make and maintain your own sourdough starter |
you can make your own. |
you'll need a volume of at least one and 1/3 cups. |
there are several ingredient combinations for making wild |
yeast sourdough |
- one is to grate a raw potato. then add enough water to cover |
and enough flour to make a thin batter of about a cup and a |
third in volume. |
- another method is to use water that you've boiled potatoes |
in instead of the grated potato and water combination. |
- you can also use flour, sugar and water. use one cup of |
flour, a tablespoon of sugar and enough water to make a |
pancake consistency batter. |
- yet another is to simply mix together equal amounts of water |
and flour (whole wheat is best for this). |
anything that provides food for the yeast and a good growing |
environment will work. yeast needs sugar or carbohydrates |
(which it converts to sugar), and clear liquid. |
make your choice based on what you have handy and just because |
that's what you'd like to try. don't worry about whether or |
not one set of ingredients will work better than another |
because the chances are that they will all be equally |
efficient in attracting wild (sour) yeast. there is no exact |
recipe because there are so many other variables in each house |
that will invite or dissuade wild yeasts from entering the |
mixture. if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. the |
most important thing is the method. |
when you have decided on the ingredients you want, put them in |
a glass container that will hold at least three times the |
volume of the ingredients. mix lightly with a wooden or |
plastic spoon as some metals will react to it. the working of |
the starter will mix itself. |
leave the mixture undisturbed and loosely covered with a cloth |
or perforated plastic (to allow gases to escape) at warm room |
temperature until it begins to froth or work and expand. |
this is a sign that wild yeasts have made themselves at home |
and that's what you're after. the new starter will rise up in |
the container, then fall again. when it has, it's ready for |
use. (note: it will smell sour!) |
when you use it, always leave some in the container and add |
flour and water back to equal what you've taken out. most |
recipes call for a cup of starter, so replace it with a half |
cup of flour and a half-cup of water and set it in a warm |
place to work again. |
you will probably see a liquid covering the top at one time or |
another. this is called hooch, and it's exactly what it |
sounds like, but don't drink it! actually, it's harmless, so |
stir it back into the starter if the starter is thick, or if |
it's thin, just pour the hooch off. it's nothing to worry much |
about either way. |
keep sourdough in the refrigerator unless you use it at least |
every third day. if you use it that often, you can leave it on |
the counter or any place where it's safe. if you can't |
refrigerate it, you can keep it fresh by throwing out a cup of |
it every second or third day and then replenish with flour and |
water. wait until it works again before counting days. |
a properly cared for starter can live indefinitely, but if you |
leave it out without using it for too long, the yeast can |
literally suffocate in its own waste products. if the starter |
looks off color (grayish is normal) or turns pink, toss it and |
start fresh. |
what can you make with sourdough besides the traditional |
bread, you can make biscuits, pancakes, pretzels, bagels |
muffins, cornbread and even cookies! once you're comfortable |
using it, you can experiment with your favorite yeast or |
baking powder recipes. simply put, you substitute sourdough |
for leavening and part or all of the liquid. |
