Sourdough starter

Barriehie

Barriehie

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I made a sourdough starter when covid was full tilt shelter in place and nobody had yeast. Bought some organic blueberries and swirled around in water. Added some flour and a dab of honey and 3 weeks later I had a wild yeast starter! You know that filmy looking white sheen on smooth fruits like plums??? Mostly yeast if it's not something sprayed on by Big Ag.
 
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Barriehie said:
I made a sourdough starter when covid was full tilt shelter in place and nobody had yeast. Bought some organic blueberries and swirled around in water. Added some flour and a dab of honey and 3 weeks later I had a wild yeast starter! You know that filmy looking white sheen on smooth fruits like plums??? Mostly yeast if it's not something sprayed on by Big Ag.
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Interestingly enough, the flour itself (unbleached, rye, or other whole grain) contains a good bit of wild yeast. I started my starter with just organic rye and water.
 
I know that now thank you. :thumbsup:
That was the first time I'd ever had to source yeast that wasn't on a grocery shelf! I kept that starter for 2 years and a move across the country killed it.
 
Barriehie said:
I know that now thank you. :thumbsup:
That was the first time I'd ever had to source yeast that wasn't on a grocery shelf! I kept that starter for 2 years and a move across the country killed it.
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You can easily "start" another one! I started mine in early fall but it was still a bit cool for that up here so it was slow going at first. Now it's thriving! I would think you would have better luck if you started one since the temps are a lot warmer down south than up here in NE Ohio.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
You can easily "start" another one! I started mine in early fall but it was still a bit cool for that up here so it was slow going at first. Now it's thriving! I would think you would have better luck if you started one since the temps are a lot warmer down south than up here in NE Ohio.
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Good idea! 👍
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JAS_OH1 said:
Someone here (Puggles) told me that it's bad luck to not name your starter. I named mine "The Kraken" after the Norse mythological creature that ate boats. I guess once yours starts to bubble it's safe to find a name for her!
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Never heard of that but I didn't name the first one and look what happened! I'll make a note, thank you.
 
Does anyone have a whole-grain sourdough bread recipe? SatNavSaysStraightOn, Barriehie, Puggles, anyone else?

I was also looking for a beer sourdough pizza recipe. I found one online, but I am suspicious because it called for 6 cups of AP flour for one 16" pizza, which sounds like too much flour for one large pizza! Also I would prefer a recipe that uses weight (grams) instead of cups. I did like that it uses beer, which sounds like it would be quite flavorful. It also uses yeast in addition to the starter which would probably make a nice fluffy crust. But I don't want a really thick, bready pizza, either...yeah 6 cups of flour is way too much, I am sure of it.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
Does anyone have a whole-grain sourdough bread recipe? SatNavSaysStraightOn, Barriehie, Puggles, anyone else?

I was also looking for a beer sourdough pizza recipe. I found one online, but I am suspicious because it called for 6 cups of AP flour for one 16" pizza, which sounds like too much flour for one large pizza! Also I would prefer a recipe that uses weight (grams) instead of cups. I did like that it uses beer, which sounds like it would be quite flavorful. It also uses yeast in addition to the starter which would probably make a nice fluffy crust. But I don't want a really thick, bready pizza, either...yeah 6 cups of flour is way too much, I am sure of it.
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I don't have an exact recipe but since I know the hydration % of the starter I just go with that to figure the amounts of ingredients. I'm all about bakers percentages when it comes to bread.
 
Barriehie said:
I don't have an exact recipe but since I know the hydration % of the starter I just go with that to figure the amounts of ingredients. I'm all about bakers percentages when it comes to bread.
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Same here.

For whole wheat I would go for a slightly higher hydration.
Take your "standard" recipe and just bring up hydration.

I'm in a hot climate and I use a gas oven.
Both of those got me to aim for roughly 62 - 65% hydration.
My starter is around there as well. I used to have a 100 % hydration starter, but found the lower hydration working better in my climate.
My eye opener book was by Ken Forkish, but not his recipes. The actual text did it (his recipes are fine but too much discard)
 
I want to do multigrains, maybe some rye, oats, etc. I am horrible with math LOL so I will just try to find a recipe that already has the types of flours and/or grains I want to use.
 
Nothing wrong with a bit of trial and error :)

For rye...
Take your standard recipe,.
Than instead of all bread flour, take 3/4 bread flour and 1/4 rye.
It will work (you may be able to get up to 40% rye)
100 % rye will not rise and be very dense.

For wholewheat, same.
Standard recipe. 3/4 bread flour, 1/4 whole wheat. No issues.
More than that you may need to adjust
 
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