Sourdough primer
Ok. Here's the long awaited sourdough post.
Mr. PB&C got a sourdough starter for his birthday from King Arthur
Flour. There are special directions to revive the starter they sell so I won't repeat them here.
Materials needed for a starter-
Starter from a friend (or from King Arthur)
All purpose flour
Water
Half gallon glass jar with lid (preferably two)
Plastic wrap for barrier
A long spoon
Strong forearms
To care for a starter-
I'm assuming you get get some sourdough starter from a friend. For an unfed starter, please
feed it the same day you get it, then in another week and then at
least once a month for the rest of it's life. For a fed starter (this is you CJ), feed it two days after you get it then again in another 2 days. Keep feeding until you have about three cups total. Then start to feed and use at least once a month.
We keep keep our starter in the back of the fridge (the coldest part)
with a layer of plastic wrap under the lid to keep any unwanted things
from the fridge out. Don't tighten the lid all the way, you want
oxygen to get in and carbon dioxide to get out. It still needs to
breathe a little. Every few months, we transfer the starter to a
clean jar. Just call it good housekeeping.
To feed a starter-
(But aren't going to use it)
If there's liquid at the top of your starter, mix well to combine,
throw half the volume away and then move to a new jar. Let it come to
room temperature. Add one cup of water and two cups of all purpose
flour (or other ratio) to your starter. Mix well. Let sit out for 4
hours. Return to the fridge.
If it's a happy starter with no liquid at the top, mix well. Take
half the volume out and throw it away (or give to a friend) and then
feed it. Same ratio. One part water to two parts all purpose flour.
Mix well (sides, bottoms and top needs to be incorporated). Let sit
out 4 hours, return to fridge.
To feed a starter-
(And you are going to use it in a recipe)
If there's water on the top, mix well, take half the volume out and
ditch it. Feed the starter, mix very very well again, and then let
sit out 4-8 hours at room temperature. Take out what you need, return
the rest to the fridge.
If there's no water on the top, mix well, feed your starter, let sit
out 4 hours or up to overnight. Take out what your recipe requires
and then return the rest to the fridge.
Best case scenario here is the last version.
Cardinal Rules of starter-
Some recipes use fed sourdough and some use unfed sourdough so read the recipe before you get started.
If your recipe requires 2 cups fed starter and you have 3 cups total,
you need to feed it at a higher ratio and then let sit out longer
before using.
If you use your starter often, you need to feed it often.
Use it as often as you need to feed it/feed it often as you use it.
If you take a lot out, you need to add a lot back in.
If it smells yeasty, you are good.
If it smells like alcohol, it's bad and do not use.
We use ours about once every three weeks and keep our volume at a little over half of our half gallon jar. I've added sourdough tags to the recipes here but we plan on trying out some more recipes from the KA site in the next couple of weeks. This weekend's plan is this baguette recipe.
Mr. PB&C got a sourdough starter for his birthday from King Arthur
Flour. There are special directions to revive the starter they sell so I won't repeat them here.
Materials needed for a starter-
Starter from a friend (or from King Arthur)
All purpose flour
Water
Half gallon glass jar with lid (preferably two)
Plastic wrap for barrier
A long spoon
Strong forearms
To care for a starter-
I'm assuming you get get some sourdough starter from a friend. For an unfed starter, please
feed it the same day you get it, then in another week and then at
least once a month for the rest of it's life. For a fed starter (this is you CJ), feed it two days after you get it then again in another 2 days. Keep feeding until you have about three cups total. Then start to feed and use at least once a month.
We keep keep our starter in the back of the fridge (the coldest part)
with a layer of plastic wrap under the lid to keep any unwanted things
from the fridge out. Don't tighten the lid all the way, you want
oxygen to get in and carbon dioxide to get out. It still needs to
breathe a little. Every few months, we transfer the starter to a
clean jar. Just call it good housekeeping.
To feed a starter-
(But aren't going to use it)
If there's liquid at the top of your starter, mix well to combine,
throw half the volume away and then move to a new jar. Let it come to
room temperature. Add one cup of water and two cups of all purpose
flour (or other ratio) to your starter. Mix well. Let sit out for 4
hours. Return to the fridge.
If it's a happy starter with no liquid at the top, mix well. Take
half the volume out and throw it away (or give to a friend) and then
feed it. Same ratio. One part water to two parts all purpose flour.
Mix well (sides, bottoms and top needs to be incorporated). Let sit
out 4 hours, return to fridge.
To feed a starter-
(And you are going to use it in a recipe)
If there's water on the top, mix well, take half the volume out and
ditch it. Feed the starter, mix very very well again, and then let
sit out 4-8 hours at room temperature. Take out what you need, return
the rest to the fridge.
If there's no water on the top, mix well, feed your starter, let sit
out 4 hours or up to overnight. Take out what your recipe requires
and then return the rest to the fridge.
Best case scenario here is the last version.
Cardinal Rules of starter-
Some recipes use fed sourdough and some use unfed sourdough so read the recipe before you get started.
If your recipe requires 2 cups fed starter and you have 3 cups total,
you need to feed it at a higher ratio and then let sit out longer
before using.
If you use your starter often, you need to feed it often.
Use it as often as you need to feed it/feed it often as you use it.
If you take a lot out, you need to add a lot back in.
If it smells yeasty, you are good.
If it smells like alcohol, it's bad and do not use.
We use ours about once every three weeks and keep our volume at a little over half of our half gallon jar. I've added sourdough tags to the recipes here but we plan on trying out some more recipes from the KA site in the next couple of weeks. This weekend's plan is this baguette recipe.
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