Anyone make Sourdough Bread?

zippychick

ive mrged this with our sourdough thread

Zip

purpleivy

In order to keep the posts tidy.....will try and post in this thread first, so sorry to hi-jack it!

I've got a sachet of the above and mixed up per instructions yesterday. Went to give it the first of its daily feeds. Quite frankly it smells like baby vomit! I wasn't expecting it to be over pleasant but gently yeasty would have been nice.

I don't suppose anyone has used this product and would care to share their experiences?

Purple.

Rossy2692

purpleivy wrote: »

In order to keep the posts tidy.....will try and post in this thread first, so sorry to hi-jack it!

I've got a sachet of the above and mixed up per instructions yesterday. Went to give it the first of its daily feeds. Quite frankly it smells like baby vomit! I wasn't expecting it to be over pleasant but gently yeasty would have been nice.

I don't suppose anyone has used this product and would care to share their experiences?

Purple.

Stick with it!!! Honestly it may smell worse than that over the coming days but believe me it turns into a fragrant piece of wonder!!! Please stick at it!! I have yet to master the proving time for my starter, had him about 8 months now and only just really started using him, he lives in the fridge you see The problem i have is i have made 2 loaves now last week and both ended up in the bin, either couldnt get em out of the container or it overproved, i wont be beaten!!!

I now have a proving basket on order and i am gathering as much info as i can about the different recipes as the one i am using, the Fabulous baker brothers, just isnt working out for me.

Anyone with a recipe they want to share feel free

Also other recipes for use of the starter, cakes etc would be handy just sayin

Rossy2692

No takers for any recipe suggestions?

LittleBrownFrog

I use a combination of the starter recipe from the HFW family cook book, and the method from the Tassajara cookbook. I was making 'ok' bread in this way for a couple of years before we moved house. Since moving house in September, the bread is fabulous ... maybe the wild yeasts are different 1/4 mile down the road?!
Basically, my starter lives in a pot on the work top, and gets fed a tablespoon of flour each morning & enough water to make it look/feel right. The night before I want to bake, I make a 'sponge' with the contents of my starter crock (1-2 cups), 4 cups of flour & 3 of water (all measurements give or take a bit). Mix it all together really well, cover & leave overnight (I use a plastic plate to cover the bowl - easier to clean than a teatowel if the starter gets overexcited).
Next morning, I bail out a cupfull of the mixture & put it in the washed-out starter crock on the worktop, ready for next time. Then I add salt, oil & 5 or 6 cups of flour to the remainder, combine it into dough (usually by hand, sometimes in the Kenwood), shape it & let it rise before baking.

[Deleted User]

I have decided to awake my old sourdough starter. I always keep a bit in the fridge, as a backup as I don`t want to start from scratch again. This time it has been away for 6 months with no feeding at all. The original starter was grown about 8 years ago, just from wild yeasts in the air. I keep it in a small lock and lock box at the back of the fridge and I have just rinsed 3/4 with warm water. The remaining 1/4 has just been put back in the box and I will feed and water it later, I always keep some by long term, just in case I ever forget when making bread.

This time I am concentrating on bread in my dutch oven but will obviously have to feed and water over a few days first, until the starter gets lively again. I never get too precious with quantities and mostly just fold flour in on a tray, until I get the amount I want to bake. I add salt mixed in with the flour and olive oil on my hands and that is is

I always slash and mist before baking and used to use a peel with a great thick bakestone in my oven but tbh the dutch oven works best and is easiest now that we have a `silly` smaller double oven in this house

re proving baskets: I have two bannetons and they give a lovely rustic look but I find I have to go overboard with trays of water in the oven and steam, which I don`t do nearly so much with the dutch oven. Rye flour is best for coating the basket but I have always been aware of rye ergot, which is poisonous. I still use rye if I use the bannetons but am meticulous about cleaning afterwards, using a brush to get rid of every trace of rye left in the baskets

[Deleted User]

Looking after a sourdough starter does not need to be complicated

http://blog.bakerybits.co.uk/?p=231

there are some real enthusiasts on the net and they are on about all sorts of ratios, it is really offputting, esp to a newbie. I basically do what the link says as I just don`t waste my flour and there is no way that I need sourdough bread more than once a week

video, excellent tips
http://www.breadtopia.com/sourdough-starter-management/

7_week_wonder

Hi!
I'm just popping in to say a huge thanks to you, Kittie. A couple of summers ago you posted about how to make sourdough bread in the breadmaker - and I've been using (and tweaking!) your method ever since. I keep meaning to get adventurous and make some by hand, but for now I produce at least two loaves a week in the machine and am delighted that I have managed to keep my starter alive for at least 18 months.

I know you don't use the machine method any more - but I just wanted to say thanks for sharing it!

[Deleted User]

Thanks 7WW, hehe never say never. I have a new panny and still have the old recipe and am in process of getting my starter lively again. I am pleased to say that he didn`t die in spite of complete neglect for six months. I like the pot baked bread best but that takes time and I often cannot be arrised with the stretching etc so I`ll be popping it into the breadmaker too.

[Deleted User]

my `old` and neglected starter began to get too `yeasty` so I had to take drastic action. I used just 1 tsp of starter from the bottom of the pot and added to a mix of rye and white flours plus filtered water. That did the trick and now just two days later I once again have the starter I used to have. I will be dehydrating a bit of very active starter and then crumble and freeze in a ziplock bag. It is so important to me to keep the original going and I won`t be having any more `near misses` this way. Keeping 6 months in the fridge worked to a point but freezing is better. Details on a video in the link above

My starter is now in a 1.3 litre tall lock and lock box, with the silicone seal removed and it has plenty of growing room. I am expecting it to double in size rapidly at each feeding so it needs the space and the gases need to escape. I don`t waste anything so will make sourdough pancakes with what I remove

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/sourdough-pancakes-recipe

I shall be ready to make sourdough bread again from tomorrow