Friday, December 11, 2009

Sourdough Starter

The idea started with the plan to make English muffins. Since I'm going to do it, I may as well bring it up a notch by making it a Sourdough English Muffin. All I have to do is to find out what is sourdough and how to make the starter.

It's surprisingly easier than I thought. All you have to do is put together the ingredients and let them sit in room temperature for 3 days. I left the culture in the living room and for 3 days our space smelt malty. In a pleasant way.

There are many ways making the starter. Peter Reinhart uses pineapple juice and rye flour in his Bread Baker's Apprentice book. As my first sourdough starter project, I decided to pick a easier recipe from the internet that uses ingredients readily available at home.




Ingredients:

  • 1-1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup water
  1. Warm milk over medium heat to lukewarm.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together milk, yeast, honey and 1 1/2 Cups of flour.
  3. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place for 3 days. Stir once a day.
  4. After 3 days add 1/2 Cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water. Cover and let sit for 4 hours. It should give out a beer tangy smell.
  5. Use what's needed and refrigerate the rest in a sealed jar for up to 4 weeks.

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