Sour dough starter ?
07-02-2020, 03:52 AM
#11
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Gaylord, MN
Posts: 3,938
I recently was given a zip lock bag with Amish starter in it. The instructions said to squish the bag on certain days so the bag worked for that. The end result was either a light colored sweet bread or a chocolate flavored sweet bread. Both are very good but I prefer the chocolate version.
07-02-2020, 05:04 AM
#12
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,053
Karamarie, the Amish starter is also called a Herman, it's what I most recently kept going for about 3 years.
There are multiple things you can make other than the friendship bread, but be warned that the rolls and such are so much better the day they are made. Sort of like home made donuts, eat hot and fresh and don't save.
Here's a bunch of recipes:
https://www.yummly.com/recipes/herma...dough?prm-v1=1
I usually go to cooks.com
https://www.cooks.com/rec/search?q=herman
There are multiple things you can make other than the friendship bread, but be warned that the rolls and such are so much better the day they are made. Sort of like home made donuts, eat hot and fresh and don't save.
Here's a bunch of recipes:
https://www.yummly.com/recipes/herma...dough?prm-v1=1
I usually go to cooks.com
https://www.cooks.com/rec/search?q=herman
07-02-2020, 11:48 AM
#13
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Mendocino Coast, CA
Posts: 4,827
I just used, "pure water," as a general term. Personally, I have natural, spring water at my house and so I just use that. It does not have any additives in it and comes straight from the ground. Well water is probably fine too, provided it doesn't smell sulfury, or have any unwanted elements in it. I would not use regular tap water because of the added chemicals. If that's what one has, then I would buy some purified, bottled water for the project.
I've been making and keeping starters for ever and I haven't really measured anything in ages, so please note that these are just estimates:
1 1/2 Cups of white flour
1 1/2 cups of water
1/8 teaspoon white sugar
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly and put in a 1 qt. mason jar. The starter should have the consistency of thick pancake batter. Adjust the amount of water and flour if it does not. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm area of the kitchen, (around 70-78 degrees F.) Let sit covered, for a few days, stirring once, or twice a day. After 5, or 6 days, you should start seeing bubbles forming in the starter. This means that the yeast has moved in and started growing and reproducing. If not, stir in another 1/8 teaspoon of sugar and wait to see if there are any bubbles. If there's still no foam action, or you see blueish green mold growing on it, then I would throw it out and start over. If there are bubbles forming then put a lid on your jar and move the starter to the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. The more it is used the better it will get.
*Note, some recipes will call for some regular, baking yeast to be added to the flour/water mixture. That's OK too, but then, you will not have the local, wild yeasts dominating your starter. (After all, that is what the San Francisco sourdough is so famous for. It is their local yeasts, among a few other things, that give the bread its unique taste and texture.)
Good luck!
~ C
I've been making and keeping starters for ever and I haven't really measured anything in ages, so please note that these are just estimates:
1 1/2 Cups of white flour
1 1/2 cups of water
1/8 teaspoon white sugar
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly and put in a 1 qt. mason jar. The starter should have the consistency of thick pancake batter. Adjust the amount of water and flour if it does not. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm area of the kitchen, (around 70-78 degrees F.) Let sit covered, for a few days, stirring once, or twice a day. After 5, or 6 days, you should start seeing bubbles forming in the starter. This means that the yeast has moved in and started growing and reproducing. If not, stir in another 1/8 teaspoon of sugar and wait to see if there are any bubbles. If there's still no foam action, or you see blueish green mold growing on it, then I would throw it out and start over. If there are bubbles forming then put a lid on your jar and move the starter to the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. The more it is used the better it will get.
*Note, some recipes will call for some regular, baking yeast to be added to the flour/water mixture. That's OK too, but then, you will not have the local, wild yeasts dominating your starter. (After all, that is what the San Francisco sourdough is so famous for. It is their local yeasts, among a few other things, that give the bread its unique taste and texture.)
Good luck!
