Yeast, bread, sourdough, bread maker etc

[Owlsintowels]

Inspired by another thread I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to post a real dummy's guide to making bread from a sourdough starter in a bread maker. I have Panasonic if that helps anything

Also a dummy's guide to making your own starter and looking after it would be appreciated. I've seen lots of websites on this, admittedly before lockdown, and they all seemed to assume some prior knowledge or a set up different from mine

I'm a half decent cook who can follow instructions, so any help would be ace

Thanks

Following, since I'm out of yeast, have been making sourdough and am getting dirty looks from my neglected bread maker. I think the problem would be the length of prove needed with sourdough, and also that my sourdough recipe involves making a 'sponge' with some of the ingredients which then needs several hours to ferment before you incorporate the rest of the flour

Another bump in the hope someone has mastered this and can tell us the secret! Maybe it needs to go on the dough cycle then into a bread cycle afterwards to give longer proving? Though I guess there would be lots of beating in between

Place marking.

I'm interested in making sourdough, but I wouldn't know what to do with the starter.

This is a starter recipe.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/may/10/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall-recipes-sourdough

I now remember why I didn't do this before, it needs an awful lot of flour to start and then 'feed' continuously. I was on an unbelievably tight budget at the time and just couldn't justify the amount of money spent on flour just to keep it fed.

Aha, this is perfect! Thanks. I've just ordered a 16kg sack of flour so I'm in a good position to waste some getting this up to speed.
I'll do. Abut more research but my bread make has a time and it occurred to me that a rise could be achieved by just putting the time on? So maybe a dough cycle to mix it all up and knead, then a plain bake cycle on a long timer to let it rise. Or I suppose I could tip the dough out into a bread tin and bake in the oven, which conveniently also has a timer function.

Any other tips very much appreciated, or if I get this working in a vaguely sensible way I'll share my wisdom.
Bread flour arrives in weds, so I might get it started today. I think I can spare enough supermarket flour until then...

You don't need to constantly feed your starter once it's ready. I feed the day before I want to start my bread and then it goes break in the fridge. I was originally given the starter before Xmas and didn't do anything with it. Took it out at the beginning of lock down, poured the liquor off the top, added flour and water and brought it back to life.

You can't really make sourdough entirely in a bread maker.

Sorry, pressed post too soon.
I didn't make my starter - I got some from a friend.
I keep it in the fridge, feed it about once a week, and make either crumpets (immediate) or pancakes (overnight) from the discard (you can't just keep feeding it or it would take over the world).

I make a loaf as follows:

Mid-afternoon feed the starter. Either put the whole lot in a warm place or take out 150g mixed up and put that in a warm place.
Couple of hours later (put the excess back in the fridge) after it's bubbled up and started coming down again I add to the 150g
300ml water
500g flour (so far both strong white and 30% wholemeal, 70% white have worked).
8g salt

Fold the dough 10 times with wet hands.
Leave 10 minutes
Repeat 4 times.

Then put the dough in 2 buttered 1lb loaf tins (or I use 1x2lb tin).
Leave in the kitchen (cool) overnight. Don't forget to oil any plastic you use to cover it (I use a plastic bag).
In the morning, heat the oven to 250 and put a pan of water on the bottom. Sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the loaf if you like.
When it's come to heat, reduce to 220.
Bake for 30 mins and if you want it a bit browner, 5 more mins.

Which Panasonic do you have?

Oh also sourdough doesn't really like being risen with air getting to its top - I'm not sure it would like being in a breadmaker with no covering being left to prove. Though overnight proving at room temperature is definitely possible (as my recipe shows).

16kg sack of flour 😮
I used to get flour from our local mill delivered and 8kg bag used to last a good while, but there was only 4 of us and I’d make approximately 5 loaves a week

Oo thanks for the recipes and instructions. So much easier then I thought, and less flour.

I've seen some starter recipes with 50g or even 25g a time (I only feed weekly so I use 110g).
And I CBA with bannetons/round loaves/transferring carefully over to baking sheets/windowpane kneading - I'm amazed how easy the method is and how soft and fluffy the bread is.
It's not your round crusty artisan loaf, it is true.