Sour dough

[Cellar_Rat]

Not quite the right forum I admit. But it is fermentation-based !!

Does anybody else make/bake their own bread from the kept sourdough starter?

For other reasons I am building a brick oven, and it strikes me, it would be nice to make my own 'natural' bread too.

Any hints, tips, books or links would be kindly appreciated (ovens or bread)

[goldseal]

Yes.

Will send you some links as soon as I find them

I have two sourdough starters, Trevor and Barry.

Takes a while to get going, but well worth it.

[mcblades]

Hi

I have been making sourdough for a couple of years. I have tried all sorts of starters and, for me, the best results I have had are with one of the simplest.

http://www.sourdoughhome.com

has taught me more about baking than dan leppard, richard bertinet and others. No nonsense and the starter just works brilliantly.

good luck

[Cellar_Rat]

Thanks chaps.

I have two sourdough starters, Trevor and Barry.

Why two?

[goldseal]

The only sensible answer I can think of is 'why not?'.

Trevor was grown as per some online instructions, using flour, water and orange juice.

After watching some telly programme where some bloke made an early bread using elderberries as a source of yeast, I threw a few elderberries and a crab apple into a flour/water mix, and it took off! Barry was born.

[lockwood1956]

is naming yeast starters the same, better, or worse than having an axe you have a name for?


just askin is all......

[Cellar_Rat]

Thinking of calling my starter F£$%^&* S~~@%^&*.

Was going like a charm - now full ahead stop! Might start again. Not going well at all.

[crusher]

Just made a "Pan Rustico" loaf today. It's a Spanish bread recipe half way to sourdough. You make a starter with dried yeast and leave it 24hrs to ferment, then make the bread.
Very, Very Good. Just had a slice toasted with home produced honey, Yum !
Recipe from Hairy Bikers Bakeation prog.

[krakowmike]

Try rye flour with pineapple juice. It will sour in several days. The longer you keep it the more sour it becomes. It won't rise bread as much as regular bread yeast but adds depth and texture. I had a very good culture from family in Poland made from rye. The flour does make a difference. Unfortunatley it became moldly because I forgot to feed and mix it so threw it away. Next trip to Poland I'll bring some back and will be happy to share a sample for anyone who wants to try it.

Nonetheless, I'm on a mission to perfect my oven. I always wanted a bread oven but since living in a flat, lack the space.

[Cellar_Rat]

Just found "Pan Rustico" online today - http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/ru...read_pan_97488

Thanks - Will give it a go.

Trying Professor Calvels starters now. Use spray malt !!

http://www.sourdoughhome.com/professorcalvelsstarter.html

[mcblades]

Excellent. If you want a bread recipe to use with this starter ask away. I've found that converting to bakers percentages and taking into account the hydration % of the starter most recipes can be converted to sourdough with a tweak or two. For the first couple though you are better off with a bomb proof recipe like the san fran sourdough recipe on the site.

regards

Mark

ps the key to gettting good results is the activity of the starter. This one is quite thick (nearly a dough) and will double like bread if left in a warm place. I feed my starter every other day and leave at room temp (unless it's winter when I put a brew belt on it). Then feed late on the night before you want to use it and it'll be ready in the morning.

[Cellar_Rat]

Bakers percentages works well. Just discovered that. Had a bake 'massive' Saturday.
Made a really nice hearth bread with BDX too - they don't mention that on the lallemand website

The goal is a 100% wholemeal, sourdough bread loaf which I can make in 3-4 kilo batches - what do people mix bigger batches in?

[mcblades]

You can do 3-4 kilos by hand quite easily if you use the stretch and fold method (look on the sourdoughhome site for instructions) and mix the dough in a washing up bowl. I will pm a 100% wholemeal sourdough recipe that works really well.

[Cellar_Rat]

Never thought of washing up bowl - was checking out shallow trugs - http://www.rainbowtrugs.com/acatalog....html#aEZY25YL

[mcblades]

you can get a large washing up bowl for a quid at tescos!