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So in my last blog about food (mmm...) I mentioned my desire to be able to make the perfect loaf of bread. I have had moderate success with this recently as I'm paying much more attention to letting the bread work/rise properly, and so I decided that it was time to attempt sourdough for the first time (ahem, third time).
The hardest part about this has been getting the proportions right, and a lot of that is heavily influenced by the moisture level of the starter being used.
When I make my starter (I began with a yogurt starter), I use a 1:1 ratio (others use 4:3 or the like) and so far it's been working out relatively well, though I have to admit that getting my starter to become strong and healthy took quite some time. Feeding it here has been the key, you have to feed frequently until it is very frothy and making lots of bubbles. Depending on the viscosity of the starter it should approximately double in size when it is at maximal health. Another thing that I was somewhat tentative about was that in order to keep from making a gallon of starter I had to throw out half of it every time I fed it in order to keep doubling it in size appropriately (every time you feed, you should effectively double in size the starter), It has been firmly ingrained into my brain not to waste, but here, it's important that you do so until you have a good healthy starter, otherwise you'll have a ridiculous amount of it in no time.
So after finally getting a good healthy starter going, and through some tweaking, because I'm still kinda lazy, I came up with this method to make my bread, and also to incorporate feeding in order to get it to maximal health. So here's my method as of now:
Starting with 1/2 C of starter the day before, take it out of the fridge and feed it 1/4C flour/water. Once you see that the starter is beginning to come alive again (putting in the fridge retards the growth a bit), feed it again another 1/4C of flour/water. Now I've doubled my starter. Now that I've doubled my starter, I can remove 1/2 of it (store it for next time) and begin my bread.
I will again feed the starter twice, but this time 1/2C proportions. This way I am both feeding the starter and simultaneously beginning the sponge. Now after both feedings, once I see that the starter has doubled, I will add the remaining 3C flour and let it 'autolyse'. About 20-25 min later I will add 1/4 C wheat germ and 1 1/2 tsp salt and then cover it with a wet towel in a bowl and wait till it doubles in size, depending on the temperature, altitude and whatnot this may take a while. I have found that it takes my dough about 2 hrs to double at least. I'm guessing that it has to do with my sourdough being made with wild yeast, or something like that.
Once doubled, punch it down and shape it and cover it (I do with my original bowl) until it's about 1 1/2 times the size. I've found here that by not allowing it to double again, it tends to rise just a little bit more once in the oven. Finally once you've reached this stage, bake in a 400º oven for about 20-25 minutes.
So I've made a few of these loaves and they've all come out with different variances of sourness, so I'm still working out that kink, but I certainly don't feel nearly as intimidated by the whole process as I used to, and i'm begining to make a decent loaf. Now only if I can figure out how to get my %80 whole wheat loaf to actually rise properly :/
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/bWyOz.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/pQBM3.png)
man this smells good when I take it out of the oven
 
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Hmmmmm, I've always been interested in making and keeping a starter going, but I totally cannot be bothered with the effort right now >< I do make bread quite often though.
The bread looks pretty great ^^
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At first I thought this was an innuendo of some sort. But turns out it's really about bread! Amazing!
Looks great <(^_^)=b
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That looks like some nice bread you got there
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On August 03 2011 23:18 wristuzi wrote:
Hmmmmm, I've always been interested in making and keeping a starter going, but I totally cannot be bothered with the effort right now >< I do make bread quite often though.
The bread looks pretty great ^^
Thanks!
Keeping it is the easy part. All I do is keep it in the fridge in an air tight container (earthenware, in this case glass), and feed it once a week to keep it healthy (that is if I don't plan on using it, in which case it will be fed anyway). I also will likely bake a sourdough loaf once a week now.
Making the starter is a bit more tenuous, as you really need to feed it a lot until its pretty healthy (throwing half out, and doubling over and over). I found this website to be helpful in maintenance and caring. Basically though, choose your recipe, whether it be a yogurt starter, grape, or the like, and feed it accordingly because once you have a healthy starter it's really hard to kill it. I know because I thought I had killed mine when I started, but no, it was fine.
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I strongly recommend the kneadless, slow-rise approach -- check out Jim Lahey's "My Bread" (and the techniques described in this article)
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On August 04 2011 00:03 biscop wrote:I strongly recommend the kneadless, slow-rise approach -- check out Jim Lahey's "My Bread" (and the techniques described in this article)
This is probably the next step in my bread making after I fix my wheat loaf. I definitely will use this method at some point as I do enjoy the texture that the no knead approach gives.
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I love sourdough! A bit of trivia I've always wondered ever since playing the "Yukon Trail" game and my first time having the bread.
A certain amount of slang came out of the gold rush. Experienced miners were often known as Sourdoughs. Potential miners new to the Klondike were known as Cheechakos, from Chinook Jargon. These two names live on in Dawson City, in tourist literature, and enjoy occasional usage by miners still working the tributaries of the Yukon River and Klondike River as well as in literature relating to the Klondike gold rush era.
Sourdough was the main bread made in Northern California during the California Gold Rush, and it remains a part of the culture of San Francisco today. The bread became so common that "sourdough" became a general nickname for the gold prospectors. The nickname remains in "Sourdough Sam", the mascot of the San Francisco 49ers. A 'Sourdough' is also a nickname used in the North (Yukon/Alaska) for someone who has spent an entire winter north of the Arctic Circle and refers to their tradition of protecting their Sourdough during the coldest months by keeping it close to their body.
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Screw sourdough
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://www.formanandfield.com/images/r9269.JPG) na nan na na na na na Can't touch this
Making bread is one of my favorite things to do with my mum. Right after drinking, smoking and laughing. Bread is fun to bake ^_^
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If only women knew the only key to my little heart... A freshly baked loaf of bread <3
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I guess we're different people. The key to my heart is to stay the fuck out of my kitchen 
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On August 04 2011 02:05 Probe1 wrote:Screw sourdough + Show Spoiler +na nan na na na na na Can't touch this Making bread is one of my favorite things to do with my mum. Right after drinking, smoking and laughing. Bread is fun to bake ^_^
ooo, love me some pumpernickle! That is definitely one I need to make at some point.
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EPT
