I mixed up a new starter about ten days ago. Used whole wheat flour and it was very active and would quickly double in size between feedings. I switched to white flour for feeding two days ago and it doesnt seem as vigorous now. Did I switch too soon?
-
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
Sourdough starter
- Thread starter lakota
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
zimmerstutzen
70 Cal.
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2009
- Messages
- 5,848
- Reaction score
- 1,215
my uncle was a baker all his life. He would cheat. He'd make up regular bread dough and add a tablespoon or two of cider vinegar during the last forrming before baking..
I have baked three loaves of bread from this new starter and they are extremely sour. The last loaf was so sour that nobody would eat it. Dont know if something is wrong with it. The starter smells like nail polish remover. My old starter never made bread this sour. I just got my sample of Carl's Oregon Trail Sourdough starter in the mail so I think I am going to throw my starter out and start over.
My sourdough starter was started in 1982, I used one package of dry yeast. Never has had anything in it but water and flour since. I don't use whole wheat in my starter as it gets too blackish. I use about 50-50 whole and white when I am baking. Now sourdough likes a little sweet,I use two sugar substitutes in my batches. You should be good with the new starter. Dilly
I revived the sample of the Oregon Trail sourdough I got from Friends of Carl. It is super active! It pushed the lid off of the container I have it in. So far I have made two batches of biscuits with it and they have been a big hit so I decided to toss the whole wheat starter in the trash.
Guest
Over the years, I have lost several starters by neglecting to feed them often enough, or by some sort of wild yeast or bacterial contamination. Just a couple years ago, I learned a trick for keeping a starter forever -- dry it. Spread a spoonful of starter on a sheet of plastic wrap, let it dry completely, break it up and store in an airtight vial. It takes a couple of days to rejuvinate. I keep the dried starter for a backup, in case I let my starter die again.
I have read that dried sourdough used to chink cabin walls was successfully rejuvinated after 80 years or more. May not be true, but it makes a good story :haha:
I have read that dried sourdough used to chink cabin walls was successfully rejuvinated after 80 years or more. May not be true, but it makes a good story :haha:
shovelhead
32 Cal.
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2010
- Messages
- 32
- Reaction score
- 0
I've messed around with sourdough a little but the bread is as heavy as lead and the crust- I have to saw through it. I read that you weren't supposed to knead the dough that much and then someone else told me that is why it isn't rising more. Any ideas?
Congress Own Regiment
40 Cal.
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2007
- Messages
- 311
- Reaction score
- 0
we have made our own bread for a little over a year. But always use yest. read about sourdough but have not got into it. My family wont touch store bought bread any more. but lately now that it is colder we had a hard time getting it to rise in a timely. Thinking of making a heater box to help it rise.
Before reading your post hear did not know other GUYS made bread.
Not that making your own stuff is a problem. I even make my own charcoal.
Any way I have wanted to start the sourdough but have not had any one to guild me in to the does and dont's any advise on it would be appreciated
Before reading your post hear did not know other GUYS made bread.
Not that making your own stuff is a problem. I even make my own charcoal.
Any way I have wanted to start the sourdough but have not had any one to guild me in to the does and dont's any advise on it would be appreciated
Ft. Jefferson
40 Cal.
- Joined
- May 5, 2010
- Messages
- 375
- Reaction score
- 3
Might otta start another thread just for recipes, eh!
shovelhead
32 Cal.
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2010
- Messages
- 32
- Reaction score
- 0
Well I'll share what little I have done and maybe someone else may see where I'm going wrong or doing something right.
The internet has a lot of sourdough information but I wanted something historically correct. A lot (most) of the internet information has you add yeast (what's the point of the sourdough???) or baking soda(not powder) which doesn't seem PC to me.