~ C
07-02-2020, 03:51 PM
#17
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Loudon, TN
Posts: 68
continued use
Originally Posted by tropit
I just used, "pure water," as a general term. Personally, I have natural, spring water at my house and so I just use that. It does not have any additives in it and comes straight from the ground. Well water is probably fine too, provided it doesn't smell sulfury, or have any unwanted elements in it. I would not use regular tap water because of the added chemicals. If that's what one has, then I would buy some purified, bottled water for the project.
I've been making and keeping starters for ever and I haven't really measured anything in ages, so please note that these are just estimates:
1 1/2 Cups of white flour
1 1/2 cups of water
1/8 teaspoon white sugar
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly and put in a 1 qt. mason jar. The starter should have the consistency of thick pancake batter. Adjust the amount of water and flour if it does not. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm area of the kitchen, (around 70-78 degrees F.) Let sit covered, for a few days, stirring once, or twice a day. After 5, or 6 days, you should start seeing bubbles forming in the starter. This means that the yeast has moved in and started growing and reproducing. If not, stir in another 1/8 teaspoon of sugar and wait to see if there are any bubbles. If there's still no foam action, or you see blueish green mold growing on it, then I would throw it out and start over. If there are bubbles forming then put a lid on your jar and move the starter to the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. The more it is used the better it will get.
*Note, some recipes will call for some regular, baking yeast to be added to the flour/water mixture. That's OK too, but then, you will not have the local, wild yeasts dominating your starter. (After all, that is what the San Francisco sourdough is so famous for. It is their local yeasts, among a few other things, that give the bread its unique taste and texture.)
Good luck!
~ C
I've been making and keeping starters for ever and I haven't really measured anything in ages, so please note that these are just estimates:
1 1/2 Cups of white flour
1 1/2 cups of water
1/8 teaspoon white sugar
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly and put in a 1 qt. mason jar. The starter should have the consistency of thick pancake batter. Adjust the amount of water and flour if it does not. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm area of the kitchen, (around 70-78 degrees F.) Let sit covered, for a few days, stirring once, or twice a day. After 5, or 6 days, you should start seeing bubbles forming in the starter. This means that the yeast has moved in and started growing and reproducing. If not, stir in another 1/8 teaspoon of sugar and wait to see if there are any bubbles. If there's still no foam action, or you see blueish green mold growing on it, then I would throw it out and start over. If there are bubbles forming then put a lid on your jar and move the starter to the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. The more it is used the better it will get.
*Note, some recipes will call for some regular, baking yeast to be added to the flour/water mixture. That's OK too, but then, you will not have the local, wild yeasts dominating your starter. (After all, that is what the San Francisco sourdough is so famous for. It is their local yeasts, among a few other things, that give the bread its unique taste and texture.)
Good luck!
~ C
Do you "feed" it occasionally to keep it going? if so, how much of what and how often?
07-03-2020, 08:37 AM
#18
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Mendocino Coast, CA
Posts: 4,827
Originally Posted by mimisue
Do you "feed" it occasionally to keep it going? if so, how much of what and how often?
I replenish it every time I use it, but not in between. Sometimes, I'll go months without refilling the starter jar, but it is always fine when I go to use it again. I keep it in a sealed jar, near the back of the fridge.
Also, I always clean the jar thoroughly between batches.
~ C
07-04-2020, 07:15 AM
#19
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Mendocino Coast, CA
Posts: 4,827
I've been experimenting with making Water Kefir and while researching, I came across an excerpt from an article on culturesforhealth.com that claims that water kefir can be used as a sour dough starter. Interesting. It says to replace half the water in the bread recipe with water kefir and reduce the added yeast by 50%.
Food for thought.
~ C
Food for thought.
~ C
07-24-2020, 04:22 PM
#20
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Loudon, TN
Posts: 68
Originally Posted by Murphy224
I keep my sour dough starter in a quart wide mouth mason jar with a plastic lid loosely attached. It lives in the door of the fridge. I have had mine going for over 3 years and feed it about once a week or 2 weeks, or more. I use the info from King Arthur flour and started mine from scratch using their method. KA also has some great recipes using the "discard" from refreshing your starter.
