Sour dough

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The-Great-Nothing

Sour dough

Post by The-Great-Nothing »

Hi

Has anyone got a basic guide to sour dough (making the jar of goo, and keeping it going, then how to use it)

I can't find a decent and simple guide online.

Cheers

Matt
essgee23

Re: Sour dough

Post by essgee23 »

didnt river cottage do this? have a search through there vid clips maybe?

otherwise cant help, sorry
metatron

Re: Sour dough

Post by metatron »

The-Great-Nothing wrote:Hi

Has anyone got a basic guide to sour dough (making the jar of goo, and keeping it going, then how to use it)

I can't find a decent and simple guide online.

Cheers

Matt
I did a write up a while back its in the Recipes section somewhere.
Arzosah
Posts: 6915
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:20 pm

Re: Sour dough

Post by Arzosah »

If you need some of the goo, I've got loads (I think - don't think it died in the pot, tho its been left alone a couple of months) - pm me if you want me to send you some.

**waves at Metatron**
preppingsu

Re: Sour dough

Post by preppingsu »

Have a look here

viewtopic.php?f=40&t=2115

:D
slugboy

Re: Sour dough

Post by slugboy »

hi. i know im a newbie but i do make my own bread (well mainly the metal box in the corner of my kitchen does, but im learning)

i got given a herman friendship cake starter about 4 months back, and have kept it going nicely. it is however a sweet starter and not really suitable for sourdough bread.
i did wonder if i could convert the sweet yeast/lactobacillus starter to a more prison diet and therefore into a standard sourdough starter. so on day 9 of the herman 10 day cycle (which i now break and it hasnt caused any issues) i split off about 200ml into a separate mason jar and proceeded to feed it only plain flour and warm water, about 2 level tablespoons of flour and water each a day for a week.
now i feed it only every other day and syphon off the hooch to keep it as productive as possible.
my first sourdough loaf was more solid than id have hoped, but i did leave it for about 9 hours too long between end of first rise and knocking back for final proving, which i dont think helped. the taste however was delicious and so my second experiment will be starting in the next day or so.

the basic plan for a sourdough goes 1) starter, 2) sponge, 3) bread.

given i have a starter i went straight for sponge, which is about 100ml of starter, 250grams of bread flour and 300ml warm water in a large bowl, stirred and covered somewhere warm overnight.

in the morning it should be bubbly from the fermenting, now onto making the bread.

add 300grams more flour, 10g salt and maybe a little oil if you are feeling posh. this needs mixing together then around 10 mins of good kneading on a floured surface, it will change from being somewhat ikky to a silk 'dough' surprisingly quickly!
plonk back into the bowl (lighty oiled, and turn the dough into the oil if you have it available)

let it rise. it will do this much slower than with commercial yeast. many hours poss.
knock it back and let rise again (this was where i messed up) in the shape you want to bake it in. could be a few hours again....
preheat oven hot, 250C and slash the top of the loaf with a knife.
bake for 15 mins, then reduce temp to 200C for about 25 mins till bottom of loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
et fin.



to make starter from scratch, apparently mix some flour and water to make a paint thick batter, whisk in some air and then leave covered for a few days, the wild yeasts that live in your neck of the woods will do what comes naturally and you will hopefully start to get a bubbly yeast and lacto bac culture. your starter!

i store my starters in mason jars. importantly with the seal removed. to prevent pressure build up.........

if i do bug out, i would take some of my starter with me in a plastic bottle if at all possible, i guess i could keep a few sachets of dried yeast but id have to make a starter at some point if i wanted leavened bread long term so may as well save myself the hassle of doing it in the field/ditch/wherever.

im sure the cooking instructions could be converted to over an open fire or other field cooking process, maybe experiments have already been done or historical techniques documented? i seem to remember ray mears cooking soda bread in a tin suspended over embers?

i hope this was of some use
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pseudonym
Posts: 5516
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:11 am
Location: East Midlands

Re: Sour dough

Post by pseudonym »

slugboy wrote:hi. i know im a newbie but i do make my own bread (well mainly the metal box in the corner of my kitchen does, but im learning)

i hope this was of some use

Newbie or not, what a great post. :)
Two is one and one is none, but three is even better.
Arzosah
Posts: 6915
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:20 pm

Re: Sour dough

Post by Arzosah »

Seconded! Good for you, slugboy!
junmist
Posts: 1496
Joined: Tue May 08, 2012 5:39 am

Re: Sour dough

Post by junmist »

preppingsu wrote:Have a look here

viewtopic.php?f=40&t=2115

:D
Hi thanks for this recipe PS but I've got to ask in the recipe it says rip bits off of the old dough do you rip all of the old dough up and put it in or leave some of it in the fridge. Sorry if it seems like a silly question :oops:
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metatron

Re: Sour dough

Post by metatron »

junmist wrote:
preppingsu wrote:Have a look here

viewtopic.php?f=40&t=2115

:D
Hi thanks for this recipe PS but I've got to ask in the recipe it says rip bits off of the old dough do you rip all of the old dough up and put it in or leave some of it in the fridge. Sorry if it seems like a silly question :oops:
No problem, the old dough is just produced for that batch of bread. Leaving dough in the fridge over night allows the yeast to work slowly and you develop a lot more taste.