Now, first off the use of sourdough is supposed to be thousands of years old however it seems absent from any writings during most of our target time periods- why I'm not sure. The 49ers during the gold rush (1849+) used sourdough so I'm not sure why it wasn't more common for long hunters/mountain men. It could be that wheat flour was more costly than corn meal or didn't keep as well or having to tote around a crock of sourdough was too much trouble. On the last point, the fur companies that traveled in caravans surely had enough equipment to carry a crock of sour dough- so- just don't know.
Anyway......
1. Take one cup of flour- it is supposed to be unbleached but I bought 5lbs of bleached for $1 so I used that. Stir in 1 cup of luke warm (80 degrees) water and let sit in a crock jar (I used an old plastic maragine tub) You aren't supposed to use metal even though it is my understanding a metal pail was the standard thing used in Alaska during the Gold Rush there.
After one day the natural yeast in the air is supposed to start acting on your dough. When you first mix it up the density is a little drier than that for spoon drop biscuit dough/batter BUT once the yeast starts acting the thing becomes more liquid- like pancake batter. In any event after the first day toss out 1 cup (half) of your mix and then add a 1/2 cup of new flour and a 1/2 cup of luke warm water. Repeat this process every day. After 3-4 days you ought to have the stuff doubling in size, or rising when you take off the cover. For the first day or two the mix has both yeast (good) and bacteria (good or not good) so you aren't supposed to use it even if there are bubbles. The yeast takes over after 4-5 days and then you can use the stuff.
Actually I was impatient so I used it after 4 days.
Take out all but a cup of the sourdough- the stuff left- go ahead with the daily feeding of more flour and luke warm water. On that which you removed- add enough flour to make a bread dough.
Now, I think where I went wrong is that I read a book years ago that you weren't suposed to knead the stuff that much. BUT someone else told me that un-kneaded dough isn't elastic and won't expand or rise that much.
Any way I baked the stuff, the crust was really thick and it didn't rise that much- the inside of the bread was sort of like an English muffin. If you wanted to eat the stuff with a bowl of soup it would be okay but it really wasn't sandwich type bread.
My original question was about whether such a heavy bread was normal during our time period, I was wondering if the light- sandwich quality type bread is more a modern thing.
Any how that's about as far as I got so far- I'm interested in if anyone has any info on the PC way it was done.
The internet has a lot of sourdough information but I wanted something historically correct. A lot (most) of the internet information has you add yeast (what's the point of the sourdough???) or baking soda(not powder) which doesn't seem PC to me.
Now, first off the use of sourdough is supposed to be thousands of years old however it seems absent from any writings during most of our target time periods- why I'm not sure. The 49ers during the gold rush (1849+) used sourdough so I'm not sure why it wasn't more common for long hunters/mountain men. It could be that wheat flour was more costly than corn meal or didn't keep as well or having to tote around a crock of sourdough was too much trouble. On the last point, the fur companies that traveled in caravans surely had enough equipment to carry a crock of sour dough- so- just don't know.
Anyway......
1. Take one cup of flour- it is supposed to be unbleached but I bought 5lbs of bleached for $1 so I used that. Stir in 1 cup of luke warm (80 degrees) water and let sit in a crock jar (I used an old plastic maragine tub) You aren't supposed to use metal even though it is my understanding a metal pail was the standard thing used in Alaska during the Gold Rush there.
After one day the natural yeast in the air is supposed to start acting on your dough. When you first mix it up the density is a little drier than that for spoon drop biscuit dough/batter BUT once the yeast starts acting the thing becomes more liquid- like pancake batter. In any event after the first day toss out 1 cup (half) of your mix and then add a 1/2 cup of new flour and a 1/2 cup of luke warm water. Repeat this process every day. After 3-4 days you ought to have the stuff doubling in size, or rising when you take off the cover. For the first day or two the mix has both yeast (good) and bacteria (good or not good) so you aren't supposed to use it even if there are bubbles. The yeast takes over after 4-5 days and then you can use the stuff.
Actually I was impatient so I used it after 4 days.
