Calling sourdough starter experts!

[stclair]

As I can’t find yeast for love nor money, I’m on day 3 of a sourdough starter (from bbcgoodfood recipe). What I am confused about is the pouring off of half the starter when ready to bake. Is this to be used to add more flour and water to keep the starter going? Otherwise It seems wasteful! If it isn’t, why pour it away?

Wow, these are totally inspirational! I am off to investigate although I am not a baker. I'm very much an eater though

That looks delicious magnarocks

I have at least a week to wait to get a decent starter going, assuming I can avoid the awful vomit-smelling stage....

Wow these loaves look soooo professional. Iam a bread maker with spelt\rice flour and sometimes rye. I have often thought of making a proper sourdough. I find it difficult to get past the 'throwing away' bit (as some of you have said) and I'm not sure if it should be covered tightly or not and what with or not at all!!

@stclair am I missing something? I just started today with the bbc good food recipe and don't see anything about throwing some away until it's ready to use?

I'm a bread making novice, so don't want to mess it up!

If your starter isn't as active as you'd hope, a few chopped up grapes will get it going.

Remember you can share your refreshed yeast with a neighbour ( at a distance ) The starter should never be sold always given ... That was what I was told and I was given mine and have passed on 3 times. Before lockdown.... now I seem to be doing bread, pan broche , going to try crossants next !!

@Livingoffcoffee - yes, that bamboozled me too. To be honest, I threw it away after a week. Was slimy and a distinct lack of bubbles. Have now got my hands on yeast - so much easier!!

i used and Sliced and diced apples bits to create the starter and natural yeast and have been feeding our sourdough for over 18 months now on similar. Harder work maybe but wow... what a rise.

@magnarocks As you seem to know what you're doing...

My recipe for a starter says:
24 hrs before you want to use it, pour half of it off and feed it with 100g flour and 100g water.

Is that half that you pour what you could put into another jar as a gift/etc? Or do you bin it? Do you have to do that each time you use it?? Seems so wasteful.

It's also possible to use home made Kefir to make bread without yeast.

@Livingoffcoffee you could deffo gift it or use it for something else, you don't have to bin it. I use discard to make crumpets or pancakes sometimes.

I'm glad you think I know what I'm doing (I don't!), that loaf was really under proofed inside.

Haha thanks @magnarocks
Do you do that each time you use it - pour out half to give away/bin/use for something (non bread loaf) else?

Oh can I please jump on the bandwagon and ask a question? I have 2 attempts at starter sourdough going just now. One I did yesterday following HFWs recipe on a guardian link - mix of wholemeal and strong white bread flour and water. I lost confidence in it and tried Paul Hollywood's recipe using grapes today.
Both seemed to split really quickly, with a layer of water on the top and not much else happening (though I know it's early days). Is the water layer on top normal? And our house gets pretty cool overnight, I assume this will just slow the process but not stop it?
Thanks!

Wee gentle sourdoughy bump...

Can you use fresh yeast as the basis of a starter? We have a big block of fresh and I'm wondering if I can get some going and keep it running. I've never used fresh yeast before, have always used dried.

Just joining in the sourdough discussion. I got a starter going at the beginning of the year. I've had some good loaves from it and some disasters. I've learned that white flour works better than wholemeal for example.

I am struggling with shaping the loaf though. I cook our normal bread in a loaf tin, but the sourdough doesn't cook so well in a tin. When I don't use a tin I end up with a splodge. If I make the dough thicker it doesn't rise. Any advice anyone? The flavour of the bread is great so I'm keen to persist.

I'm planning to do this too - can I do a started with self-raising flour? I don't have any wholemeal flour?

Magnarocks how did you get the concentric flour circle pattern on the top, please?

(I am some way off this stage but keen to get started!)

That's a special pot I think Calmer You flour it before put in the dough.

FrenchFancy do you use bread flour or normal flour?

Grumpy I think the whole idea is that the 'starter' IS the yeast, without it and just yeast you're making normal bread!

@Livingoffcoffee so I usually keep my 'original starter' in the fridge, a few days before I start baking I put half of it (approx 50-100g) in a bowl or a different jar and then feed it with 1:1 of water/strong bread flour approx twice a day. I try to keep it in a warmish place too. My starter isn't the best at the moment, hence my underproofed bread but there's definitely some activity going on otherwise it wouldn't rise at all.

This is a good link about looking after your starter: foodbodsourdough.com/how-to-look-after-your-starter/

I usually use the dried easy yeast which you literally put into the bowl with the flour and then add warm or cold water etc. Dan Lepard's book Short and Sweet is very helpful for breadmaking btw. He suggests using cold water and only rising the dough till it's double it's size. It's good , I generally use spelt and rice flour and it's lovely.

Hardly any kneading is needed!!!