Author Topic: My Sourdough, from scratch  (Read 30645 times)

Crystal

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #75 on: December 29, 2011, 09:32:52 PM »
Sounds great!Im just on my way out now to see if i can find some raw milk. Hours of research have found that it is being sold here as 'Cosmetic Bath Milk'... will see how i go!!

anutcanfly

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #76 on: December 30, 2011, 06:11:29 PM »
Made my first no knead yesterday after all.  Very tasty!  Next time I'll let it hang out in the fridge for a week.  I was right about my starter made with kefir and yeast.  Much better then the San Francisco Sourdough starter I used last year.  Nice flavor and it got a lot more sour and that was after only 48 hours in the fridge!  I'll have to run it again with white flour so I can evaluate the difference better.

Crystal

  • Guest
Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #77 on: December 31, 2011, 01:23:32 AM »
ok, my second loaf today did not go so well! It hardly rose at all, was super crusty, like hard as a rock kinda crusty... Dont know what i did wrong.. perhaps its cooler today than the other day? its the same mix... Yours look great anut!

anutcanfly

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #78 on: December 31, 2011, 03:08:30 AM »
Thanks Crystal...it was hard to resist buttering and wolfing the whole loaf...but I did!  Tonights pizza didn't fare so well.  I made my first whole wheat crust with sourdough starter and I think it was just as easy a dough to work with as that of white flour--was able to get it quite thin.

Huh, weather causes different behaviors in the little buggers, but no rise at all?  Sounds like something was wrong with your starter.  What did you use this time for a starter? Did you just refresh the starter and it hasn't had a chance to get going properly agian?

I've started a second batch with white flour so I can better tell what flavor and sourness I get from my current starter.  I'm going let it stay in the fridge for a week I think.

Crystal

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #79 on: December 31, 2011, 05:33:59 AM »
i used the same no knead mix from the other day, id made a double batch. i did get a bit of rise, but nothing like the first time. i still reckon i need more mix per loaf...

That pizza looks amazingly good, is that peperoni?

anutcanfly

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #80 on: December 31, 2011, 05:49:22 PM »
The only thing I can think of, that's happened to me, is that the sourdough starter consumed all it could and ran out of steam.  That happened to me once when I used too much starter per the amount of dough to be made.  Fortunately I was making pizza dough, so I ended up with a thin, more cracker like crust.  Very tasty, but flat and crunchy... kinda nice though.

That's peppered salami on the pizza. Gotta have that pepper coating to really tickle your taste buds!  :)

Tomer1

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #81 on: December 31, 2011, 06:11:11 PM »
If your preferment is not responsive I suggest you do several feeding untill it "proofs" it can double the volume of the dough.  A weak dead starter put into a dough as a fermenter will not revive all of a sudden and produce the required amount of gas.

Crystal

  • Guest
Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #82 on: December 31, 2011, 08:40:40 PM »
Thats just the thing, it was the same batch of dough that i baked from two days earlier and produced a beautiful loaf! I poked the new one again today, still feels like a rock and it looks like ciabbatta inside, huge air bubbles and not a lot of bread... Oh well, they cant all be perfect, im just bummed that it didnt work, ive never had an 'uneatable' bread before... LOL! Guess i'll turn it into bread crumbs and start again! Not that i mind that, i was running low on crumbs anyway...

So, next batch will be regular, i wont use a sourdough starter because i dont have any! I'll just get my morning jobs out of the way then maybe get DH to mix it up. ive been sewing and crocheting up a storm trying to get the kids sorted for back to school. We made the cutest pencil cases, still need to do sandwich wraps, snack bags, drink bottle covers, i have requests for more rice hot packs and i need to get more listings done for my etsy shop! Thank goodness i dont have any garden work to do this weekend.

HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!

anutcanfly

  • Guest
Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #83 on: January 04, 2012, 10:30:44 PM »
I just baked my second no knead loaf after a 5 day ferment in the refrigerator.  I don't have a dutch oven, so I'm doing something a little different. 

Thanks iratherfly!!!  No knead is so much easier than more traditional methods!!  I love the throw it the fridge and forget about it until your ready!  Here's my version and pic's.  I'll cut into it tonight and post a pic with my evaluation.  Smells great.  ^-^


No Knead Bread—my way ☺

For one loaf:

1 ½ cups water
16 oz flour
1 ½ tsp salt
¼ to ½ cup sourdough starter **

Mix ingredients and knead just long enough to make a ball of dough.  Add water or flour as needed for a nice firm ball.  Put ball in a covered container and let rise 2 hours, and then put in the fridge.

