Sourdough Art
I’m glad you want to dabble in sourdough cookery. It’s a fun, delicious art. Even “failures” are tasty! First thing to remember is that sourdough “yeasties” are alive. If you don’t feed them (add equal amounts flour and water) or put them into hibernation (put in refrigerator), they’ll die. Evidence of death is brown sourdough with dark brown liquid on the top. If this happens, don’t panic. Drain off the liquid, and add flour and water to see if it will revive. So, you have a strong starter. Start by feeding it, and letting it grow. I’ll share a link with exact ingredients later, but I’m not going to give you exact amounts here because sourdough is organic. If you’ve done any cooking/baking at all, follow your instincts regarding amounts of ingredients to add. 1. To the starter you have, add 1 to 2 cups of flour and equal parts water. Mix well with a non-metal spoon (yeast and metal react). 2. Let starter rest for 12-24 hours with a cloth laid over the top of the bowl to protect from dust/hair/etc. I prefer 12 hours of rising myself. It depends on how sour you like your bread.
3. Set aside 1 cup of sourdough starter for the next time you want to make sourdough bread. I put mine in the refrigerator in a plastic container. It keeps well for a week, and can last for 2 weeks. 4. With the remaining sourdough starter, add the other ingredients you want to make your bread. For my bread, I add salt, oil, another cup or two of water, and enough flour to make dough consistency. For cinnamon-raisan, add cinnamon, raisans, sugar, and maybe molasses. For a savory bread, add garlic, rosemary, basil, or whatever suits your fancy. 5. Recently, I’ve only been adding enough flour to get a stiff muffin-bread-batter consistency. I’m too tired at the end of the day to knead. Instead, I’ve sprayed oil on a large cookie sheet, dolloped the dough on the cookie sheet, grease my hands, and press the dough down flat and even on the cookie sheet. 6. Let it rise overnight, or during the day, for 12-24 hours. Remember that the bread will rise two to three times its size. So, be sure there is space in your pan for rising. (Ask me how I know!) 7. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. That’s it! Hope you enjoy your new hobby. It’s delicious.