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 Sourdough Starter | Status Approved | | Name |  Sourdough Starter | | Category | The Bakery, This and That | | Serves/Yields | 1 1/2 cups about | | Source | Kate | | Difficulty | Easy | | Prep. Time | 2 to 3 weeks | | Cook Time | 0 | | Introduction | | This is the method the pioneers used to make a sourdough starter if they didn't have a friend or neighbor that could give them some of their established starter.. They didn't use the added yeast, but hoped that the starter would gather enough wild yeast from the air to start working. The added yeast ensures a successful product, but you can try without and see what happens.The starter I have and use is about 100 years old and I have given out many batches to friends over the years . This is my sourdough jar pictured.
If you live in or around Vista, Calif and would like some of my starter, send me an email to kate@yummyfood.net and we can arrange a pickup place. | | Ingredients | | 2 cups all_purpose_flour
1 tsp dry yeast
1 Tbsp granulated_sugar or honey
2 baking ( russet) potatoes ,peeled and cut up
2 cups water | | Directions | | Step: 1 | Boil the potatoes in the 2 cups of water until they are very very soft and falling apart. Strain potato water into a large glass bowl and let it cool to lukewarm. Discard the potato pulp. | | Step: 2 | Add sugar or honey, yeast and flour and mix well with a wooden spoon.
Cover the bowl with a clean dry cotton towel.
Place the bowl in a warm ,draft free place and stir everyday. The starter will start to bubble and grow after a few days. It should develop a nice yeasty/sour smell. After about 2 weeks it is ready to use. Always remember to keep a little starter out to replenish your storage jar when making bread or pancakes. Feed your starter every week or two, depending on how often you use it, with a little flour and warm water and some times a pinch of sugar to rev it up if it has gotten "lazy". I store my starter in a glass jar in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature and feed it if it has sat for a long time unused.
A thin dark liquid may develop on top, this is ok. Pour it off and add a little water and mix well. If you get too much starter, give some to a friend. | | Step: 3 | Some rules for sourdough.
Always prepare sourdough batter and store the starter with non reactive (metal) utensils, bowls and containers. The starter will develop a tinny taste when metal is used. I use a quart mason jar to store my starter in the fridge and use wooden spoons and glass bowls when I'm making bread and pancakes.
The longer a starter sits, the more sour it gets. If you use your starter several times a month, then you won't have to worry about it being too sour. For bread , a very sour starter gives the finished loaf a nice tang. You might want to keep one starter just for bread.
Always use a large bowl when making starter batter. A very active starter can grow and climb out of the bowl.
Clean up any spilled starter quickly, because it dries like concrete.
I have heard stories that some people have frozen their starter, but I have never tried it.
Sourdough starter is by nature gelatinous or stretchy . This is completely normal. |
Time submitted: Tuesday, August 08. 2006 at 20:57:16 Contributed By: Kate
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