Sourdough

This is what I wrote, so if you've found it elsewhere, that's why it's copied word-for-word. My name is just "Cat" where it originates. Please don't take it as "yours" anywhere else. You can direct people back here as a link.


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SOURDOUGH

Sourdough is ancient - most likely a happy accident and used by a frugal or a desperately hungry cook. Natural yeast spores in the air floated into a mixture of forgotten flour and water, warmed, perhaps, by the sun. By the time the cook retrieved it, the mixture was bubbly and aromatic. The cook stirred in more flour, cooked it, and enjoyed the lightest, tastiest flatbreads ever!

Sourdough starter is commonly called a "sponge", and is wet and bubbly with a sour odor. Both yeast and sourdough are "raising" agents, or "leavening", and it is what makes bread products light and tasty. Yeast, baking soda, and baking powder are all used as leavening, but they are relatively *new*. They work much faster and are easy to store and use.

In the sourdough process, the yeast spores, given the proper host such as flour and warm water, break down the starch into sugar. This is the process of fermentation. Yes, it is like "spoiling", but this can be used as leavening. Fermentation can take place as long as it has nutrients to feed on.

You may not always have yeast available, but with a sourdough starter, properly cared-for, you'll always have the ability to make bread, pancakes, rolls, and more. After it's fermented, you can even freeze it for later use. Take it out, let it thaw, feed it, and let it set out to "work" as before.


There are some rules to working with sourdough starter:

Never use a metal container for your starter. Some books even say you shouldn't stir it with a metal utensil, but I have when I'm using it in COOKING (not to stir during fermentation). Use glass, plastic, or ceramic. Many old-timers used a crock. (I used to use a Tupperware mixing container with two lids, one in the center, which had a spout I left "open" by turning the lid.)

A loose-fitting lid or cloth cover can be used over a starter to keep dust, etc. out of it, but it should never be tightly closed.

Never add anything except flour and water. If your starter turns orange, *throw it away*!

Use lukewarm water when replenishing your starter, never hot or cold.

Whole wheat flour in starter doesn't raise as high but works faster than white.

Starter should be used and replenished at least once a week - more often is better. Replace enough flour and lukewarm water to restore it to its original amount and consistency.

You may refrigerate your sponge after it has fermented, but your sponge should always be at room temperature when you use it. Take it out of the refrigerator several hours in advance of using it, until it is again room temperature and active. After using, replenish it, and let it work in the container, outside the refrigerator, for at least a day.

It may be left out on the counter as long as you keep feeding and using it.


Using sourdough:

Sourdough cooking requires slightly more heat or a longer cooking time than ordinary baking. Adjust your recipes accordingly.

Baking soda turns a sourdough product yellow, so you may want to use baking powder if additional leavening is required.

Avoid mixing the batter too much. Over-mixing knocks the gasses out of the dough, which are needed for the raising process.

Your baked products will be lighter if you use a combination of whole wheat and white flour. Using only whole wheat will make it denser and heavier.

If your recipe requires buttermilk, you may need more leavening with sourdough.


The two books I am using are "The Complete Sourdough Cookbook", by Don & Myrtle Holm, and "Sourdough Cookery", by Rita Davenport. Don's book is more history and side stories, and Rita's book is clearer to read with lots of recipes. I'm gleaning from both.

Don's the author who says "no sugar" until you're making a recipe, to protect the integrity of the starter. I think Rita understands that for many people, a starter isn't going to live forever and her starters sometimes add sugar or honey. But then she also advocates refrigerating every starter (*I* think for legal reasons for her book. ). I didn't refrigerate mine. (They died lonely and forgotten, but warm!)

I can't stress enough that if your starter turns pink or orange, throw it out!! You will smell a sourish-sweet kind of smell which is normal, so take note of what it's like. If your starter later looks or smells really different, don't risk using it.

After you stir up the starter it will look a lot like a white paste. After it's fermented, you'll see it get bubbly, then it may get a clear liquid on top. This is what it's *supposed* to be like.

Oh, and if your container is too small and you forget to stir it, it may "come looking" for you!! I've heard of it overflowing over a counter.

Starter can be refrigerated or frozen, and I remember someone here once tried drying "rounds" of sourdough starter in a dehydrator. I believe they said they rehydrated just fine, but you'd have to keep ALL moisture out during storage.


Don's recipes:

"REAL" SOURDOUGH STARTER

Put 2 cups flour into a crock, jar, or Tupperware container. Add 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water, and set the whole batch in a warm but not *hot* place. In 4 or 5 days, it should be fermenting.

(my note: In many of today's homes the air circulation is so clean that you may want to set your starter by an open, screened window to gather "natural" yeast.)

You could use lukewarm water in which potatoes were boiled, or add a packet of yeast to the flour before stirring the water in. These speed the fermentation process.

Don writes: "If you want real old-time sourdough, do not use yeast. The less yeast used, the richer and headier the sourdough, but the longer it takes and the trickier the recipes are."



Rita's recipes:

BASIC SOURDOUGH STARTER

2 c flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 envelope dry yeast (1 Tbsp)
1/2 tsp salt, if desired
2 c lukewarm water

Mix, cover with a cloth and set in a warm place free from drafts. Let ferment 2-3 days, stirring several times a day with a wooden spoon. Refrigerate after it's fermented, covered with a lid or with plastic that has vents or air holes in it. (Label container so your loved ones don't throw it out!!! )

Replenish every 7-10 days by stirring in equal amounts of flour and water. After replenishing, let stand at room temperature overnight, then return to refrigerator.


WHOLE WHEAT STARTER

1 c warm water
1 tsp dry yeast
1 c whole wheat flour

Finish as basic starter, except replenish with equal amounts of whole wheat flour & water.


PIONEER'S RAW POTATO STARTER

1 c warm water
1 1/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 medium potato, peeled and grated

Mix first 4 ingredients in 1 qt. mixing bowl; add grated potato and mix well. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap to prevent moisture from evaporating and allow it to sit in a warm place for 24 hours. Stir several times during this time, replacing wrap. Then poke a couple of holes in wrap. Within 2 or 3 days the mixture will become fermented. Stir down at least once per day. Finish as basic starter, replenish the same.


TIP:
If your starter is very tangy and you want a mild flavor, add 1/2 tsp baking soda with the flour when making breads.

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I buy my yeast at Sam's Club in the 1 pound packages... it's MUCH cheaper that way! After I open one, I store it in a glass container in the freezer. My dry yeast has been frozen in there for several years (since I started working outside the home again I don't bake as much) and still works as well as brand-new fresh.


You can make breads, rolls, pancakes, flatbreads, pizza crusts, sweet breads... they just have their own unique flavor.



It's pretty much the ultimate survival necessity for bread lovers if you don't have yeast stored. If your power goes out, just grab the frozen starter and get it going again!


If there's an interest, I'll post recipes.






    

Great, jazzy... if you try this and have *any* questions or worries, email me at indianamama@juno.com (it's also in my profile... I wish more people had theirs there so we could email each other with private questions! I hate asking what I think are "dumb" questions in "public". )


Life is really hectic here right now, so I'm going to give you good websites. Later when I have time, I'll type out recipes I've used myself.

Sourdough is *so* interesting, tasty, and a serious history lesson in early pioneer survival.


http://www.recipegoldmine.com/sourdough/sourdough.html

http://home.teleport.com/~packham/sourdrec.htm

http://www.yankeegrocery.com/sourdough_bread/recipe.html

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/sourdough


This will help give you an idea of the *variety*in sourdough use!