Take out all but a cup of the sourdough- the stuff left- go ahead with the daily feeding of more flour and luke warm water. On that which you removed- add enough flour to make a bread dough.
Now, I think where I went wrong is that I read a book years ago that you weren't suposed to knead the stuff that much. BUT someone else told me that un-kneaded dough isn't elastic and won't expand or rise that much.
Any way I baked the stuff, the crust was really thick and it didn't rise that much- the inside of the bread was sort of like an English muffin. If you wanted to eat the stuff with a bowl of soup it would be okay but it really wasn't sandwich type bread.
My original question was about whether such a heavy bread was normal during our time period, I was wondering if the light- sandwich quality type bread is more a modern thing.
Any how that's about as far as I got so far- I'm interested in if anyone has any info on the PC way it was done.
I read that :bull: years ago and what I found out was the more I worked the dough the higher my biscuits rose. I never made too much loaf bread. Mostly biscuits and frybread, pancakes. I used one small packet of yeast to start mine in 1982. Tasted like yeast bread for about year. Then like sourdough. Dilly
123.DieselBenz
45 Cal.
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2010
- Messages
- 706
- Reaction score
- 2
I had a brick oven wood fired bakery when I lived back in VT, I made only sourdough (or naturally leavened) breads.
I made my own starter with only flour and water (Bleached is a no-no in either flour or water*!) let it sit for about 3-5 days stirring every day . . . it will get bubbly then act like it died . . . then it will get bubbly again, then take out half, and throw away, then feed it (half flour and half water) the first bubbly is the bacteria, the second bubbly is yeast!
Feed it every day for 3-5 days . . . then use it, I stored mine in the fridge, and would feed the morning of the day before I'd bake, leaving it on the counter, then mix up my first "chef" (a small amount which you would then add to, to make the final dough) around noon, (then put "Mikey" my starter in the fridge) in the evening just before bed I'd add more flour and water to the "chef", then the next morning I'd mix up the final dough, and hopefully have it in the oven around noon.
By stretching out the feeding (or "chef's") to make the final dough you do not allow it to become as sour tasting . . . you need to Knead the dough, it builds the gluten in the flour which traps CO2 gasses given off by the yeast, which causes it to rise!
*if you have chlorinated water, put it in an open container, and let it sit 24 hours, the chlorine will dissipate, and you can then use it, I used a filter!
I made my own starter with only flour and water (Bleached is a no-no in either flour or water*!) let it sit for about 3-5 days stirring every day . . . it will get bubbly then act like it died . . . then it will get bubbly again, then take out half, and throw away, then feed it (half flour and half water) the first bubbly is the bacteria, the second bubbly is yeast!
Feed it every day for 3-5 days . . . then use it, I stored mine in the fridge, and would feed the morning of the day before I'd bake, leaving it on the counter, then mix up my first "chef" (a small amount which you would then add to, to make the final dough) around noon, (then put "Mikey" my starter in the fridge) in the evening just before bed I'd add more flour and water to the "chef", then the next morning I'd mix up the final dough, and hopefully have it in the oven around noon.
By stretching out the feeding (or "chef's") to make the final dough you do not allow it to become as sour tasting . . . you need to Knead the dough, it builds the gluten in the flour which traps CO2 gasses given off by the yeast, which causes it to rise!
*if you have chlorinated water, put it in an open container, and let it sit 24 hours, the chlorine will dissipate, and you can then use it, I used a filter!
shovelhead
32 Cal.
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2010
- Messages
- 32
- Reaction score
- 0
Thanks for the tips- I'll give them a try.
I just found this fourm a couple of months ago, but been baking bread at our camps for a few years. Gonna have to try this sourdough thing. My best responce has been my "english muffins". I get up early...get coffee going and make the muffins and serve them with home made preserves. My wife still wonders why our camp is so crowded in the morning! :thumbsup:
Similar threads
- Locked
