The sourdough Starter Thread

[Snoop Puss]

^Yum, yum, yum. That's all I can say.

And thanks, smallblueplanet (again!). That sounds far more straightforward than the screeds of stuff I've read. I've discussed jars with Mr Snoop (I want glass) and will start this afternoon.

[markc]

I have got into sourdough during the lockdown. My starter was very basic with no fruit added, but still got going in under a week, though it took another ten days or so before active enough to bake bread. Luckily got an order filled with Shipton Mill so am gradually adding in more Rye to my starter and have kept it poolish from the begining.... 50/50 by weight flour to water, so easy to calculate ingredients for any recipe I may add the discard to, didnt have to throw any away, it went into pancake batters pizzas anything that requires flour and water, just weigh the sourdough before adding and subtract that amount of flour and water from the recipe. One of my favorites though was to pour the sourdough into an oiled frying pan and flatten it out some, then sprinkle on some chopped spring onions and some spices, flip it and cook till golden, then eat with a chilli dipping sauce....lovely. A side benifit I was unaware of when I began was that I do not get indigestion with sourdough, as have built up a bit of gluten intollerance over the years, though never stopped me eating pizza, but now sourdough pizza is amazing and no gluten reaction afterwards.....most excellent!

[peanut]

Oh I am so excited to have found this thread. I have been wanting to do this for ages, like Snoop, I kept putting it off as it seemed so complex, but SmallBluePlanet you have made it all seem so straight forward and easy to understand. Thank you, this is now on my to do list asap!

[Snoop Puss]

I didn't get around to it, peanut, because no glass jar of suitable size. But yesterday I made a poolish that was so energetic it reminded me that I really must do this. Will go rummaging for jar on Monday. You fancy starting Monday afternoon?

[Bren In Pots]

Snoop you can use any container so long as it's none metallic I started mine of in a Tupperware one. Then moved to glass I still use the Tupperware to store my discards before I need them.

[peanut]

What size jar do we need Snoop? I seem to have conveniently missed that bit in my excitement! Haha!
Does the starter need to be made out of posh flour? I only have bog standard white plain or self raising at the moment.

[markc]

Here is a link to the sourdough bread recipe video that got me excited enough to give it a go. Was impressed with the simplicity of it and had not baked anything for years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkA8...index=7&t=682s

[Snoop Puss]

What size jar do we need Snoop? I seem to have conveniently missed that bit in my excitement! Haha!
Does the starter need to be made out of posh flour? I only have bog standard white plain or self raising at the moment.

Quite a small jar, by the look of it. Smallblueplanet gives masses of useful info on page 30 of this thread, plus gives a link to this website for more info (including jar size): https://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/...in-easy-steps/

You couldn't use the self-raising flour and possibly not even the plain, by the look of it. Someone with more experience will be able to confirm that, though. Check out the link above. But my understanding is you need a wholemeal flour for maximum natural yeasts. I've managed to get hold of some rye, but a wholemeal wheat should do the trick, especially if organic.

Markc, love the sound of fried sourdough. Yum. Odd about the sourdough affecting your gluten-related digestion problems. After all, the bread will still contain gluten. But if it helps, that has to be good.

Bren, thanks for that. I've got just the very thing already.

Very excited now. Are you able to get hold of some wholemeal flour, peanut?

[peanut]

The only other flour I have is a bag of Allinson seed and grain wholemeal bread flour...but it went out of date in Oct 2018 eek!
You better start without me Snoop, all flours are out of stock round here.

[Snoop Puss]

That's a shame. Will let you know how I do.

[Containergardener]

How is the dough making ?
I'm thinking of having a go.
Although not actually had a sourdough loaf

[Mr Bones]

We use a flat silicone lid on a glass bowl for the starter. The lid (Ikea) lets out gasses but prevents anything getting in

Edit : It's the top line of the link, don't know why it's doing that

[Bren In Pots]

Here's a link to Smallblueplanet's post on how to make the starter.

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...07#post2311807

[smallblueplanet]

How is the dough making ?
I'm thinking of having a go.
Although not actually had a sourdough loaf

The bread you make with the starter doesn't have to be of a 'traditional' sourdough type. We mostly make closed crumb (is that the right descriptive term?) loaves. The picture I've uploaded is actually a bit more holey than normal as we were struggling with the recipe owing to 'flour troubles'.

[Snoop Puss]

I still haven't got around to it. Where's the embarrassed emoji when you want one? No excuse for it.

Anyway, will be starting this afternoon.

Have to say, smallblueplanet, that Weekend Bakery website is amazing. I've learnt loads just scooting about. Amazing how much info there is tucked away even in the comments sections too. Had no idea, for example, that American flour can absorb more water than European flour. I thought my failures with some loaves were to do with my technique, but maybe I just need to reduce the hydration level a bit. That was a great recommendation, thanks.

Mr Bones, I can't get one of those lids, but was thinking about one of those jars with a fancy lid that lets air out that are used for making kimchi. We live in a very dusty environment. It's the worry of nasty stuff in the air, in fact, that has been putting me off but really want to do it.