› Budget Menu & Dirt Cheap Recipes › General Recipes › Preparing the sourdough starter
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March 27, 2007 at 6:05 pm #239654
BiggerPiggyBank
Preparing the sourdough starter
Variety may be the spice of life, but it is also apparently the key to success. There are literally dozens of recipes for sourdough starters, presumably handed down because “Grandmother did it that way.”
Well, all the grandmothers but one couldn’t be wrong. They probably used what they had on hand, guided by experience and superstition, so one must assume that there isn’t any single “best” recipe.
If it make das bier gut, maybe geputten der hops in das pot maken das brot gut also, ja?
Begin with a large-mouthed container, sufficient to easily accept a one-cup measure and to hold a total volume of 5-6 cups. It can be plastic or glass, but if it has a screw-on lid, be sure to poke a small hole in the lid with an ice pick or small nail. If the lid is tight the container could explode.
I began using non-bleached wheat flour, assuming it might contain more “natural” yeast than the bleached variety (but I don’t know this for a fact). Once things began working, I substituted small amounts of rye, black rye, and semolina (durum) flour during my regular feedings.
Recipe for Sourdough Starter
2 cups flour
1 cup water
1 cup cooled potato water (this really gets things going)
1 package bread yeastInitially, the new starter is ready to use after 2-3 days, but it will not have that typical sourdough flavor until it has acquired some weeks or months of age.
After the first fermentation is established, you can use it anytime, even if it has gone “flat.” Do not refrigerate! Leave it on the counter.
“Well dummy,” I thought. “It’s supposed to look and smell yuckie! Sourdough will not spoil due to its highly acid pH, and because of its acid pH, it doesn’t require refrigeration. Think about it. Covered wagons were the 19th century version of the RV, but they weren’t equipped with refrigerators to hold the pioneers’ sourdough starter!
It bumped along experiencing all the elements of heat and cold in a small crock or wrapped in a leather pouch! Just remember to feed the little critter about once a week if you are not using it. To speed things up on baking day, you can feed the culture the day before and it will have little “yeasties” growing like mad at the time of use.
Source: Not revealed by author of this post.
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› Budget Menu & Dirt Cheap Recipes › General Recipes › Preparing the sourdough starter