Anyone make Sourdough Bread?

Whitefiver

Yes Please - if you could give a bit more info. it would be great.

Since I made the original post, I have bought a Panasonic BM, which is fantastic. Also, the deli down the road that used to sell the sourdough (sometimes) is now an opticians! However, I would still like to have a go at a proper sourdough.

Regards,

White.

Mrs_Bear

Hi White,

I looked at all sorts of recipes on the web, and tried making them from a mix of flour and water and leaving it to ferment. Thing is, they require natural yeasts from the atmosphere... and maybe living on a windy hill in the North perhaps isn't the best place.

Afetr loads of experiments with so-so results, I then read about using fruits - the Italians make it by using grapes and I read of a Michelin starred chef who used apple cores. I got a bunch of organic (that's important, no pesticides) black grapes. Try and get seedless ones - I spent ages picking the seeds out of the dough.

I rinsed them and then slightly bashed them, so they were burst open but not totally crushed. I made a mix of strong breadmaking flour (Hovis premium seems to produce the best results) and water, to the thickness of perhaps double cream. I added the crushed grapes and left in a bowl, covered with clingfilm. By the next morning I could see the bubbles in the mix. I left it till that evening and then had to sieve out the grapes.

I put the mix in a colander, over a bowl and let it drip out. Messy business. Just chuck out what's left. The remaining semi liquid, I put in a bowl and added flour and a couple of teaspoons of fine salt and mixed until I got a dough. I don't have a breadmaker but my handmixer does have a dough hook which I used until it started coming together.

I reckon about ten minutes of kneading gets it to the smooth and silky stage. Careful with the flour - too much and it becomes too stiff and the resulting bread is VERY heavy.

Once you have your dough, pull off a lump and keep it - that is your starter from now on. Mine has been going for about six months now. I keep it in a bowl, covered, in the fridge. It will keep on fermenting , but very slowly.

The Poilane recipe I followed ages ago suggests leaving it wrapped in a flour dusted tea towel in a round shape for at least six hours. I have found that making it into a baton shape, dusting with flour and covering with clingfilm gets a good result. And also makes it easier to slice!

When you are ready to bake, put a baking tray into the oven (I put a small bowl of water on the bottom as well) and heat at 200 degrees for at least 20 minutes. Slash the top of the (by now) expanded dough and slide onto the baking tray. It is a good idea to spray the loaf with water (I use a plant spray) as you put it in.

Leave for about 15 minutes then decrease the heat to about 180. When it looks right, check it by tapping the bottom. It should sound hollow. Sometimes I turn it upside down to make sure the bottom isn't stodgy for the last 5 or so minutes.

Take it out and leave to cool for a while - it will still be cooking. Mind you I often sneak a piece while it is still warm!

Don't be discouraged if there are a lot of airholes in the finished bread - it just means the starter has got a bit lively. If it is expanding too much in the resting phase, knock it back, but that only usually happens if I have left the starter for five or more days without making another loaf.

Let me know how you get on - I'll be really pleased if this works for you. If you have any questions, just ask!

Good luck!

nick_b

Try this one. Dan Lepard rocks (IMHO)

Whitefiver

Many thanks Nick and Mrs Bear - I'm "tied up" (busy :rolleyes: ) this weekend, but I'll give it a go the next weekend!

Regards,

White.

(PS Sorry, the Thank You button seems to have disappeared!)

Mrs_Bear

Let me know how you get on!

Good luck and happy baking.

Mrs_Bear

Hi leonie,

I make sourdough bread all the time - I've tried the traditional way (waiting for the natural yeasts in the air to ferment the dough) but I found that the best bread has come from using an Italian sordough recipe - biga bread - using organic grapes. That's all, no yeast. sugar or milk.. just flour and water and a touch of salt.

I replied to whitefiver with the method I used...

"I looked at all sorts of recipes on the web, and tried making them from a mix of flour and water and leaving it to ferment. Thing is, they require natural yeasts from the atmosphere... and maybe living on a windy hill in the North perhaps isn't the best place.

Afetr loads of experiments with so-so results, I then read about using fruits - the Italians make it by using grapes and I read of a Michelin starred chef who used apple cores. I got a bunch of organic (that's important, no pesticides) black grapes. Try and get seedless ones - I spent ages picking the seeds out of the dough.

