Sourdough while traveling

Vintage465 wrote:
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.

Good for you for cooking from scratch! Far too few people do it nowadays. Fresh bread is wonderful. I just made a batch of Brioche last night.
This isn't really a "sour" so much as what the French call a pate fermentee. It's a sponge starter/pre-ferment and the difference is the commercial yeast. A true sour will only use and propagate wild yeasts.

There are several ways to start a barm (sour starter) but I've found the easiest way is to use equal parts organic flour (has to be organic) and bottled water (tap water usually has bleach of similar which stops the process) and a bunch of fresh, organic grapes. Again, it HAS to be organic so there are no insecticides or other ag chemicals. The white "glaze" on fresh grapes is yeast. Bury the grapes in the water/flour mixture and let it sit on the counter, uncovered for a few days. Soon (usually day three) you will start to see bubbles. Add another cup of flour and a cup of water, stir, and let sit again. Within 48 hours you'll have a very active barm.

Be sure to use good flour. General Mills and other commercial varieties are less than desirable. The best widely found flour is by far King Arthur. Giusto's or Central Milling are considered the gold standard for flours. https://centralmilling.com/artisan-baking-center/ http://giustos.com/

Water is also key. If you don't know the specific source of your water, use bottled spring water.

How geeky do you want to get with your bread? Sours are fully hydrated (high water content) and can be hard to handle without bannetons or supports. FYI: baking your bread in a Dutch Oven will create an amazing crust.

Bread is very soothing and smells amazing. The long fermentation of sours creates those amazing flavors and it has the side benefit of making the gluten far easier to digest. The only downside is a very short shelf life since it has no fat or sugar.

#keepbaking #breadhead


P.S. One of the best books on the subject is Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice.