Author Topic: My Sourdough, from scratch  (Read 30557 times)

Crystal

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My Sourdough, from scratch
« on: December 18, 2011, 03:13:20 AM »
OK, traditional, maybe not...

Yummy, DEFINATLY!

We (mainly kiddies) dont appreciate the finer arts of beautiful bread making, so we do a quick sourdough!

I used to make lots of bread every day or two, but after having the last set of twins i didnt have time and managed to permanatly injure my sholder with bad feeding posture and the bad practice of patting them off to sleep. Now that they are sleeping and im not feeding i can manage to knead about once or twice a week, only once if i make a cheese. So i figured its time to make a new starter. So i looked around and found the most complex of starters, and decided on one i found in a book i had.

2c warm water
1tbs yeast
1tbs sugar
2c plain flour

mix it up and away you go!

Now, the quick part comes in the making... I know i should do the whole preferment thing, but honestly cant be bothered and it really doesnt fit in with our family. So i just make bread using the starter and half a tsp of yeast.

So its not real sourdough but it tastes great and makes nice loaves. So next Saturday i'll be making a few to have on Christmas day...

Offline Boofer

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2011, 06:11:20 AM »
1tbs yeast
Is that really a tablespoon of yeast?  :o

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

Crystal

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2011, 09:41:07 AM »
Actually i used a Dessert Spoon, as thats the size of your tablespoon... But yes, a spoon of dried yeast... Why?

Tomer1

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2011, 11:59:26 AM »
I think what boofer means is that you made "mock" sourdough, simply let yeast risen levin sour slightly which is very different from natural levin which doesnt relay on cultured bakers yeast but more on bacteria.

Crystal

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2011, 08:04:43 PM »
Oh yeah, but i need it, and dont have time to risk it not working ;) Im guessing it'll still get some bacteria working in it anyway, so its only half not right!

margaretsmall

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2011, 10:28:59 PM »
Hi Crystal,
You don't need anything like that amount of yeast. I make bread all the time and I have a sourdough starter in the fridge which I made originally some months ago. Since my husband reacts rather violently to sourdough this is my secret pleasure - I make a loaf occasionally, slice it and freeze most of it for breakfast toast.

When I make ordinary bread, I put 1/2teaspoon of yeast with 250ml water (or whey when available - one of the great spin-offs of cheesemaking is the whey which is a great addition to bread, soup,....) and 250gm flour in the breadmaker and run the dough program. Then add the rest - my usual recipe is another 250gm flour (whatever sort takes my fancy on the day), 1tspn. salt, 2 tspn. sugar, some milk powder, and an egg, some linseeds, whatever, and run the dough program again, make into rolls or a loaf and bake in the oven. Faux sourdough.

My sourdough starter is a pure rye - as I'm at the coast and the bread bible is at home I can't remember the exact ingredients, etc, but it was the usual drill of mixing wholemeal rye with water and refreshing it daily for 4 days (no added yeast at all). I've made pure rye bread using the starter and it's great, if you like rye bread. The starter is  very noxious looking but comes to life amazingly well even after being neglected for weeks on end.   

Crystal

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2011, 02:10:32 AM »
i will make a 'ptoper starter after Christmas, but since i only had white flour and less than a week i just needed to get something starting! LOL... Rye is too expensive for us, 6 kids means the cheapest of everything and instead of wholemeal flour i actually crush wheat biscuits (breakfast cereal) into the bread mix. Plus, i have to make 2 or 3 loaves at a time, cos we eat so much bread for lunches everyday! Anyway, long story short, I will start a new starter after christmas!

Oh, I usually use about 3C flour, a teaspoon of yeast, 3/4C water, tsp sugar and 1/2tsp salt. Plus weet bix when i have them. thats for each loaf, so i usually make two or one and rolls... And using the starter i wont need to add so much yeast. I dont have a 'real' recipe for the starter or the bread, i just make it up from what ever i think looks and tastes good at the time!

*just noticed id put the yeast for a double batch instead of single!
« Last Edit: December 19, 2011, 07:58:08 PM by Crystal »

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2011, 06:15:17 AM »
I think what boofer means is that you made "mock" sourdough, simply let yeast risen levin sour slightly which is very different from natural levin which doesnt relay on cultured bakers yeast but more on bacteria.
No, that's not what I meant. At first glance, a tablespoon seemed like a lot, but you obviously make a heck of a lot more bread than I do, so I'll just zip my lip now.

I would agree with Tomer1 that a true sourdough does rely on natural airborne yeast to leaven the bread, but that's not what you are interested in doing. Not a problem here.  ;)

Until recently I was maintaining a new starter on my kitchen counter that my daughter-in-law gave me. It advised that I feed it 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of flour. After a while, it developed a fermented aroma. Adding it to bread allowed me to use less yeast. I wouldn't say it was sourdough, but I think it operated on the same principle of being open to the air and benefiting from wild yeasts over time. It was an Amish Friendship Bread starter.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

iratherfly

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2011, 06:36:45 AM »
Crystal, there is an even easier way... have you ever done a no-knead bread?  the formula is really just to make something that's between a bread starter and a dough. You use no sugar and only a tiny amount of yeast (1/4 tsp is enough for a loaf). You let it ferment for 18 hours (there is a way to accelerate it to 6 hours) and the enzymes do their magic on the gluten so that you don't need any kneading.  You then bake it in a "french oven" or "dutch oven" configuration and what you get is nothing short of phenomenal. This is the type of bread you are dreaming about and paying premium for as a treat in a good bakery. Not only is it crusty, fluffy and airy, but it tastes great (and like with the best bakeries it has no taste of yeast) and you get a lot of bread cheaply. Also, it makes almost no mess and requires about 5 minutes of work the day before, 5 minutes 2 hours prior to baking it and then bake for 50 min or so. It's so easy, your baby twins can do it!

I bake at least one loaf a week and have several variation from Italian white to 7-grain whole.  (Tomer, sorry, I may have shown you some of the photos before)  All of the below - no knead and almost no work involved.

Crystal

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2011, 07:18:24 AM »
That actually sounds pretty good yoda, since i have a sholder injury its best i dont knead! But when your broke and need bread, kneading it is! Lol, so, whats the recipe? And would you believe, the previous tenants of my house have left a brand new dutch oven, in the box, in my garage..? So its do-able!

Maybe our yeasts are different stregnths as my tin says  2tsp for 500gm flour... so thats 1dsp for 3.3cups flour. These are Australian conversions too...

Tomer1

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #10 on: December 19, 2011, 02:27:45 PM »
As a purist I dont LOVE the idea of no knead bread, but it does produce good flavor and it enables people who arent extremly skilled bakers to produce high hydration breads. 
I cant imagine my mom for example handling any type of dough upper of 65%, she would just throw more and more flour on it trying to make it less sticky. :P

Crystal

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #11 on: December 19, 2011, 07:48:34 PM »
Lol, tomer, you make it all sound so hard... my dad is a baker, and im a chef and im baking homestyle bread for kids and a husband who thinks mcdonalds is heaven on earth! And i have a sholder injury and no time to worry about hydration percentages lol. One day i'll want really good bread but for now i just want something a little different to plain 'ol white! But ive always kneaded, i remember my dad kneading away at 4am on his days off, but i need a no knead in my life!

Oh, boofer, i do have a similar recipe to what u mentioned, but its kneaded too! Principle is the same at te start to let it ferment 18hrs though. Actually, they call it a sourdough... but its not cos it uses the yeast starter i just made!

Tomer1

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #12 on: December 19, 2011, 08:01:33 PM »
Everyone of these mad hobbies start off as wanting to have "the good stuff" instead of the commerical garbage and it just escelates from there, the good stuff is not enough and you want the best in existance! :P     
I'm impossible to please btw lol...

Crystal

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #13 on: December 19, 2011, 10:32:04 PM »
i know what you mean Tomer, I was happy with my farmhouse cheddars until i came here and realised they can get better, so now ive made a better one and its still not good enough!

OK, i have dug out the Dutch Oven from the garage... But im a bit concerned! Should it be OVEN PROOF?? this one has PLASTIC handles, and the box says nothing about them being heat resistant. It says the glass is... but the box also says made in China, to FDA standards... but nothing about the plastic... I have unscrewed the lid knob but cant get the side ones off... any thoughts? or a way i can 'test' it besides risking melting toxic plastic in my oven? or should i just use this other casserole i have thats ceramic or something?


Tomer1

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #14 on: December 19, 2011, 10:50:03 PM »
Not suitable.

Get one from s.africa, they are terrific. my brother has several he uses for bread baking.