Sourdough while traveling
I've been getting into using sourdough starters a bit lately. This may seen extreme, but as a preface to getting battered by posts, let me say this. We have always by necessity cooked nearly everyth...
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Here is the recipe. It comes from "The Scout's Outdoor Cookbook".
2-1/2 cups flour
2-1/2 cups water
1/2 package of dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
They just say to stir all this stuff together. Cover with a wet towel for 24 hrs. Then remove the towel, stir it up to break down the bubbles and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Stir it every day or so keep thing mixed up. Use it after 5-7 days.
Now having said all that, this makes a pretty..."liquid starter" which kind of fits with the recipes in The Scouts Cookbook. So if you feed it The way they say which is to add equal parts flour and water and a teaspoon of sugar. I've found that a more traditional consistency is a little more muddy by adding a 1/4 cup of water and a 1/3 cup of flour it starts to bring it into the realm of what most "bread starters" are like.
If I am going to make dough in the morning, I feed the starter every 3-4 hours the day before. Yes you will start to run out of space in you starter vessel...but here is the coolest thing. Take a ladle and scoop some out and "make a pancake" right in a hot skillet and sprinkle your favorite seasoning on it for an amazing flat bread! Black pepper, salt and Italian seasoning is what I use. When you feed it every few hours it really starts to build momentum so when you feed it the night before it will be super powerful the following morning.
About the yeast in the initial starter....Most starter recipes don't use any commercial yeast. This one does. I didn't really know enough about starters when I made this, but I'd say by now, after 8 months of feeding this dude, there is only a microbe of the initial commercial starting yeast left in it. Below are some pics of what my starter looks like when it is ready to rock and roll. When you pour it out to use it or make flat bread, it will have an amazing network of bubbles associated with it.
2-1/2 cups flour
2-1/2 cups water
1/2 package of dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
They just say to stir all this stuff together. Cover with a wet towel for 24 hrs. Then remove the towel, stir it up to break down the bubbles and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Stir it every day or so keep thing mixed up. Use it after 5-7 days.
Now having said all that, this makes a pretty..."liquid starter" which kind of fits with the recipes in The Scouts Cookbook. So if you feed it The way they say which is to add equal parts flour and water and a teaspoon of sugar. I've found that a more traditional consistency is a little more muddy by adding a 1/4 cup of water and a 1/3 cup of flour it starts to bring it into the realm of what most "bread starters" are like.
If I am going to make dough in the morning, I feed the starter every 3-4 hours the day before. Yes you will start to run out of space in you starter vessel...but here is the coolest thing. Take a ladle and scoop some out and "make a pancake" right in a hot skillet and sprinkle your favorite seasoning on it for an amazing flat bread! Black pepper, salt and Italian seasoning is what I use. When you feed it every few hours it really starts to build momentum so when you feed it the night before it will be super powerful the following morning.
About the yeast in the initial starter....Most starter recipes don't use any commercial yeast. This one does. I didn't really know enough about starters when I made this, but I'd say by now, after 8 months of feeding this dude, there is only a microbe of the initial commercial starting yeast left in it. Below are some pics of what my starter looks like when it is ready to rock and roll. When you pour it out to use it or make flat bread, it will have an amazing network of bubbles associated with it.
