(the author practicing her "abe" disguise in the event she's taken back to the Civil War era )
I still keep a mental list. I’ve added some sadly superficial things absent from my childhood tally, chief among them, tweezers.
But a relatively recent addition is one I’d wholeheartedly have added as a kid. Sourdough starter. Baking a great loaf of bread is an excellent way to win a pre-historic popularity contest. It’ll also create enough of a diversion to stave off any pesky questions about how the hell you just materialized out of thin air, assuming you’ve also churned some outrageously creamy butter and cooked up a lovely berry compote to go along with the slab of warm goodness.
Starters have been around for ages. From Byzantium to Egypt, little bits of natural yeast have been dropping from the ether and fermenting blobs of flour and water for millennia. It's a skill that won't set off any witchcraft alarms. So why not get in some practice, just in case you find yourself whisked back in time to Salem.
Sourdough Starter
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ ounces fresh compressed yeast
3 cups warm water
1 ounces granulated sugar
1 pound 8 ounces unbleached flour
- In a plastic container with a large opening so your starter can expand with each feeding, dissolve yeast in the water and add sugar. Stir in flour using a wodden spoon, until you have a smooth paste. (Make sure the container is pretty large. Bigger than a large tube of cottage cheese).
-cover loosely to allow gases to escape and place in a warm spot in your kitchen for 2 to 3 days. The mixture should bubble and give off a sour odor. Stir down the starter once a day during this time and make sure to stir in any crust that’s formed. After this point, store the starter in the fridge.
- The starter needs to be fed every 10 days, otherwise it will die. Add halfs as much flour and water as the original recipe if you aren’t using the starter regularly. Use less if you’re actually using your started regularly. Stir in the flour and water and keep refrigerated.
So what to do now with your starter? First make it. And then we’ll talk about using it.
7 comments:
Hi -- all right, I started the starter. Three days from now it can go in the fridge -- then what?! Thanks.
Is it a little bubbly? Does it smell sour? I'll post a recipe in a day or two and we'll go through the best part. But you keep stirring the crusty bits in. Watch it grow and we'll make the best bread ever soon. But don't put it in the fridge yet.
Bubbly -- yes! Sour -- yes! It rose really high and then fell about as far. I'll keep stirring crusty bits in...
I'm putting up a complete recipe (actually 2) tomorrow. But, if you get this today, you'll be a day ahead, since the recipe requires 2 days total.
So today, take 1 cup of your bubbly starter. Combine with 2 cups warm, not hot, warm water & 4 cups of bread flour. Mix well in a large bowl and cover with plastic overnight. So that's you're starter for the bread. If you only have AP flour, don't sweat it. Use AP.
Now go back to your stinky starter. And feed it 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. And stir it in. If your starter is feeling cool to the touch, you can leave it out. But from now on, if you don't use it, feed it 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water every day. If it's a little warm in your parts, put her in the fridge and feed exactly as I described above, but once every 3 days. If you do use it, just replace what you've used as you just did for the bread recipe. For every cup of starter, feed her 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water.
Another trick: if you find the starter too "sour" for you taste once you make the bread, when you feed, just use less water.
Ok, more tomorrow. Hopefully with pics.
Hey Gesine...it's getting cold and I want to make bread and your sourdough bread sounds yummy. One question...do I have to use a plastic container for the starter? I don't have any that are big enough! Can I use glass instead? Thanks!
Bonnie
You can use glass and you can use crockery. Don't use metal, though. Metal is the death of sourdough. Just make sure it's large enough to breath and grow. Like a nice roomy pair of pants on Thanksgiving.
Marye Audet of Baking Delights helped me find your site. I need to know if I have a cool kitchen does this need to sit out for a few more days? Or should I just watch the starter and see how it goes?
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