Sourdough

[Home farm]

I've been making different doughs and breads, using yeast, and I feel it's time to take on sourdough.

Where do I begin? Where can I get the starter for this in the UK?

Suggestions welcome.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

It is possible to purchase sourdough starter but it is just as easy to make your own. Each area of the country has its own yeasts in the air and each give you a distinctive different starter. When I lived in the UK (just over 3 years ago) I had 2 different starters going. The one from rural Cheshire and the one from the Highlands of Scotland. They both had very different properties, smells and flavors. The 2 combined made for the best sourdough in my view.

Unless you're in an inner city, I'd make my own starter.

To make a starter, you need a sterile clean Kilner jar (or something very similar with an airtight lid), flour and spring/mineral water.

All you do is measure out 2 tbsp of flour and 1 tbsp spring water, mix together together in the sterile jar (using a sterilized spoon, just sterilize it using boiling water) and leave the lid of the jar slightly open.

Each day, you need to add a tsp or so of flour and similar of spring water. Leave the jar open slightly, and leave the jar out on a windowsill or the bench where it won't get knocked over .

After a few days you'll start to see some activity, depends on how warm the places is where you keep the starter.

Keep repeating. Some days you'll not want to add water, you're after a thickish mixture that settles flat within a few minutes. Not too runny though.

You'll get to a point where there's enough 'mother' and it has become active enough that it will need moving to a new jar. Sterilize another Kilmer jar and mix 3 or 4 tbsp of flour with similar of spring water and just 1 tsp of the 'old' starter. Leave it be for a day or two and it should have enough life in it that it needs feeding again. Clean your original jar and repeat... once you've been doing this for a couple of weeks, I've general found that my starter is now strong enough to try my first loaf.

I'll find the photos of mine for you. They are on here somewhere.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

One thing you note is that unless you are on a private water supply, you can not user tap water to make or feed your starter because all UK tap water, by law, had to be chlorinated and this process leave chlorine in the water which will kill the yeasts in the air that you actually want to grow in the flour.

Here's my old thread.
https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/sourdough-starter.4397/

 

[Morning Glory]

I've been making different doughs and breads, using yeast, and I feel it's time to take on sourdough.

Where do I begin? Where can I get the starter for this in the UK?

Suggestions welcome.

I'm in the same boat. I'm experienced making bread with yeast but have yet to achieve a sourdough.

One thing you note is that unless you are on a private water supply, you can not user tap water to make or feed your starter because all UK tap water, by law, had to be chlorinated and this process leave chlorine in the water which will kill the yeasts in the air that you actually want to grow in the flour.

Well now - maybe that is how I've failed with all my starters!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Well now - maybe that is how I've failed with all my starters!

Chlorine is the disinfectant part of bleach. Or the classic smell of a swimming pool.
Add to that the fact that a lot of areas in the UK now also have fluoride in the water as well (for those remembering their chemistry, chlorine, fluorine, iodine, bromine and astatine are all in the same column in the periodic table so all share similar properties) which also kills bugs (fluoride being used in toothpaste as well) and tap water is never going to work.

Fizzy mineral water will also mostly likely not work either because of the carbonation process. Carbon dioxide when forced into water makes a weakly acidic solution. Any acIdity or for that matter alkalinity on the water will kill the yeasts in the air that sourdough relies on.

I used to just purchase the cheapest mineral or spring water (non-fizzy) in the largest size and get my husband to pour it into a smaller mineral water container as needed. Luckily here in Australia, I'm back on a private water supply again, so I'm OK to use tap water again.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I'd like to try it soon!!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

If everyone wanted to, and if you all got 'supplies' over the weekend (such as suitable jars (2 of) and some spring water (2L will be more than enough to get the starter up and running), I'm more than happy to run a 'make your own sourdough starter' cookalong staring on Monday. I need to make a new one and refresh my old one. Any flour will do, but ideally if you're looking for a rye flour sourdough loaf, you should start your starter with a rye flour mix. So you might need some rye flour.

Remember you can start your starter anywhere, so even on holiday it can be made. Plus the UK's warm weather right now will make it very easy to get one going and once it's up and running, you can store it in the fridge without the need to refresh or feed it da everyday.

 

[Morning Glory]

Why do you need 2 jars? The only instructions I've seen say one jar.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Why do you need 2 jars? The only instructions I've seen say one jar.

Once you get to the feeding stage, you add 1tsp of existing starter to flour and water which is best done in a clean sterile jar. (So premix the flour and water in something sterile, add 1 tsp of starter to it and mix well. Now leave that starter to 'grow'). The remaining starter gets thrown. Feeding isn't a adding flour and water to the existing starter, else you'll soon run out of space and you need to feed all of the starter. This is different to creating a starter where you do add flour and water to the starter mixture.

 

[Morning Glory]

So how large do the jars need to be?

 

[Home farm]

Thanks SNSSO for the detailed explanation. I'm going to start mine on Monday, which leads into my next question.

I was hoping to make a sourdough pizza. My dough is typically 500g strong flour with 300ml water and approx. 3 teaspoons of instant yeast. When it comes to making my next pizza dough, how much of the starter do I need to add?

Also, will that dough require the same proving time (I typically prove for 8 hours)?

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

So how large do the jars need to be?

I use the IKEA Kilner style jars that are about hand width height. Nice and cheap and can fit on a shelf in the fridge for when you

 

[MrsDangermouse]

Oooh this could be interesting - I've also failed so many times at trying to get a sourdough starter going. I never knew about the water issue....that would explain so much.

I have the jars and some wholemeal flour but I'm not sure if I'm going to have the opportunity get some bottled water. But the water filter removes the chlorine at least so I might just give it a go with that.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

You should also be able to remove a lot of the chloride from the water (not sure this will work for fluoride though) by getting your tap water into a wide mouth open container now and letting it stand for 48hrs. You'll see bubbles forming. Some of that will be oxygen and other useful or neural gases coming out of the water but chloride should also come out in the form of chlorine gas (harmless to humans at the levels in water but bad for bacteria and the likes in water). The problem is that not enough may come out and if your water had fluoride in out, that won't come out in the form of fluorine because fluorine gas is very reactive so reacts too readily with what else is one the water and will stay in the water in the form of fluoride.

Putting it through the water filter will help. I'm just not certain that it will get all chloride and fluoride out. I'm not sure if fluoride is even on three radar of water filters to remove. That could be cartridge dependant as well as brand dependant as well. The only way too find out would be to conduct an experiment and try.

But spring water or mineral water is readily available in most shops/petrol stations and the likes, even vending machines. You only need a small amount to get going. Getting larger containers of it is just cheaper in the long run, plus its more environmentally friendly.

 

[rascal]

Sour dough is prolly my second fave bread, but I guess I'm lazy compared to you here, I like to make things that are easy, making a starter with yeast is not high on my agenda. Our local shops do cheap good quality sourdough.
It's really nice toasted with garlic butter. Don't think I will ever make!!

Russ