Basic Brewing - Sourdough

[blankaBrew]

When I got home yesterday, it had doubled, so I guess all is well. (I'm going to try to post a pic:)




I used 4 oz rye flour and 4 oz water.

blankaBrew - I'm still getting a feel for the loaf sizes. What size pot do you use?

Hi CC. Hmm. I'll take a photo. Its big yet not too tall. I don't know the size, but the photo will help. The pot makes a BIG difference in the crust on the bread. I use one of the specialized wicker-like bread baskets for proofing the dough. I make a very wet dough so I get that bubbly chewy texture that I love in the middle. I have found that the superpeel (superpeel.com) helps a lot in moving wet and otherwise difficult to handle dough.

[Cosmic Charlie]

JBrew,

I haven't made any bread yet - just working on a starter. I found a bunch of recipes here:

http://www.sourdoughhome.com/recipes.html

I think I'm going to add some dried yeast and sourdough starter to my first attempt at bread baking (the whole wheat recipe at the above address uses this procedure anyway).

FYI, I fed the starter for the first time yesterday. I threw out all but about 4 oz starter, added 3 oz rye flour and 3 oz warm water. This morning, it practically filled my mason jar, so I punched it down. It did have some froth on top this time.

[Waldo]

Cosmic, you can switch to white flour now if you want. You use rye flour because it has a higher percentage of the natural yeasts that are in sourdough. Now that you have a good colony you can switch to white flour that will provide you a good sour dough flavor.
The portion you take out can be a base for pancakes, or a loaf of bread. The sourdough loaf takes longer to rise than using standard yeast, so make it in the morning and let it rise for a good portion of the day so you get a nice light loaf.
A great recipe is to add some roasted garlic and or black Greek olives to the loaf
BoobooKitty - You may have left your starter in a place that was to warm, The only time I have had problems was during the summer when I left the starter out on the counter. In the summer I leave it in the cellar or the fridge. I have had my starter going for close to 2 months now feeding it every day or two. I get that nice alcohol smell and I make a loaf of bread, pancakes, or biscuits every other day.
The king Aurthur bread cook book is a great resource for bread making.

[Cosmic Charlie]

Thanks for the tip. I'll probably switch to whole wheat flour, since that's what the wife tends to keep.

That is, unless I decide to start over. When I fed the sponge and started a whole wheat starter, I let both of them sit out, exposing both to sunlight (is that bad?). I don't know if I am once again impatient, or if something is wrong. The sponge is in the fridge, but the starter has been sitting out (now in a closet) since Saturday. By this morning (Monday), it still hasn't risen, although there are bubbles on the side of the jar. My original plan was to bake my first bread on Sunday, but the starter didn't seem to start.

[Cosmic Charlie]

I've been feeding this starter (or is it a sponge?) for two weeks without actually baking any bread yet. I will be out of town for a few days, but I will give it a try once I get back.

I've read a lot about how sticky the dough is and how hard it is to work with. We have a KitchenAid mixer with one of those dough hooks - can I use that to knead the bread?