Bread Flour

[noboundaries]

No boundries great looking starter. I bake alot of different breads, but when i made a starter it never started lol not sure what I did wrong. Ciabatta is excellent I Make it as well but with instant yeast.

Thank you for the compliment, but I cheat. I don't make my sourdough starter in the traditional way of build - ferment on the counter - throw half away - feed - repeat ad nauseum.

I find a decent sized jar that doesn't take up too much room. I add 20g of flour (AP/bread/whole wheat-your choice). I usually use non-bleached AP. Add a pinch of instant yeast, then 20g of room temp water. Stir to mix, cover loosely with the cap, and let it ferment on the counter for 12 - 18 hours.

Add 20g flour. 20g water. No yeast. Stir to mix into the first addition. Cover loosely and let it sit for 24 hours on the counter.

I repeat this until the fermentation nears the top, then I use what I want and stick the rest in the fridge. I've had earlier versions in my fridge for months before using again.

A couple days before I'm going to need the starter, I take it out of the fridge, pour off the hooch, and start feeding. I never discard a thing. 20/20 works, but I've used other measurements based on how many loaves I'm gonna make.

Basically the starter is a flavor element. I generally use 100g of starter for 400g of flour. If I'm pressed for time, another cheat is to add instant yeast to the flour, water, and salt. 1 tsp is generally enough unless you've added seeds and grains, then I bump it to 2 tsp.

Happy fermenting!

Ray

 

[Danblacksher]

Thank you for the compliment, but I cheat. I don't make my sourdough starter in the traditional way of build - ferment on the counter - throw half away - feed - repeat ad nauseum.

I find a decent sized jar that doesn't take up too much room. I add 20g of flour (AP/bread/whole wheat-your choice). I usually use non-bleached AP. Add a pinch of instant yeast, then 20g of room temp water. Stir to mix, cover loosely with the cap, and let it ferment on the counter for 12 - 18 hours.

Add 20g flour. 20g water. No yeast. Stir to mix into the first addition. Cover loosely and let it sit for 24 hours on the counter.

I repeat this until the fermentation nears the top, then I use what I want and stick the rest in the fridge. I've had earlier versions in my fridge for months before using again.

A couple days before I'm going to need the starter, I take it out of the fridge, pour off the hooch, and start feeding. I never discard a thing. 20/20 works, but I've used other measurements based on how many loaves I'm gonna make.

Basically the starter is a flavor element. I generally use 100g of starter for 400g of flour. If I'm pressed for time, another cheat is to add instant yeast to the flour, water, and salt. 1 tsp is generally enough unless you've added seeds and grains, then I bump it to 2 tsp.

Happy fermenting!

Ray

Thank you Ray I will do this!

 

[noboundaries]

My next experiment is to NOT pour off the hooch but to stir it back into the starter when I add the next feeding. From what I've read it adds to the sourdough flavor. We'll see. I started the next round of feeding this morning.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

My next experiment is to NOT pour off the hooch but to stir it back into the starter when I add the next feeding. From what I've read it adds to the sourdough flavor. We'll see. I started the next round of feeding this morning.

Watching...

 

[noboundaries]

I made a batch of semi-sourdough English muffins. No pics but my wife loved them. Very little hooch though. Yeah, I know, no pics it didn't happen. It was an experiment and I generally don't take pics of experiments. 100% AP flour. They were overproofed but worked fine. Crumb was a bit too tight for me.

I started another batch of the muffins today. Made a couple changes to my recipe. 50/50 bread/AP flour. And no overnight proof in the fridge. Once again, very little hooch. These should be same day muffins. First rise happening now.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

My wife's last batch of sourdough didn't rise very much at all. She baked it anyway and other than being dense, it tasted OK. I told her it had to be something wrong with the starter, but we'll see. She is making another batch today...

 

[noboundaries]

Like I said, I cheat. If my sourdough doesn't rise, I dissolve a tsp of yeast in a little water and work it into the dough. Problem solved.

These sour dough Eng muffins use sourdough starter for the flavor and yeast for the rise. It rises FAST! Like 30 minutes with 200g active starter, 6g instant yeast, and 400g of flour.

As you can tell, I'm not a purest.

Baker's dozen 15 mins into second rise.

 

[noboundaries]

My next experiment is to NOT pour off the hooch but to stir it back into the starter when I add the next feeding. From what I've read it adds to the sourdough flavor. We'll see. I started the next round of feeding this morning.

The consistency of the starter changed. It is bubbly but more liquidy. Still floats. My last feeding was 20g of flour only, no water, due to the change. I'm making a whole wheat seeded loaf today so any change in flavor will be subtle.