Anyone into sourdough?

[Iplayfarmer]

My loaves are made, and they've been raising for two hours. I was hoping they'd be a little bigger by now. I understand that sourdough is more art and less science vs. yeast breads.

Seeing all the pictures and hearing the stories has me excited to get this bread cooked so I can taste it. I'll be patient, though, and let the dough raise like it should.

I think I'm most excited about sourdough pancakes. I want to do the bread first a few times just to make sure I have the hang of it.

I've been making sourdough bread for a couple yrs. No longer buy store bread.

What kind of starter did you get?

Here is a pic of my fist loaf and first rolls.

I have no idea what kind of starter I got. I didn't even know there were different kinds. I went to a trading meet last weekend where a bunch of us traded handmade goods and crafts. (Best Christmas shopping I've ever done!) One of the gals there had a tub of sourdough starter, and she was handing it out in babyfood jars.

 

[polo1665]

I have no idea what kind of starter I got. I didn't even know there were different kinds. I went to a trading meet last weekend where a bunch of us traded handmade goods and crafts. (Best Christmas shopping I've ever done!) One of the gals there had a tub of sourdough starter, and she was handing it out in babyfood jars.

Did you get instructions on how to maintain (feed) it from her?

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Love sourdough..

I use the No-knead method. or THIS

I've used starters from King Arthur flour and one from the San Francisco Sour Dough Bread Company. Both were pretty good.

This year I'm going to try, Carl's starter

One of the 2 starters I use is the Oregon trail starter from Friends of Carl's. The other is a San Fran starter.

Real sourdough starters have NO commercial yest in them. Once a starter is established, it will fend off other bacteria and yest from taking over. It should remain true as long as it is used on a regular basis to keep it healthy.

Along with the Oregon Trail starter I use the Alaskan Sourdough recipe that can also be found on the friends of Carl site. Things work out so well, I don't use any sugar or baking soda to help with rising. It is a long process and I est I have about 14-16 hrs into making bread which is mostly in proofing and rise time.

Now while the starter is free from Carl's if sure is nice to include a couple bucks in the request as this is all done by volunteers and they certainly have some expenses in cultivating and passing on the old well established starter.

 

[polo1665]

My loaves are made, and they've been raising for two hours. I was hoping they'd be a little bigger by now. I understand that sourdough is more art and less science vs. yeast breads.

Seeing all the pictures and hearing the stories has me excited to get this bread cooked so I can taste it. I'll be patient, though, and let the dough raise like it should.

I think I'm most excited about sourdough pancakes. I want to do the bread first a few times just to make sure I have the hang of it.

How fast they rise has a lot to do with the temperature in your house and how active the starter is. Like you said, be patient, it could take four to five hours to raise.
You would be surprised just how much science is involved. I've read some articles on sourdough yeast strains that had my head spinning:confused2:

 

[Bird]

Bird understand the Alaska Sour Dough came from New Orleans and carried across to Calif then Alaska during the gold rush days. all the same dough starter.
Maybe closer to go to New Orleans for more starter.
ken

Ken, I didn't get a starter from Alaska; just the recipe in the magazine to make my own starter. But it's been so long ago that I don't remember just how to do it. I know it was flour, water, sugar and time for it to work, but don't remember details.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

The bread is done, cooled, cut, and I'm eating my 5th piece as I type this post. I think I'm going to founder. I LOVE the flavor. This bread has a nice sweet, rich flavor, with a hint of sharpness at the finish of the bite. The texture is incredible. It's a soft sponge texture with a crumbly crust... just enough elasticity to give my tongue something to feel when I'm eating it.

Did you get instructions on how to maintain (feed) it from her?

I got instructions for the bread I made. The only maintenance instructions were to make sure and save a start from the first phase of the bread making. I've done a little looking online. Some say to refrigerate the start. Some say to keep it on the counter. I kept the start in my fridge for the week between when I got it and when I made this bread. I'd welcome any suggestions or advice for how to keep my start healthy.

 

[Bird]

Aaaah, that's beautiful. Just seing the picture makes me hungry.:licking:

 

[polo1665]

The bread is done, cooled, cut, and I'm eating my 5th piece as I type this post. I think I'm going to founder. I LOVE the flavor. This bread has a nice sweet, rich flavor, with a hint of sharpness at the finish of the bite. The texture is incredible. It's a soft sponge texture with a crumbly crust... just enough elasticity to give my tongue something to feel when I'm eating it.

I got instructions for the bread I made. The only maintenance instructions were to make sure and save a start from the first phase of the bread making. I've done a little looking online. Some say to refrigerate the start. Some say to keep it on the counter. I kept the start in my fridge for the week between when I got it and when I made this bread. I'd welcome any suggestions or advice for how to keep my start healthy.

Great job, that bread looks gooooood.

Your starter is a live thing, it will need to be fed. Keeping it in the refrigerator will keep you from having to feed it daily, but it will still have to be fed
I'd be pleased to help you out with feeding instructions. First off, I'll need to know what the consistency of your starter is? Is it stiff like bread dough or is is more like pancake batter, or something in between?

My starter is more of a pancake batter consistency. When I feed it I dump all of out except maybe one ounce, then I feed it with two ounces of flour and two ounces of water. If you have not fed it in a week, you should probably feed it tonight. After feeding it you can put it back in the fridge and let it be for a week. When you want to bake again, take it out and feed it for a couple of days to get it going real well.

Can you post the recipe you used today?

 

[Iplayfarmer]

The starter is more like a pancake batter. I dumped the whole thing into a bowl last night and added 2 cups of flour and two cups of water. I pulled a half cup or so out this morning to be my starter for the next go round. This is according to the instructions I got with the start.

This morning I added a half cup of olive oil and a heaping tablespoon of honey. I let that sit for about 15 minutes to let the honey dissolve and then added flour until the dough had the right consistency (about 3 1/2 cups of flour). It was a little loose as bread dough goes, but it was workable. I let the dough raise for about 4 hours. Then I formed it into loaves and let it raise another 3 hours. I baked it at 350 for 30 minutes.

 

[Arky217]

Now your're bringing back the memories.

40 some years ago when I lived in the boonies of Alaska, it was sourdough bread or no bread.

I got my first starter from a homestead family.

Every time I wanted bread, I would take some of that starter for the bread mix and then let the mix rise overnight under the covers of my bed by my feet .

Then I would bake it in my wood stove's stovepipe oven.

I can almost still remember the smell, these 40 some years later.

Went very well with a slab of moose meat.

Here's a pic of the cabin I built in the summer of '69.