Anyone make Sourdough Bread?

Pollybear

I've never made it, but there's a thread here :

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/93802

zippychick

ive merged your thread with the one Pollybear linked to so you can get other advice

Zip

Bella56

Any wrote: »

I would love to be able to bake sour dough bread.

Never tried it before. I bake a bread in my bread maker though (only according to breadmakers own recipe book).

Can I bake sour dough, or just prepare the dough in my breadmaker? (it does have setting for kneading only). It would be great if I could, as I've never really kneadled (sp?) a bread dough before!!

Anyone has really easy recipe? For very beginners?

Thank you

Hi Any,

Your library might have Andrew Whitley's book "Bread Matters", which explains sourdough really well. He dispels alot of myths about sourdough, such as having to "refresh" it, and I've found sourdoughs so, so easy to make. Once you've made the starter (takes 4 days of it bubbling away somewhere warm, adding flour and water each day) you only have to add flour and water to the starter the night before you bake. The next day you add more flour, knead for 10 minutes (not nearly as hard as it sounds and I always skip a few minutes then set aside for 2-3 hours. Then bake 40 minutes. So, although it takes a long time from start to finish, almost none of that time is actually putting in effort, just leaving it to get on.

Hope it goes really well and do let us know how it goes!
Bella

janeawej

I know Im being daft but I cant find the thread for sourdough starter! Could someone point me in the right direction please. :beer:

valentina

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/93802

Is it this one?

Pink.

Hi janeawej,

I have added your thread to the one that valentina suggested so that you will be able to find it easily next time.

Pink

arkonite_babe

Mr_Proctalgia wrote: »

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.

This one is currently in the resting stage. My first ever sourdough after nurturing my starter for approx 2 weeks!

Hope it turns out ok

GetRealBabe

Hi

Just reminded me I need to check my starter.

organic_wanabe

I would really appreciate some advice. I have been on holiday for a week and nearby there was a superb bakery. I fell in love with the sourdough that they made and so, yesterday, asked if they would give me some sourdough starter to bring home. They put some in a largish plastic tub and I put it in the boot of the car for our 7 hour journey and then shoved it into the fridge. I took it out this morning thinking I would try to make a loaf this afternoon. However, when I look at it, I am not exactly sure what to do with it. It is sort of putty like and looks thicker than the starters that I have seen pictures of on the internet. Also, there are no bubbles on the surface. I read somewhere 'To revive the leaven, carefully take 1 or 2 tsp of the grey putty-like leaven and stir into a fresh quantity of 100g water/100g flour and leave at room temperature for 24 hours'. Is this what I should do? I had assumed that the baker had given me what he actually uses as his starter, so I had planned to use a cup of it and then feed it with more flour and water but now I am thoroughly confused.

Is there a difference between a starter and a leaven?

Help please !!!

Penelope_Penguin

organic_wanabe wrote: »

'To revive the leaven, carefully take 1 or 2 tsp of the grey putty-like leaven and stir into a fresh quantity of 100g water/100g flour and leave at room temperature for 24 hours'. Is this what I should do?

Yes This should then come to life over the next day or two, then you can use some of that to start you batch of bread.

Let us know how it turns out :T