Sourdough

In these strange times we are living in, there is some comfort in knowing that old traditions are still alive and well.  Baking has fallen back into the forefront of many people's minds and I am grateful that useful knowledge about making such a basic staple of our diets still exists in the world.  I have jumped on the sourdough bandwagon this month and am trying my hand at making my own sourdough starter.  It is easier than you think.  It can also waste a lot of flour if you don't plan ahead well, but that being said, it can also waste nothing if you use it to it's full potential.

The basic starter is super easy.  I followed the directions on the King Arthur Website: Mix 125g of flour with 125g of water.  Stir it well, then let it sit in a warm place (mine is on top of the fridge) overnight (or two nights if your house is chilly like mine).  Once it starts to show some activity you can start feeding it.  Feeding consists of removing some of the starter (about 1/2 cup) for a new batch and then adding 100g of flour and 100g of water.  That 1/2 cup is removed so that you can keep your starter to a reasonable level.  If you don't "discard" some, you will eventually end up with enough starter to run a small commercial bakery.  Most recipes say "discard" the extra starter, but that is where the magic happens.  That discard can be used to make any number of different baked goods.  Once you have fed your starter mix once or twice a day for about a week, your starter is considered ripe and ready to be used for anything.

Because it is just me in this household (the cat and chicken's don't really count), I only need to make about one loaf of bread a week, maybe two if I'm eating a lot of sandwiches.  That means that to make the most efficient use of my starter, I should keep it in a way that I will only need to feed it once a week.  The way I do that is to keep my established starter in the fridge.  The cool air won't kill the yeast in my starter, but it will slow it way down, which means that I can get away with feeding it less often (about once a week).  Every time I feed it I will use the discard to make a new recipe.  I am discovering that all kinds of things can be make with sourdough starter, not just bread.  So far I have made a loaf of bread, an handful of hot dog buns, and tortillas, and pretzels.

On my list to try are cinnamon rolls, pancakes, and dumplings.  The things that I have made so far have turned out better than I would have thought and I can't wait experiment more with this new "old" knowledge.