Starter recipes

This month FRAN STEVENS, aka The Food Wife, offers her method for creating your own sourdough starter and has some recipes to try too!

Sourdough Starter

It was all the rage at the start of the first lockdown but if you didn’t try it then you can still give it a go now. If you fancy trying to make a sourdough starter, all you need is a largish jar, flour, water and a little time. Soon you’ll have a bubbly little friend that will help you to make the most delicious creations.

You can use normal white flour but in my experience the best, most active, results come from dark rye flour. It makes a thick paste that expands to make a very active mousse-like starter. Use an elastic band on the outside of jar to mark the starting point of your mix and then you’ll easily be able to see how much it’s grown. Leaving the jar on the side in your kitchen should be enough to get it going. Too much heat and you’ll have an explosive disaster; too little and very little will happen. Once you’ve got it going, keep your starter in the fridge between bakes and bring it out to feed and refresh as needed.

Ingredients

50g flour 50g lukewarm water

Method

Start with your clean jar, 50g of flour and 50g of lukewarm water. Mix thoroughly (you don’t want any patches of dry flour) then pop the lid on and leave on the side. The next day you’re going to feed it again.

We don’t want too much in the jar, so discard half of the mix, then add another 50g each of the flour and water. Mix, cover and leave. Repeat each day, taking 50g of the starter, 50g fresh flour and the same of water, until your starter starts to grow! Once it’s nice and active (you should see it double in height from your elastic band) it’s good to start baking with!

n.b. This is a 1:1:1 ratio of feeding, if you are struggling with a sluggish starter later on, try a 1:3:3 ratio for instance, 20g of starter, 60g flour and 60g water.

Sourdough Crackers with Smoked Paprika & Nigella Seeds

Makes 15 approx

As part of the feeding process, bakers discard some of their sourdough starter before adding fresh flour and water to the jar. This is done to refresh the starter and to manage its overall growth.

If you have leftover sourdough discard you don’t have to throw it away! Instead you can try some dedicated sourdough recipes like this one for sourdough crackers.

This is a versatile recipe, I’ve flavoured these with smoked paprika and nigella seeds, but you could use herbs or other spices as you like. If keeping these vegan or dairy-free, use a vegetable based baking block rather than butter.

These will store for up to a week in an airtight container.

Ingredients

100g strong white bread flour

30g strong wholewheat bread flour

4 g salt 2 tsp smoked paprika 2 tsp nigella seeds 150g discarded sourdough starter 60g softened butter (or vegetable baking block if vegan/dairy-free) Olive oil

Method

Combine all the ingredients (excluding the olive oil) in a bowl. Use your hands to bring together to make a smooth dough. Divide in two and shape into two equal blocks. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan and line two baking sheets with grease proof paper.

Flour a work surface and roll each block of dough into a rectangle, about 1 or 2mm thick. Use a knife or the flat edge of a dough scraper to cut the rolled out dough into long strips about 2 inches wide.

Carefully transfer each strip onto the lined baking sheets leaving a small gap between each one. Brush each with olive oil and prick all over with a fork. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove and allow to cool.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Sourdough Naan Bread

Makes 3 approx

Having made sourdough crackers I next wanted to try making homemade naan breads. Soft, slightly chewy breads, with a sour tang. They’ll definitely be making an appearance on future curry nights.

Ingredients

90ml warm milk 45ml plain yogurt 180g discarded sourdough starter 190g strong white bread flour Salt Nigella seeds (optional) Butter (melted)

Method

Combine the warm milk, yogurt, starter, flour and a large pinch of salt in a bowl. The mix should be smooth but sticky. Cover and leave for 45-60 minutes.

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough, adding small amounts of flour as necessary, until you have a soft, pliable dough. If using the nigella seeds, add a heaped teaspoon and fold into the dough.

Divide the dough into three. Make a rough ball with each and then using the palm of your hand press the dough out into a flat disc, about 3mm thick.

Heat a non-stick frying or griddle pan until very hot. Cook the dough discs for a couple of minutes on each side until slightly charred. Remove from the pan and brush with melted butter. Serve immediately.

You could add crushed garlic and herbs to the butter to give extra flavour. Likewise you could replace the nigella seeds with other spices or herbs, as desired.

• thefoodwife.co.uk