm planning to ask on Freecycle for a starter. I live in a very middle-class hippy area, so I'm sure lots of my neighbours will have some.

nick_b

I got this off the BBC website a while ago when they featured Dan Lepard on Women's Hour. It works, although I don't think the raisins and yoghurt are really necessary.

Leavened Bread
Making the leaven

Here is a recipe, or perhaps more correctly, a set of ingredients and steps that will promote fermentation in a leaven of flour and water. Though fermentation will occur simply with flour and water, I have added a few other ingredients that I like and have grown accustomed to. Recently, I have tried making the leaven from the start solely with organic rye flour (using slightly less that the suggested white flour amounts) and water, but following the schedule given below. It worked a treat. But here is the one I've become fond of.

Day 1
50g water
2 tsp rye flour
2 tsp strong white flour
2 tsp currants or raisins
2 tsp live lowfat yoghurt

Mix all of the ingredients in a small kilner jar. Cover and leave at room temperature (20C) for 24 hours

Day 2
50g water
2 tsp rye flour
2 tsp strong white flour

By this stage there will be no perceptible change, though some yeasts will have already multiplied. The surface will look shiny as the solids separate from the water and sink down in the jar. Stir the above ingredients into the leaven, starting with the water, followed by the dry ingredients. Cover and leave again for 24 hours.

Day 3
100g water
4 tsp strong white flour
4 tsp rye flour

By this time the raisins (or currants) will have started to break down and you will notice a coffee coloured ring around them as they sit in the mixture. Also, there will be the odd pin hole of fermentation on the surface. Add the water, stir well to combine, then add the flour and stir again. The mixture will look frothy, but this is simply from the stirring. Nearly there.

Day 4
100g water 80%
125g strong white flour 100%

By this time there should be the froth of fermentation beginning, though only the vaguest hint of acidity in the aroma. Remove 3/4 of the mixture, and throw away. Add the water and stir well. Next, pour the mixture through a tea strainer to remove the raisins (or currants), then put the strained liquid back into the kilner jar. Add the flour and stir again. Cover and leave another 24 hours.

Day 5
100g water 80%
125g strong white flour 100%

The fermentation should be clearly evident, and the aroma starting to become acid. You can first notice this the moment you remove the lid from the jar, though it disappears quickly. Remove 3/4 and throw away. Add the water and stir well so that the mixture has thinned evenly. Stir in the flour so that you have a thick paste. I prefer to keep the refreshment slightly heavier on flour than water, as this slows the fermentation and stops the leaven rising and falling too quickly. Cover and leave another 24 hours.

Day 6 onwards
Take the lid off the jar, and you will see the mixture bubbling. Each day as you continue to remove leaven for baking, replacing it with an equivalent amount of flour and water, the aroma will become stronger and more sharply acidic.

To store the leaven for use: If used regularly, some bakers keep it at room (or bakery) temperature, others keep it chilled at 12c - 15C. Regular refreshment, for at least 2 days prior to baking, is needed to keep the leaven active and in prime condition.

To store for use another time: To store it without using for longer periods, which will force some of the yeast cells to remain dormant and some to die, leave the leaven covered and undisturbed at the back of the refrigerator (at 4C). As it sits unrefreshed, the leaven will separate into a dark coffee-coloured liquid, which sit on top, and a solid grey mixture that will lie in the bottom of the jar.

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.

Reproduced by kind permission of Dan Lepard from his book, “The Handmade Loaf”, published by Mitchell Beazley, ISBN: 1840009667

empy

Evening all. I wonder if you wonderful peeps can help me. I really want to have a go at making sourdough bread and have few questions.

To make the starter can I use wholemeal flour? Does anybody have a foolproof recipe for a starter and bread?

I have done a search but have been unable to find anything!

Any help would be most appreciated.

empy