Leave in fridge overnight or up to a week or so.

When ready to make.  Bring dough out and let it warm.  Shape it into a loaf and add a little flour if it’s too soft to hold it’s shape.  Let rise 2 hours, more or less, as needed until it’s maybe twice its original volume.  I like to poke it with my finger from time to time.  If the dough bounces back you are okay.  If it seems to stay depressed plan on getting it in the oven pronto, it’s running out of steam! 

While your dough is rising, preheat your oven/pizza stone to 425 degrees for 1 hour if using a pizza stone.

 When dough has risen, spray the top with water and slash.  Slide onto the pizza stone (parchment paper is great for this).  Immediately throw 1-cup hot water on the floor of the oven and shut the door.  Repeat as needed to keep it nice and steamy for the first 10 minutes.  This step is really important for a chewy crust and for oven rise.  You loaf may gain more volume in those 10 minutes then it did during the rise before the oven!

Reduce heat to 325 degrees and cook another 20 minutes.   30 minutes total should be enough for a long loaf.  A round will likely take a little longer.  My oven runs hot.  If your oven doesn’t or runs colder than mine you may need to increase the temp by 25 degrees.

That’s it! Grab you knife, butter and devour.

** If starter’s liquid/flour ratio is 50/50 by weight, use a ¼ cup.  If it’s 50/50 by volume, use ½ cup.   If you don’t have starter you can use ¼ tsp yeast.

anutcanfly

  • Guest
Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #84 on: January 05, 2012, 01:29:29 AM »
Held off as long as I could, but I couldn't take it anymore!  I was shaking all over...just had to have a bite...just a nibble... with butter dripping thru the crumb... ahhh!   ;D

This worked great!  5 days ferment gave it just the right amount of sour.  Crust was crunchy and chewy... add in the rosemary and the flavor went over the top!   :P  That was the best tasting loaf of bread I have ever baked and it was totally easy!   8)

Offline Boofer

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #85 on: January 05, 2012, 06:14:12 AM »
Ooh, that looks and sounds delightful. Excellent pics and description. Thanks for that. Slobber, slobber....  :)

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

Crystal

  • Guest
Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #86 on: January 05, 2012, 09:14:58 PM »
Looks tasty anut! And i'll thank 'Yoda' for the idea too. ive made a few more, but we eat them so fast that i forget to take pix. That hard as loaf got eaten with soup the other night. I just toasted slices in the oven and smothered them with fresh homemade butter and some herbs... went down ok for the kids.

I have to make ice-cream and cordial today, otherwise id make another bread...

anutcanfly

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Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #87 on: January 06, 2012, 02:28:27 AM »
Hi Crystal,

Toast is always good for hard or stale bread.  My favorite is bread pudding--yummy!  Making ice cream kinda follows naturally from cheese making.  Gotta do something with the cream we skim when making grating cheeses.  My record stands at 8 quarts of ice cream (all different varieties) in the freezer at one time!  My sweetheart was very happy!  I'm going to have to stop making bread for the winter.  It's counter productive to dieting!  :)

What type of ice cream and cordial are you making?

Hi Boofer,

Oh My, this could get competitive!   >:D  But for now, I'm still just a shadow in the lee of your brightness.    ;)

Crystal

  • Guest
Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #88 on: January 06, 2012, 07:57:17 PM »
Ive been making ice cream for years, i think i was 13 when i got my first job in a nice restaraunt and we made our own ice cream. Never got to use fresh raw cream, as its illegal here. Actually, i think were not allowed to sell the 'raw' egg version either. I didnt get it done yesterday, i was lazy...

Im doing pepermint choc-chip mainly because i dont really like ice cream and if it has pepermint and chocolate in it i will eat it just for the yummy flavour!!

Oh, and orange cordial cos i had to peel 3kg of oranges the other night to make a citrus oil cleaner with vinegar...

Sorry, ive had no nanny for over a week so my kitchen has been rather empty... and my brain... and ive had a cheese fidge for 2 weeks that has no cheese in it... :(

anutcanfly

  • Guest
Re: My Sourdough, from scratch
« Reply #89 on: January 06, 2012, 08:23:01 PM »
Sounds like you are pretty industrious to me! I would never have thought to make my own cleaner and then cordial with the peels!  Hope you find the time soon for cheese making!  An empty cave is a very sad thing.  :'(