Originally Posted by
4dogs
HEY d0 you have a good recipe for the starter to do sour dough bread? I have tried a couple and been disappointed in the results...........just thought I would ask..............
This is the "junk food" one that I make:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/san-fra...urdough-bread/I use butter instead of margarine, water instead of milk, fermipan yeast - about 2.5 tsp - 1 TBsp instead of a "packet", typically for our elevation it's about 3.75 - 4.75* cups of flour - I also have a thick starter, so that has a lot to do with it, and I omit the onion topping.
*The main reason for the variance in flour is that I use a fresh ground wheat - ground minutes before it's put in the dough, in fact it's usually still warm from the grind - which tends to soak up less moisture. For a whole wheat loaf it's about 4.75cups. For a all purpose flour loaf (junk food) - it's 3.75. A mixture of course will land somewhere in the middle.
The original Sourdough recipe I used is starter, flour, water, salt and a little extra yeast to help it along so proofing times are realistic.
I typically make it with 3/4 kamut and 1/4 all purpose flour or white wheat because Kamut doesn't develop much gluten. If you want that recipe, I can go find it too.
That's a heavier dough and a lot denser crumb.
DH is addicted to the SF sourdough recipe so it's what I've been making lately.
Oh! Or were you wanting the way to get the starter?
There are a few ways -
- lots of bakeries have them and will sell a little or you can order it dried online. Lots of people are disappointed though when they order SF starter that their starter doesn't yield a SF sourdough tasting bread. That's because the yeast beasties in SF are different than anywhere else and the yeast beasties you bake with are what provide the flavor of the bread. Eventually the locals will crowd out and replace the imported ones, hence the flavor change.
- You can also start your own - 1 cup water, 1 cup flour and leave it sit uncovered on the counter til it starts to froth, then feed it and let it sit again. This is how you catch the "wild yeast" of a sourdough. Do this a couple times then put it in the fridge. You should be able to get away with feeding once a week after that.
- You can cheat.
1 cup flour, 1 cup water, about a half tsp of instant yeast. Set it on the counter uncovered til it froths. Feed it, let it sit. Do this a couple times then put it in the fridge. You should be able to get away with feeding once a week after that.
To keep a sourdough:
- To revive a sluggish starter (especially if you forgot to feed it for a few weeks) - a tsp of sugar will perk it right up.
- Don't forget to feed a young starter. It's too fragile at the beginning. A mature starter can weather a couple to a few weeks without food but it will be very sour and need several feedings (probably close to the number you missed) before it's no longer offensively sour and becomes useable again.
- To make sure you get a natural yeast flavor - not just a colony of the instant yeast - leave the starter on the counter partly uncovered for a few hours each time you feed it. If you forget it over night, feed it in the morning and put it back in the fridge. The idea of the fridge is to slow its appetite not starve it - so we don't put it in the fridge when it's hungry, only after it's well fed.
- Your starter is a pet. It needs food and water and exercise on a regular basis. If it goes unused, it will get very acidic and sour smelling. That's not the goal of a sourdough. "sour" refers to the acidity/ph, it shouldn't strip paint!
- stir the hooch back in! After a couple of days, your starter will start to separate - the alcohol will rise to the top. This is called "hooch". It's part of your starter - stir it back in - don't discard it.