Sourdough Starter

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SatNavSaysStraightOn

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I've decided to start making bread again and given that sourdough is my favourite I have decided to try sourdough.

I know a little about it but not a huge amount.
I know I will have to feed the starter each day, and I know that I will have to throw away some of the starter each time. I have read various instructions and they are all different. Some say it is vital for this to happen, others say it not, some say other things are vital and then another says it is not.... all seem to contradict each other.

I have read the following
http://108breads.blogspot.co.uk/p/sourdough-starters.html
http://tartine-bread.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/sourdough-starter-demystified.html

but I think I am settling on following this one
http://sourdough.com/blog/sourdom/beginners-blog-starter-scratch

Does anyone have any better suggestions? Any advise for someone who has never done sourdough before?
 
I have my first bubble! There is life :D

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This is getting exciting!
 
Well 4-5 days on and there is definitely life!

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It doesn't have a funny smell and is looking good!

I'm using a 1:1:1 recipe of light rye, white plain and wholemeal flour with spring water which has been warmed as per a baby's bottle...
 
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Looks good! Most people make sourdough more complicated than it is. You can have a liquid, as you do, all the way up towards a dough. The water : flour ratio is more of a mothod preference and end resault thing, but all gets a good product.

BTW, you don't have to throw batter out. Use it in a quick bread that use baking powder to leaven it (and counter the sour taste, if needed); it's fine to eat. I like using it in pancakes, especially if it hasn't been fed in a while and is verging on the 'too sour' side of things. Adding more flour and sugar to it fixes just about anything people would throw out.
 
Michelle said:
BTW, you don't have to throw batter out. Use it in a quick bread that use baking powder to leaven it (and counter the sour taste, if needed); it's fine to eat. I like using it in pancakes, especially if it hasn't been fed in a while and is verging on the 'too sour' side of things. Adding more flour and sugar to it fixes just about anything people would throw out.
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I had no idea, but I guess it makes sense. thank you. I had been feeling really guilty throwing it away. I hate waste and it makes sense to use it like that.
 
Yeah, I'm not fond of waste either. You're very welcome. Have you made any bread yet?
 
Michelle said:
Yeah, I'm not fond of waste either. You're very welcome. Have you made any bread yet?
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No, it is still too young and not yet established. The temperatures in the UK have only just made double figures in Celsius and we don't keep out home particularly warm (we lived on the road in a tent for a year and minus temperatures don't bother us - we have lived in the house we are in now for nearly 3 years and not yet shut the bedroom windows despite temps falling as low as -11C one winter.)

I am hoping to make the first batch of bread (yet to find a recipe I want to make) this coming Saturday, but a lot will depend on the starter. It has yet to get seriously active, just bubble away as though it is happy and active, just not really active. It hasn't got much of a foamy head like this one, http://sourdough.com/blog/sourdom/beginners-blog-starter-scratch I haven't really read enough yet to know if this is really necessary, but this week the afternoon temperatures are due to be reasonably warm (+15C) though it is likely to drop again come the weekend. I'll post up a picture of what it looks like tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning.

PS - the starter actually tastes really nice... a touch sour and the sour taste gets stronger as it stays in your mouth, but not yet too strong or sour, so something has very definitely happened!
 
That pick looks like they have a bit more flour than yours. You can always test it by using the 'throw away' in a very small batch of rolls, that way it doesn't get too sour.
 
I thought that put looked more like a jam jar going by the lid and other photos.
I'm using something that would take 3-4 jam jars to fill.
I'll do a side of picture of mine later on... It's a kilner jar, just what I had free at the time. I think it's the.... Goes off to find out what size it actually is.

It's a 1l kilned jar. www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/art/50213546/ that I'm using. Apparently it is 16.5cm high!
 
:) Yeah, I have a giant batch myself, but then, I use mine everyday for pancakes. If you want to help the yeast along, add starch or sugar. I've used potato water too. Works like a charm.
 
I had thought about sacrificing a date! (these are very nice dates, named variety that I pay a lot for so it is a sacrifice! :laugh:

today... still bubbling away.

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I have made it a touch thicker this time, so I guess the bubbles may take longer. The weather has warmed up a touch, but was near freezing overnight (the fridge could have actually been warmer than my bedroom!) I tried making a batch of throw away rolls, but I think the temp in the dehydrator which I am using an airing cupboard may have been too high and killed everything! The knob turned when I put the trays on the top :( I'm giving it a while longer (the throw away stuff, then I'll either cook it on the griddle as an unleaven bread or bung it in the oven... probably the griddle tbh. I can always try again tomorrow. I think it could be a touch soon for it, but we will see. thanks for the help - much appreciated.
 
I like your creativity and stuborness in this; very cool. Have you tried wrapping your jar in a towl or blanket? Thats what the old miners, here in the US, did up in Alaska during winter. Just a thought. Your mother looks great BTW.
 
I used the sourdough starter in a batch of bread last night and other than it turning out to be much more of a rye bread than a sourdough (:whistling:) it was actually really nice. It was the stuff that would have been thrown. I am considering the options of putting it in a blanket, however right now, it is alongside the dehydrator which is on so it may be a little more active today (she says hopefully). I still don't think it is active enough to make an actual sourdough bread, but that is probably a good thing because I have yet to really read up on what I need to do to make sourdough. :scratchhead: I'm saving that for another day (there is only so much I can manage in one day with my bad back and my inability to sit or stand...:eek:)
 
I hear ya - there are days in which my one hip and knee are so bad that things are the same here.
 
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