sourdough recipes & wild starters! - Page 9

[Periwinkle]

Originally Posted by OceanMomma

Then I put it in the oven. I have found the 10 mins @ 200degC, followed by the rest @ 180degC in my oven anyways consistently gives me a good crust that isn't too chewy. I just need to remember to put the bread on the top shelf or the bottom gets too browned.

I've been baking mine at 350. : I thought you bake everything at 350. : Maybe that's why the crust is a little hard.

[sunnysideup]

Originally Posted by Periwinkle

I've been baking mine at 350. : I thought you bake everything at 350. : Maybe that's why the crust is a little hard.

She was talking celsius. 200c is close to 400f (like 390?), and 180c is close to 350f.

[gardenmommy]

What is the procedure for using my starter after I've kept it in the fridge?

I want to make another loaf, but am unsure of how to proceed.


Also, are we moving this thread to the trad. foods forum, or does it not count as a trad. food?

[Periwinkle]

Originally Posted by sunnysideup

She was talking celsius. 200c is close to 400f (like 390?), and 180c is close to 350f.

Oops. Forget it!

[OceanMomma]

Gardenmommy, I never realised you were keeping the starter out of the fridge. I thought you were just being very dilligent making all that bread.

All you do to revive it is mix it with flour & water to make the sponge.

[brmama3]

I found this today, and thought those of you interested in mailing starters might find it useful. I don't know if it works or not, but I thought the process was a great idea.

http://home.teleport.com/~packham/sourdo.htm

Drying a starter (making flakes)
If you want to keep starter unused for a longer period of time than a few weeks, or if you want to send some through the mail to a friend, you can easily dehydrate it into flakes. Using starter that has been fed the day before, spread a paper-thin layer onto a sheet of plastic wrap and let it sit a day or two until it dries. It can then be broken into flakes and stored indefinitely in a dry place. Once you have a successful starter, it is a good idea to dry some as a back-up. I have heard many heart-breaking stories from people whose starter (often many years old) got thrown out by some well-meaning houseguest because it appeared to be something gone bad.
To reconstitute the flakes, put about a tablespoon of flakes into a glass or plastic bowl (not metal) that will hold about four cups. Mix the flakes with about a tablespoon of lukewarm water to form a paste. Gradually mix into the paste another cup of lukewarm water, then stir in one and a quarter cups of flour. Mix well, although the mixture does not have to be free of lumps. You should have approximately one cup of a batter the consistency of pancake batter. Cover the bowl lightly (not air-tight) and put in a warm spot where the temperature is 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (not warmer). Allow it to sit overnight.

After standing, there should be bubbles covering the surface and the volume should have increased a little. If so, you now have a starter. If only a few bubbles have formed, let it sit another day. If it appears not to have changed, then the reconstitution was not successful.

[gardenmommy]

Well, you now that you mention it, OM.... It's been in there for about a week, so I think I need to do something with it. I'd like to bake a couple of loaves to take with us on our camping trip next week, and thought I'd probably get on with it, as it's not an instant sort of thing, kwim?

So, I'll get it out tonight and feed it, and do something with it tomorrow.

[Shirelle]

Hi ladies! I'm a sourdough novice...I made my starter two days ago, and within 24 hours it was bubbling and smelly! But when I baked with it, my bread didn't rise as much as I thought it would. It has a great sour flavor (not too overpowering, just right), but it's VERY dense...it sounds like a brick if you drop it on the table! Any tips for how to get it more light and fluffy? I let it rise for a few hours, and when it hadn't risen, I went ahead and left it overnight, but by morning it still really hadn't risen. Temps should not be a problem because we keep out thermostat at 80 and we're sweatin'!

[ComaWhite]

Well I finally tried this last night, I mixed 1 cup of starter with 3.5 cups of flour and about 1.5 cups of water and a bit of salt and kneaded it until it was getting springy. I put it in a cast iron pan to rise overnight and the freaking thing trippled its size and is overflowing over the sides of the pan! I plan on baking it at noon, so Ill let you know how it tastes, it should be light and fluffy anyways!

