Sourdough Starter 4 Food

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• Day 1:To begin your starter, mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water in a jar or, better still, a plastic container. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Day 2:Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 3:Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 4:You should start to see some activity in the mixture now; there should be some bubbles forming and bubbling on top. Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 5:The mixture should be very active now and ready for making your levain (starter). If it's not bubbling, continue to feed it on a daily basis until it does. When it's ready, it should smell like yogurt.
• You now have a starter, which is the base to the bread. You'll need to look after it, but naming is optional! Keep it in the fridge (it will stay dormant) and 24 hrs before you want to use it, pour half of it off and feed it with 100g flour and 100g water. Leave it at room temperature and it should become active again. The longer the starter has been dormant, the more times it will need to be refreshed - the process of pouring off half the starter and replacing it with new flour and water - to reactivate. If your starter is ready to use, a teaspoonful of the mixture should float in warm water.The starter can now be used to make white sourdough bread.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• In large non-metallic bowl, mix together dry yeast, 2 cups warm water, and 2 cups all purpose flour and cover loosely.
• Leave in a warm place to ferment, 4 to 8 days. Depending on temperature and humidity of kitchen, times may vary. Place on cookie sheet in case of overflow. Check on occasionally.
• When mixture is bubbly and has a pleasant sour smell, it is ready to use. If mixture has a pink, orange, or any other strange color tinge to it, THROW IT OUT! and start over. Keep it in the refrigerator, covered until ready to bake.
• When you use starter to bake, always replace with equal amounts of a flour and water mixture with a pinch of sugar. So, if you remove 1 cup starter, replace with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour. Mix well and leave out on the counter until bubbly again, then refrigerate. If a clear to light brown liquid has accumulated on top, don't worry, this is an alcohol base liquid that occurs with fermentation. Just stir this back into the starter, the alcohol bakes off and that wonderful sourdough flavor remains! Sourdough starters improve with age, they used to be passed down generation to generation!
• Use this starter to make the Sourdough Chocolate Cranberry Cake, and the Sourdough Chocolate Cake.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• Day 1:.
• You'll need two large, wide-mouth Weck jars or Mason jars (1 quart size) for this process. First step is to weigh each jar (without the lid) and write that number on the bottom or somewhere else handy. This will be useful when we go to do the feedings each day.
• In the morning, combine 100 grams whole wheat flour or whole grain rye flour with 125 grams warm water (80°F) in one of the jars, and mix with a small rubber spatula until well combined. Cover (if using a Weck jar, do not use rubber gaskets or clips; if using a Mason jar, cover with a new lid, but do not tighten) and keep in a warm spot. I like to place mine in the oven, turned off, with the light turned on to create a slightly warm environment. Let the mixture rest for 24 hours.
• Day 2:.
• In the morning, place the second jar (empty) on the scale and tare to 0 grams. Add 75 grams of the starter mixture from the day before and discard the rest. Then add 50 grams whole wheat or rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour and 115 grams warm (80°F) water. Mix well with a small rubber spatula, cover and keep in the same warm spot for another 24 hours. Clean out the first jar and set aside for the next day.
• Day 3:.
• In the morning, place a new, clean jar on the scale and tare to 0. Add 75 grams of the starter from the day before and discard the rest. Then add 50 grams whole wheat or rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour and 115 grams warm (80°F) water. Mix well with a small rubber spatula, cover and keep in the same warm spot for another 24 hours. Clean out the other jar and set aside for the next day.
• Day 4:.
• At this point you might start to see some activity. Don't be discouraged if you don't. Be patient and continue on schedule as directed. This is the first day you'll be doing two feedings-one in the morning and one in the evening (before bed).
• In the morning, place a clean jar on your scale and tare to 0. Add 75 grams of the starter from the day before and discard the rest. Then add 50 grams whole wheat or rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour and 115 grams warm (80°F) water. Mix well with a small rubber spatula, cover and let rest for 12 hours.
• After 12 hours (before bed), you can proceed with the second feeding of the day. At this point you can begin using only one jar. Discard all but 75 grams of starter. (This is where the jar weight you wrote down comes in handy. You'll do the math, 75 grams + jar weight = target weight). Then add 50 grams whole wheat or rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour and 115 grams warm (80°F) water. Mix well with a small rubber spatula, cover and let rest overnight.
• Day 5 and 6:.
• In the morning, discard all but 75 grams of starter. Then add 50 grams whole wheat or rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour and 115 grams warm (80°F) water. Mix well with a small rubber spatula, cover and let rest for 12 hours. Before bed, repeat with the same measurements and let rest overnight.
• Day 7 and onward:.
• On the morning of the 7th day, discard all but 50 grams of starter. Then add 50 grams whole wheat or rye flour, 50 grams all-purpose flour and 100 grams warm (80°F) water. Mix well with a small rubber spatula, cover and let rest for 12 hours. In the evening, repeat the same process as the morning with the same measurements.
• At this point, your starter should be rising and falling each day predictably. If you're at day 7 and you aren't seeing constant activity, continue feeding until you see the rising and falling each day. Progress may vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen and water. At this point, you can start using your discard or your starter. Continue to feed it every day, twice a day, as long as you're planning to make bread. You can also place your starter in the fridge and feed it once a week, if you don't plan on making bread as often.
• Equipment to make things easy for yourself:.
• Two wide-mouth Weck jars or Mason jars (1-quart size) with lids.
• Small rubber spatula.
• Digital scale.
• Instant read thermometer.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• Combine flour, water and yeast in a warm bowl.
• Use a wooden or plastic spoon to stir mixture till smooth.
• Cover the container with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free area for 36-48 hours; your starter should be slightly bubbly and give off a delicious sour, yeasty, aroma.
• Its consistency will be that of light pancake batter.
• Cover the sourdough container and put it to rest in the fridge.
• I use a Mason Jar.

SOURDOUGH STARTER (FOR CLASSIC SOURDOUGH BREAD)

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water in a large plastic container (gallon size works well). Add sugar. When yeast bubbles (about 10 minutes), stir in flour until you have a smooth paste.
• Cover loosely to allow gases to escape and place in a warm spot in your kitchen 2 to 3 days. The mixture should bubble and give off a sour odor. Stir starter once a day, making sure to stir in any crust that's formed. After this point, you can store starter in the refrigerator or leave it out in a cool, dark area of your kitchen.
• Feed starter by stirring in 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup water every day if you leave it out, or every few days if it's refrigerated; otherwise, it will become too acidic and eventually die.
• Once starter has grown a few weeks and has reached full strength, you can decrease feedings to once a week.
• If you don't use your starter regularly, it's going to get unruly and burst the bounds of it's container. Give some away to friends along with feeding and baking instructions.

SOURDOUGH STARTER #4

Steps:

• Boil some potatoes for supper, save the potato water, and use it lukewarm with enough unbleached flour to make a thick batter. without yeast.
• This is a good way to make it in camp, where you have no yeast available and want fast results.
• This is also the way most farm girls made it in the olden days.
• Let stand a day or so, or until it smells right.