This how-to is going to be a little different, because I have never done this before. Well, not exactly. Many years ago, a friend gave me some starter, but I didn’t keep it fed and taken care of and I didn’t really learn much about how to care for sourdough properly. Now that I want to add a lot of fermented foods into my diet, making sourdough has come to the top of the to-do list. I ordered a starter on ebay and it arrived today, so we are going to go through the experience a day at a time. The starter has been in the family for over 60 years, and came from an old time San Francisco restaurant where the lady worked many years ago. Today’s lesson was to mix the starter packet with some unbleached flour, a tablespoon of sugar, and water and then let it sit and start to ferment. It looks like feeding the culture is what I will be doing for the next week, and then it should be ready for me to try making a loaf of sourdough bread. Anyone who makes their own sourdough culture is welcome to jump in here with tips, stories, and ideas !
For all the cooking I have done in my life, I've never worked with a legacy starter. The closest I have come is making a biga for Italian bread, which is merely a new starter that proofs overnight. I'm curious to see your results, @Yvonne Smith. So how did that starter ship? How was it packaged? Did it have an ice bag on it?
The starter was dehydrated, and looked like little instant coffee granules, except that it was a grayish-cream color. There was probably a couple of spoonfuls of the dried starter, and when I mixed it in with the flour and water, it seemed to completely dissolve like it was supposed to do. Bobby said it is already starting to smell a little bit like sourdough, but mostly, it smells like flour to me at this point. I am looking forward to seeing what it is like in the morning. Here is a screenshot of the ad on ebay in case you are interested in trying some , too. It comes with directions for activating the starter, plus a bread recipe; but she also offers a pdf file of about 14 pages of sourdough recipes for everything from cakes to crackers, pizza dough, muffins, and pancakes, and more. (Momssanfransourdough) The story of her mom and how she got her starter are in the description. All I had to do was ask and she emailed the recipe booklet to me.
Interesting. I wonder if she dehydrates it herself. I would never have though of doing that. Personally, I'm not a big sourdough fan. But I'll watch your thread 'cause I like to cook, and your interests in that arena venture down roads I've not traveled. ps: I was watching a game show, and the word was "Kombucha." The clue-giver said "Probiotic drink," ad his partner got it first try.
I like sourdough bread and usually buy a tiny loaf in Woolworths from time to time, Ive never tried to make the actual bread So it will be very interesting reading @Yvonne Smith
Wife has both buckwheat sourdough starter and teff sourdough starter going as she cannot eat grain. The teff bread, biscuits and pancakes are far superior to the buckwheat in my opinion. Brown teff develops very slowly, but ivory teff works great.
I don't care for sourdough bread. But in a galaxy far, far away, I was told that one could make starter from the natural yeasts on some fruits. The white outer coating that used to be on grapes, plums, apples... I can't remember if I used grapes or plums. But I put some, unwashed, in sugar water with some flour in a warm place for about 24 hours. Took the fruit out and then let it go for a day before making a small loaf. It seemed to work. Not sure if it will today. I have my own trees so maybe I will try again this year just so see. I would think if the trees are not sprayed it would be safe. When I was down in the SW, a good while ago, an indian guide told me that they used the ash after burning juniper as a leavening agent. Might try that too, just to see.
My first loaf was a huge failure. It didn’t rise a whole lot, and I left it overnight like the instructions said; but the sourdough taste was very strong. Bobby and I both tasted it , and the flavor was not bad if it had not been quite so sour; so I either put in too much of the starter, or maybe left it rise too long. Next time, maybe I will make pancakes, or something not as complicated as the bread. In the meantime, all of the squirrels and birds can have sourdough bread for dinner.
Sorry your bread was a dud, Yvonne. I have never tried to make sourdough because it sounds too labor intensive for me. (Plus, I don't really like sourdough that much.) I have slowed down on my baking but I still make a loaf of bread occasionally.