My whole life as someone who cooks with her heart and her taste buds, using scales and measurements devices all have been a loosely suggested idea. I scoffed and turned my nose up at such things. I am a conductor and flavors are an orchestrated symphony that knows no limits and no measuring spoon or cup. Till I got into baking. Ego deflated....
I could go on and on about all the failures but instead let's get on with what I found that works. Over the long course of time I have managed to make some strong and healthy starters. Nothing compared to the first starter I made when we were living in Okinawa. It was a ravenous thing that seemed to take a life of its own. Looked like it wanted come out of the jar to find its own damn flour to eat. Even though I failed at the breads, the starter has always been an easy thing for me to make.
Ok, sourdough enthusiasts if it's your first time let's begin with the starter. I suggest using an unbleached flour to get things rolling. I used King Arthur brand, white or wheat I've had success with each.
Once you have selected a nice large bag of flour you will need:
* large bowl that is capable of holding OVER 4 cups of frothing liquid. Preferably not plastic. Ceramic is best IMO.
* A source of filtered water.
* kitchen towel and rubber band that can encompass the bowl.
* Space on counter top (in a warm location if possible)
* Dry measuring cup and wet measuring cup. (this is how I measure)
**NOTE: This will take roughly three days, maybe longer since its a fresh culture. Depends on the temperature of the kitchen.
1. Add 2 cups (dry measurement) of flour to the bowl and 2 cups (wet measurement) of filtered water. Stir till flour is evenly incorporated, it will look very soupy.
2. Cover with kitchen towel and secure with rubber band. Place in open space on counter top or somewhere it won't get in the way, some where warm.
NEXT DAY:
1. Add 1 cup flour and 1 cup filtered water. Stir to evenly incorporate and recover.
Repeat for third day.
What to look for with your starter: Bubbles, smells yeasty and looks like it's frothy. If none of the mentioned characteristics are present it could be that the kitchen is too cold or it will take a bit longer for capture of wild yeasts. Ensure warmth and feed with 1:1 ratio each day.
IF bowl is getting too full remove 1 cup. Always ensuring that there is at least 4 cups of starter in the bowl. Then feed 1:1 flour/water. Stir and cover.
Example of a previous starter:
TIP: save a bit of this starter for future bread making. So you have a healthy culture to throw in the mix of new starters. I refrigerate mine and take it out once a week to feed equal parts flour and water. Discard or use half if its getting too full. I keep mine in a mason jar and use in pancakes.
Once starter is nice and healthy it's time for the next fun step, bread making. Its best to start this early in the day to allow it to rise a few hours.
**NOTE: The tutorial I saw, said to leave it all day, from early morning till late afternoon. Granted, it's winter and she heated her home with a wood stove (lives in fairly cold climate) so I'm guessing it took longer to rise. If you live somewhere that is warmer in climate you probably won't need to wait all day. I live in Texas and winters here are NOT cold. In fact, when I made this bread it was mid 70s, my kitchen was around high 70s maybe 80 (I don't have central heat and air, just a green house room attached to kitchen that I use to heat my house to save energy) Took 2-3 hours for a nice rise.
You will need:
* Large mixing bowl
* Salt (I use regular non iodized)
* Flour
* Wet measuring cup
* Dutch oven(deep and medium size) or baking stone (pizza stone, large size)
1. Measure out 4 cups of active starter into large bowl. Add a desired amount of salt. ( I find this is personal preference)
2. Add flour to the starter in the large mixing bowl. This is where you add enough flour to make a sticky, shaggy dough. Careful not to add too much, we don't want this dough dry at all. We want it wet and sticky before we start kneading.
3. Flour surface of counter top very liberally. Scrape sticky dough mixture onto surface and flour top of dough and also your hands. Start kneading with a fold over motion, grabbing dough and folding it toward you. Add flour if it sticks to your hands and to the surface as you knead.
4. You will be kneading for 10 minutes straight. While you are kneading keep in mind we don't want the dough dry and stiff. It will be slightly sticky but shouldn't stick to surface and hands. After 10 minutes of kneading it should have a nice elasticity and hold shape, form the dough into a ball shape.
5. Place the balled dough into either a dutch oven or on a baking stone. I have used dutch ovens but I think it would be better on a baking stone for expansion reasons.
6. Place somewhere warm like in the stove with the light on or on a countertop. I suggest in the stove if possible. You should see a noticeable rise in a few hours. AGAIN, depends on the warmth of kitchen and maybe also humidity. IF your kitchen is cold allow an all day rise, if it stays warm give it 3 hours and check on it.
7. When its time to bake, set the oven to 450 degrees. (remove the rising doughs if they were placed in oven). You can score the tops of the dough before or after the rise, its up to you. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The tops will be brown and it should have risen a bit more while baking. Tap the crust and listen for a nice hollow sound. Remove from oven.
**NOTE: Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing into it.
The crust should be firm and crunchy but not rock hard. The inside soft and light. See attached pic of my first successful breads. Also why I think a stone is better than dutch oven because my tops popped off.
Here is the link to the YouTube video I watched to make my first successful bread. She gave no mention of temperatures or time so I had to figure that out on my own. But the video is golden with how to get things happening.
An American Homestead YouTube channel. Sourdough video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKfGupl0Ztc&t=10s
I will be making more soon!
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