SOURDOUGH – Yeast in the Air!

SOURDOUGH – Yeast in the Air!

To make your own sourdough starter,

You will need:
½ cup unsweetened pineapple juice
½ cup whole grain wheat flour or whole grain rye flour (use the freshest and most organic flour you can get your hands on)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups water

The pineapple juice may sound like a strange ingredient, but it is what makes this recipe work so well. The juice creates an acidic environment that prevents bad bacteria from taking over and causing spoilage during the fermentation period. Many alternate recipes (and purists) use only water.

DAY ONE: Mix 2 Tablespoons whole grain flour and 2 Tablespoons pineapple juice. The mixture should be a thick slurry. You may need to add more or less juice because different flours absorb different amounts of liquid so it is normal to have it vary. Stir well, cover. Stir vigorously at least 3 or 4 times over the next 24 hours. (stirring multiple times is very important to the process) Ideal room temperature would be between 72 and 80 degrees, but don't worry too much if it is not.

DAY TWO: Add 2 Tablespoons whole grain flour and 2 Tablespoons pineapple juice. Stir well and cover. Stir vigorously at least 3 or 4 times over another 24 hours. You may, or may not start to see small bubbles at this point.

DAY THREE: Add 2 Tablespoons whole grain flour and 2 Tablespoons pineapple juice. Stir well multiple times over the next 24 hours. DAY FOUR: Stir mixture and measure out 1/4 cup--discard the rest. To the 1/4 cup, stir in 1/4 cup unbleached AP flour and 1/4 cup water. Stir multiple times over the next 24 hours. REPEAT Day 4 until mixture expands to double its size and smells yeasty.
Store the starter in the refrigerator when you are not using it. See feeding instructions (below) to keep it alive. Feeding the Starter
Either use or discard all but about 1/2 cup of the starter ---THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT to maintain a healthy starter!

Feed the remaining ½ cup starter with 1 cup flour and ½-¾ cup of water (Hydration approx 60%). Stir vigorously. Return to the refrigerator. If you forget to feed it for a few weeks, it probably will be fine but may take several feedings to get it back up to par.

Catharina’s Basic Bread Recipe

There are plenty of recipes out there for sourdough (on the web) or you can pick something up at the library --- but I will give you my favorite and easiest instructions to get started. For this entire process temperature is relatively important --- it should be about 72 – 84F --- otherwise the sourdough beasties won’t do their thing.

Take
2 cups of flour (white bread flour to start off)
1 cup plus a couple of tbspns water
A couple of heaped tbspns of the sourdough starter
Mix this together in a large plastic or glass container with a lid. Mark the side of the container so that you know the level of the starter.
Leave the mixture out for 8 – 12 hours (overnight) --- it should double in size and be very foamy and stringy. (this process is called the first fermentation)

Take this fermented mixture (is should be approx 18oz) and mix together with
2 cups of water
5 ½ - 6 cups of flour
1 tbspn salt.

Knead by hand for 12 -17 mins or in a Kitchenaid on speed ‘3’ for approx 6 minutes. When you are done kneading the bread will be able to pass the ‘windowpane test’ --- take a small chunk of the dough and stretch it out and hold it up to the light and you should be able to see light through it – like a window pane.

When kneading is complete, place the dough in an oiled or greased bowl, cover with oiled cling film, and allow it to double. This will take about 2 ½ hours. (this is called the second fermentation)

Gently Divide the dough into two and allow it rest (covered with oiled cling film) for 30 mins.

Gently Shape the dough into a floured tin or a basket (for shaping), cover with oiled cling film and allow it to proof for another 2 hours (this is called proofing). I use three lengths of wood and a rice floured dishcloth to create little ‘cloches’ for my dough to proof in – but my dad just uses baking pans.

Heat your oven to 450F degrees (real hot) with the rack in the bottom third --- the baking technique can be quite complicated with sprintzing the oven for steam etc --- but I just place another pan in the oven and add water to it (for steam) when I place the loaf in. Slash to loaves (with a razor blade or similar) to give them room to ‘spring’ while cooking. Cook for 30 mins. Check for doneness by knocking on the bottom of the loaf for a hollow sound.

Allow to cool (this is important because the bread is really still cooking inside), then EAT!!!

Catharina’s Favorite Sourdough Books

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread (Hardcover)
by Peter Reinhart (Author), Ron Manville (Photographer). Publisher: Ten Speed Press (December 2001)

Crust & Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers (Paperback) by Peter Reinhart (Author). Publisher: Ten Speed Press (August 2006)

The Bread Bible (Hardcover) by Rose Levy Beranbaum (Author). Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (October 2003)

Bread Alone: Bold Fresh Loaves from Your Own Hands (Hardcover) by Daniel Leader (Author), Judith Blahnik (Author). Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; 1 edition (November 19, 1993)

Artisan Baking (Paperback) by Maggie Glezer (Author). Publisher: Artisan (October 1, 2005)

World Sourdoughs from Antiquity: Authentic recipes for modern bakers (Paperback)
by Ed Wood (Author). Publisher: Ten Speed Press; Revised edition (October 1996).