Behold my Sourdough

[AhBiscuits]

Like a lot of us, I'm trying to reduce UPF. I'm a huge bread fan and decent, non-UPF bread costs a lot. Decided to have a go at cultivating my own sourdough starter. It was ready to use after 19 days and today I have baked my first ever sourdough loaf. Made using just flour, water, salt and time. It's so tasty and I'm really pleased with it. Now I have a mature starter, I might make another straight away.

The only reason for this post is showing off because I am proud. 😄

Brilliant thank you. Will give it a go.

I want to do it but I just can't face the time it takes. We are trying to go as UPF free as possible

So I buy Jadons sourdough from Tesco which is UPF friendly and freeze the slices to toast.

Am jealous of your sourdough tho it looks incredible!!

I bought some crumpet rings but any heat safe rings will do!
I rubbed a little butter round them.
I used I'd guess around 200g of sourdough discard. Added half a teaspoon of baking powder and a sprinkle of salt. Put the ring in a frying pan, a little bit more butter in the pan. Fill the ring to just over halfway. Cook on a low heat until the bubbles pop and then remove the ring and flip to cook the top a bit.
I like to pop them in the toaster before eating them as it makes them nice and crispy.

So if you don't have sourdough discard to use up, there are recipes that use dried yeast.

That looks amazing!

Do you put a lid on when making the starter?

I tried once and cultivated mould. I game up after that.

Yes but loosely.
I pour it out when I feed it and clean the jar every day.

I started making sourdough last Autumn . The first few loaves were great and then it all when downhill. I cannot get the starter to double in volume. It either dies on me or there are some bubbles… cue heavy bread with an uncooked centre and no air bubbles. I just do not understand what I’m doing wrong.

I have questions.....

1. How does one know when this ever expanding 'starter' is ready to use? There needs to be Sourdough lessons...

Also, 2. How does one know whether pre-made bread is a UPF? I mean obviously white bread is UPF but how do you know if the fancy wholemeal is UPF?

Is it really 11 years old though? I may be completely wrong but from the YouTube videos I've watched, don't you only keep a tiny little spoonful each day and then add it to fresh flour & water? If so, then the chances of any of your original spoonful still being present today is practically none

The yeast multiply each day so it will always include descendants of the original yeast.

It's ready to use if it more than doubles in volume within 8 hours of being fed for at least 3 days in a row.

You'd need to find out the ingredients. A huge proportion of bread is UPF and contains emulsifiers and stuff.

I am not a baker but we only like sourdough and given the prices in the shop I thought I would give it a go.

Well it was a bit of a disaster. Having baked it I can confirm what I suspected which was an under prove ☹️.

I am not giving up though as my starter is in the fridge waiting for me to work out what went wrong in the proving stage.

I have bread envy OP 😁

This looks amazing! Might give it a go...but need to google stuff about keeping it alive when you go on holiday etc. Thank so much for posting!

Well done! I did the Bread Ahead one day course a couple of years ago at Borough Market. One of the best things I've ever done. I highly recommend their sourdough raisin bread recipe - completely gorgeous with cheese.

You just feed it then pop it in the fridge. It will be fine.

https://www.bakewithjack.co.uk/blog-1/2018/7/5/sourdough-loaf-for-beginners

This is very helpful .

It isn’t fine though. It needs to be fed once a week at least. Some people freeze it. I have done this. I have taken some through an airport and frozen it at home. Defrosted and fed it and it was fine.

Yum

In a sourdough group I'm in, there are loads of people who have left it in the fridge for a few week, poured off the hooch when they get back and it's completely revived within a couple of days.

Thanks for this thread OP. Your bread looks fantastic.

I keep saying I am going to make a starter and then I don't. I think it's the commitment to it that puts me off.

Do you use white bread flour or cake flour to start with?

I'm going to give it a whirl today. I buy the shop bought one, the best so far was an olive ciabatta. There is no reason that I cannot make it myself I am sure.

You must use bread flour, preferably organic and unbleached if you can get it. I use a mixture of white flour and whole grain rye . You can order Shipton Mill online if you can’t buy it locally.

I just use cheap, plain white flour for my starter. Bread flour for baking.

I have white bread flour in, so think will have a go with this today.

Surely I can add a mix of white flour and wholemeal along the way on the feeds?

Or is it very finicky, i.e. start as you mean to go on?😃

@AhBiscuits can you please explain how you clean your glass when making your starter? I appreciate that's probably a really stupid question but do you take it out and then wash and put it back in?? It looks like it might be too liquidy??