[auntieM]

A lot of recipes I've read suggest placing the formed loaves in the fridge overnight & then letting them rest at room temp the next day for 3-4 hours.

[OceanMomma]

My starter was very active when I first caught it. The problem with that was it would rise so much it would collapse while you were baking it. My friend the baker told me to put it in the fridge to rise to slow down the rising process which worked very well.

[memory maker]

question about starters

I made one about a month ago, but not sure things were right. I used the recipe out of Wild Fermentation. I would stir it and within a short time all the liquid was back up at the top. Is this supposed to happen? Also since it is separtating, am I looking for bubbling in the liquid part or the doughy part?(sorry Im new to bread making and everything is : )

[ComaWhite]

Well, the crust almost burnt and the inside is still doughy and uncooked.
I baked it for almost an hour at 350F.

What could I be doing wrong?

[OceanMomma]

With mine, I find my oven is too hot at the bottom & the bottom of the crust will burn if I put it on the lower shelf. I bake it at 200degC for 10 mins to seal the crust in then I turn the heat down to 180degC. I don't know what these temperatures are in fahrenheit but I think someone said 350 F was 200C.

[AnnC]

Originally Posted by OceanMomma

My starter was very active when I first caught it. The problem with that was it would rise so much it would collapse while you were baking it. My friend the baker told me to put it in the fridge to rise to slow down the rising process which worked very well.

Mine collapsed onthe first rise yesterday, because it was 78 degrees (F) in my house. But it was okay on the second and third rise, and baked up just fine. Usually it's between 65 and 70, so I let it rise at the cool temperature for 3-4 hours the first time, 2 hours the second rise, then shape it and let it rise 2 hours the third time. That way I have the 7 hours of fermentation. Then I slash it, spritz it and bake it at 450 degrees (F) for 25 minutes, spritzing with water every 3 minutes for the first 9 minutes. I put it on a layer of parchment paper on one of those air-bake cookie sheets (it's aluminum, that's why I use the parchment paper) and put it in the middle of the oven, and the bottom never burns that way. It comes out great!

But I do cheat and put in organic yeast as well as the sourdough. Otherwise it's too brick-like, since I use mostly whole wheat flour. I used to use completely whole wheat flour, but again, the brick effect. So it's about half and half now.

Ann

[auntieM]

I preheat my oven to 500*F let it hold that temp for a while (hour or so if I can) Once the bread is in the oven, I turn the temp down to 450*F. I do the spritzing too. The temp drops pretty quickly with the door opening so much. I think that's one of the reasons why the recipes I've seen suggest pre-heating at such a high temp.

[auntieM]

Originally Posted by memory maker

I made one about a month ago, but not sure things were right. I used the recipe out of Wild Fermentation. I would stir it and within a short time all the liquid was back up at the top. Is this supposed to happen? Also since it is separtating, am I looking for bubbling in the liquid part or the doughy part?(sorry Im new to bread making and everything is : )

I'm going to leave the details for someone with more experience. This sounds fine to me. I'd just stir it before pouring of some of your starter & feeding it again.

[Periwinkle]

My starter was like that with the last loaf I baked. It was REALLY sour - smelled good, but definitely had been fermenting a while. I discarded half of it, and added 1 c. flour + 1 c. filtered water, then let it do it's thing. Then using THIS (is this called the sponge?) I made the bread. It was fantastic.

So, I guess if it smells good and rises quickly after being fed then it's good.

[tinuviel_k]

Does anyone have a yummy sourdough muffin recipe? The only recipe I have turned out awful.

[Periwinkle]

Refreshing old starter?

I had a quite lively starter that bubbled nicely on my counter for 2 weeks while I experimented with sourdough breadmaking (see above). Then 2 weeks ago I put it in the fridge.

I'm ready to bake again.

Any tips for getting it going again?