Doesn't that sound cool and tricky and so advanced?! Yeah, I thought so, too. Turns out, sourdough starter is.. well.. it's 2 whole ingredients. Yep. 2. That's it. Flour and water.
The idea is to attract, feed, and cultivate naturally-occurring wild yeasts to give breads that amazing sourdough tang as well as the lift we usually get from baker's yeast.
You can use a whole lot of flours and sources for water/liquid. But in my reading (because I don't do anything without reading and researching), most recommend starting with just AP flour and water. There are some that will have you use cabbage or fruits (like grapes) or pineapple juice to try to jump start the yeast. I'm choosing to be a purist (some might say 'stubborn') and just use good old AP flour and bottled water.
The only caveat I've read about water is that you don't want to use tap water. The additives can kill or seriously harm your yeast development. So I used some bottled water that I happen to have on hand.
Mix. Store somewhere warm. Feed. And wait.
Hold on..."somewhere warm". Uh oh. If you've met me, you know I don't like warm. In fact, I keep our apartment quite chilly. Hmmmmm.... this could be tricky. I'll have to see what happens and see if I can find a spot in our place that is less chilly than everywhere else.
So... here's the "recipe" for today's part:
4 oz AP flour (yes, ounces. Get a kitchen scale. Baking is better and more consistent if you do it by weight, not volume.)
4 oz water (not tap)
Mix.
Put into a storage container and cover with plastic wrap or cheese cloth or a very light lid. Do NOT seal it closed - the gasses created by fermentation will need somewhere to go!
Watch and get to know your starter. We'll be feeding it at least once a day every day this week!
 |
| Weigh your ingredients. |
 |
| Mix-y Mix-y! |
 |
| This container has measurements marked on it. Helps with keeping track of how much it has grown. |
 |
| This lid is basically just balanced on top. I forgot to get cheesecloth...ooops. |
No comments:
Post a Comment