Bubba's Bar 'n' Grill

White? Wheat?

Does anyone have a good recipe for a starter mix?

I've never made it and looking to glean info from those who have

You're in luck, Mom was feeling chatty tonight.

1 packet of yeast (I know, counter-intutive, bear with me)
1C. lukewarm water (spring water, distilled water, something other than straight tap water)
1t. sugar
1 1/2 C flour (if gluten-free, use approprate flour

In a 1-2qt container (that can be easily covered with a cloth) disolve the yeast in the water.
Add the sugar, stir, add the flour.
Cover and let the container sit in a warm place untill fermented, approxmately 1 to 3 days, stiring ocasionally the first day.
The mix will bubble up and ferment and then die down with a skim of liquid on the top.
STIR WELL BEFORE USING!!! (Should look like pancake batter when its ready.)
When you use some to bake refresh your starter with a 1/2 cup lukewarm water, 3/4 cup flour and 1/2t sugar.

Please note: Do not cover the starter with a lid that can create a tight seal. You'll cut off the air supply and kill your starter.
Also of note, do cover your starter with a cloth, as fruitflies LOVE sourdough starter, it calls to them like you have never seen!


Now, if you want to do it the long way (with "Wild Yeast")...
Mix the water, sugar and flour together in the container.
Cover, put in a warm place, and wait....
Within a week you SHOULD see some activity.

(01-17-2012 10:49 PM)HardwareGrl Wrote: [ -> ]You're in luck, Mom was feeling chatty tonight.

1 packet of yeast (I know, counter-intutive, bear with me)
1C. lukewarm water (spring water, distilled water, something other than straight tap water)
1t. sugar
1 1/2 C flour (if gluten-free, use approprate flour

In a 1-2qt container (that can be easily covered with a cloth) disolve the yeast in the water.
Add the sugar, stir, add the flour.
Cover and let the container sit in a warm place untill fermented, approxmately 1 to 3 days, stiring ocasionally the first day.
The mix will bubble up and ferment and then die down with a skim of liquid on the top.
STIR WELL BEFORE USING!!! (Should look like pancake batter when its ready.)
When you use some to bake refresh your starter with a 1/2 cup lukewarm water, 3/4 cup flour and 1/2t sugar.

Please note: Do not cover the starter with a lid that can create a tight seal. You'll cut off the air supply and kill your starter.
Also of note, do cover your starter with a cloth, as fruitflies LOVE sourdough starter, it calls to them like you have never seen!


Now, if you want to do it the long way (with "Wild Yeast")...
Mix the water, sugar and flour together in the container.
Cover, put in a warm place, and wait....
Within a week you SHOULD see some activity.

... Or you can contact King Arthur Flour in Norwich VT and they sell an active sour dough starter. No matter how you start your culture, once you get it going it is a finicky little organism. If you leave it to long to ferment, it will become WAY to strong. You need to constantly feed/re-start your culture to keep it in good condition and this often means doing so even if you don't want to make bread, thus wasting good culture and a small amount of $. As HG said above, you need to cover it (I use a ceramic crock with a loose fitting cover) or REAL funky things can happen. I also store mine in the fridge as it lasts a bit longer between feedings.

There is also a great book out there, perhaps I can find the title when I am home tonight, all about Sourdough bread baking and if I recall correctly, a great website/ catalog resource besides king Arthur where folks have collected and sell starters from around the world. Apparently, there are starters that don't work on certain flour types etc and have different flavor profiles. Enjoy the adventure. Mrs. C and I had fun for a little while with it but it just became a bit much after awhile.

Just think of it as a pet that needs your love and care. I do have some recipes from various places for bread, pancakes, biscuits and brownies.


http://www.neilpeart.net/bng_forum_beta/...123&page=1

Here is the website I mentioned.

http://sourdo.com/

I haven't had a chance yet to get started (been a bit croupy and busy). I am anxious to get started on starter..............because I LOVE sourdough bread............with cold butter.........Mmmmmmmmmmm!

I guess it depends on the sourdough that you're looking for...true San Francisco sourdough requires a starter from San Francisco. The secret is the native yeast of the area. You can order it online, but it'll only produce a true S.F. sourdough for a couple of batches before your native yeast (assuming you're not in the Bay Area) starts taking over and changing the starter.

I was able to buy a dried started this past weekend from my local "Wealthy Living" Health food store. Made a decent dough, though it was very wet, but it was the most FOUL smelling sourdough i have ever used. I think it was called GoldRush and claimed to be from San Fran. I still have the starter in the fridge and I will try again next weekend. Odor caught me by surprise though.