I rinsed them and then slightly bashed them, so they were burst open but not totally crushed. I made a mix of strong breadmaking flour (Hovis premium seems to produce the best results) and water, to the thickness of perhaps double cream. I added the crushed grapes and left in a bowl, covered with clingfilm. By the next morning I could see the bubbles in the mix. I left it till that evening and then had to sieve out the grapes.

I put the mix in a colander, over a bowl and let it drip out. Messy business. Just chuck out what's left. The remaining semi liquid, I put in a bowl and added flour and a couple of teaspoons of fine salt and mixed until I got a dough. I don't have a breadmaker but my handmixer does have a dough hook which I used until it started coming together.

I reckon about ten minutes of kneading gets it to the smooth and silky stage. Careful with the flour - too much and it becomes too stiff and the resulting bread is VERY heavy.

Once you have your dough, pull off a lump and keep it - that is your starter from now on. Mine has been going for about six months now. I keep it in a bowl, covered, in the fridge. It will keep on fermenting , but very slowly.

The Poilane recipe I followed ages ago suggests leaving it wrapped in a flour dusted tea towel in a round shape for at least six hours. I have found that making it into a baton shape, dusting with flour and covering with clingfilm gets a good result. And also makes it easier to slice!

When you are ready to bake, put a baking tray into the oven (I put a small bowl of water on the bottom as well) and heat at 200 degrees for at least 20 minutes. Slash the top of the (by now) expanded dough and slide onto the baking tray. It is a good idea to spray the loaf with water (I use a plant spray) as you put it in.

Leave for about 15 minutes then decrease the heat to about 180. When it looks right, check it by tapping the bottom. It should sound hollow. Sometimes I turn it upside down to make sure the bottom isn't stodgy for the last 5 or so minutes.

Take it out and leave to cool for a while - it will still be cooking. Mind you I often sneak a piece while it is still warm!

Don't be discouraged if there are a lot of airholes in the finished bread - it just means the starter has got a bit lively. If it is expanding too much in the resting phase, knock it back, but that only usually happens if I have left the starter for five or more days without making another loaf.

Let me know how you get on - I'll be really pleased if this works for you. If you have any questions, just ask!

Good luck!"

I forgot to mention that when you take the starter out and mix it with water to then add to the flour, the easiest way is to use one of those stick blenders if you have one.

If there's anyone in the North east then they are welcome to a bit of my starter - one peice is already doing the rounds in Sydney, Australia!

leonie_2

MrsBear that sounds brilliant! Thank you!

I really didnt want to use the starter I had because it was so stinky. Anyway I forgot to feed it so it died :-(

I will give yours a go. I have been having good results by making bread with traditional yeast and kefir and leaving it in the fridge over night. That way the flavour is only slightly sour.

I shall print off this thread so I have many good ideas:j

Whitefiver

Mrs_Bear wrote:

Let me know how you get on!

Good luck and happy baking.

Well, as promised, I am giving it a go this weekend. As luck would have it, our organic fruit box had some lovely grapes yesterday and the starter I prepared last night is beginning to bubble. I use Carrs breadmaker flour usually, but am going to try a bit of Rye in the mix too.

Looks like I shall be ready for stage 2 of the process this evening. Wish me luck, and thanks for your advice!

I'll report back when baking over, but just a quick further Q - how do you "re-juvenate" your retained starter from the fridge?

Regards,

White.

Mrs_Bear

Hi White,

Glad you are making the bread.

As to the starter - when you get it out of the fridge, it's easiest to mix it using a stick blender with some warm water - not much, about a cup or so. It goes to the consistency of single cream. I then put it in a bowl with the salt and start adding flour to make the dough. That's all there is to it! Oh, and I usually let the starter get to room temperature first. I have even taken it out of the fridge and then got caught up with other things and made it the next day, with no bad effect, though it might be a bit lively in the proving stage. That's about the only times I have to knock it back.

Hope it works out well for you - I made a lovely loaf this weekend that only lasted half an hour as people kept pinching a slice!

Whitefiver

Hi,

Thanks for the advice.

I was successful in getting a decent fermentation, but conscious of the warnings not to make the dough too stiff, I think I erred on the wet side - I also found it a bit difficult to judge quantities.

However, I did succeed in my quest to make my own sourdough bread, and it does taste lovely. Makes excellent toast too.

The structure obviously wasn't quite as good as shop bought, but I shall make some more at the weekend. I believe that each starter tend to develop its own character - we shall see.

Seems like organic grapes is the way to go to get a decent starter - lets hope I can revive it after a week in the frdge!

Regards,

White.