The sourdough Starter Thread

[Bren In Pots]

Looked at that site BR and drooled over the Cane Bannetons I like how it leaves a pattern on the finished loaf, but for now I'll be sticking with my raffia basket. I'm all for scavenging so I made a handled Lame the other day using a lock nut from a broken craft knife.

[mothhawk]

My starter has reached the grand old age of 10 days, so baked my first bread today. Bearing in mind BS's comment about sticking to the tea towel, and Bren saying she uses a Dutch oven, I proved and baked mine in a pyrex casserole dish. There was too much dough for it, so divided it and made the small cottage loaf on a baking sheet. (It's lop-sided 'cos I left it proving on the counter top in the sunshine, and the side in full sun of course rose faster than the other side. Duh!)

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/...oughbread1.jpg

[Jeanied]

Whoop whoop - my starter is definitely alive and working - it smells quite yeasty! Sponge being made tonight and the loaf is due to be baked tomorrow.

The only trouble is I'm having a new oven delivered tomorrow as well, and after my last attempt to have one installed, it may not be hooked up and working before I need it. Still, I can always ask a neighbour - I'm sure they will be happy to be part of the experiment, especially when I tell them it is a special bread only available in this road!


Forgot to say - those loaves look lovely Mothhawk - how do they taste?

[mothhawk]

The bread is delicious! I've never tried sourdough before, and was sort of expecting it to taste more, well, sour.

It still seems a bit magical and arcane to me that you can make bread like this, just with flour and water. Makes me think of ancient Egyptian bakers making bread to feed the pyramid builders.

[Jeanied]

Well, I have made the sponge and put it in the airing cupboard for the night. In the morning I'll start the loaf off with it and another 300g flour and some salt.

Have just fed the rest of the starter with flour and water - so do I just keep this going, feeding it daily till I need some for the next batch? I can't quite get my head round the sequence of feeding and dividing and using.

[Bren In Pots]

My starter has reached the grand old age of 10 days, so baked my first bread today.

The bread is delicious! I've never tried sourdough before, and was sort of expecting it to taste more, well, sour.



It still seems a bit magical and arcane to me that you can make bread like this, just with flour and water. Makes me think of ancient Egyptian bakers making bread to feed the pyramid builders.

Nice looking loaves MH and like you say they taste nothing like any other loaf and they get better the older the starter is.

Have just fed the rest of the starter with flour and water - so do I just keep this going, feeding it daily till I need some for the next batch? I can't quite get my head round the sequence of feeding and dividing and using.

Jeanie I feed my starter then after a few hours it goes in fridge and stays there until the day before I'm going to bake then I feed it and leave it on the worktop.

[mothhawk]

Well, I have made the sponge and put it in the airing cupboard for the night. In the morning I'll start the loaf off with it and another 300g flour and some salt.

I actually weighed out 10g of salt 'cos I'm from the imperial measures generation and wasn't sure what 10g looked like. It looked like rather a lot - a very heaped teaspoon I suppose, which is more than I would use in bread made with bought yeast. I put it all in anyway, and found the taste just right.

I've put my starter in the fridge now, until I want to make more bread. I also, would like to know if I have to feed it betweentimes.

edit: thanks, Bren, that's answered my q.

[Jeanied]

Right - I have poured the starter into a rather large jar and shoved it in the fridge - I think it is enough for 3 or 4 loaves at this rate! I hope the bread turns out ok tomorrow and meets with approval!

[ladylottie]

Did anyone else watch Hugh F-W's programme tonight about baking bread (7.50pm to 9pm on More4) ?
He did a sourdough bread - I'd always thought it would be too much of a faff (I make all my own bread again now), but he made it look easy. One day when I get chance, I might give it a try.

I'm interested to see how all you peeps get on with your sourdough bread.

[northepaul]

Hi all, Im Back!!
(unplanned trip to Hull last week)

Starting again with some of Barleysugar's starter, which seems to be still active - sort of......

Never say Never!!

[Bren In Pots]

WB Thea
I'm sure the starter will soon wake up if you feed it a couple of times a day.

[Bren In Pots]

Did anyone else watch Hugh F-W's programme tonight about baking bread (7.50pm to 9pm on More4) ?
He did a sourdough bread - I'd always thought it would be too much of a faff (I make all my own bread again now), but he made it look easy. One day when I get chance, I might give it a try.

I'm interested to see how all you peeps get on with your sourdough bread.

LL I didn't watch last nights but its still on 4OD if anyone wants to see it. I've been finding sourdough easier to fit in and they're a bit more forgiving than baking my conventional loaves.

[Jeanied]

The link Bren put on here has some suggestions at the bottom - for example someone recommends blitzing the starter in a mixer to wake it up a bit if it looks flat. I must admit beating it up seemed to wake mine up but I didn't dare use my blender.

[mothhawk]

Did anyone else watch Hugh F-W's programme tonight about baking bread (7.50pm to 9pm on More4) ?
He did a sourdough bread - I'd always thought it would be too much of a faff (I make all my own bread again now), but he made it look easy. One day when I get chance, I might give it a try.

I'm interested to see how all you peeps get on with your sourdough bread.

I thought it sounded a bit laborious too - I mean - 7 to 10 days before you can even start to make bread? What!?

BUT...it's fun waiting for your starter to show signs of life, then cherishing it day by day as it grows stronger and sweeter....then the excitement of the day you start to make your first bread...it's almost like a ceremony, the waiting overnight for the sponge to double and the magic of finding next morning that it has! Then kneading in the flour and waiting again for the magic. Then at last the final proving.... into the oven... and the sheer pleasure of succeeding at something so archaic and yet elemental. My mother's grandmother made bread this way!

[Jeanied]

I have been bad - I have left my sponge to its own devices since last night when I made it - so I hope it is still happy. I shall make the bread tonight and leave it to prove overnight.