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- From: bill@hppsd2 (Bill Turner)
- Newsgroups: mod.recipes
- Subject: RECIPE: Sourdough Starter
- Date: 16 Jan 86 08:36:14 GMT
- Approved: reid@glacier.ARPA
- Organization: Hewlett-Packard Personal Software Div., Santa Clara CA
-
- Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust
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-
- .RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE SOUR-START B "2 Jan 86" 1986
- .RZ "SOURDOUGH STARTER" "Starter culture for making sourdough bread"
- Many people think of sourdough as something from the Gold Rush days. Not so!
- Sourdough was the first way raised breads were made. ``Way back then,''
- there was no such thing as active dry yeast, and all breads
- (along with a number of other goodies) needed sourdough starter to rise.
- .PP
- There are a number of recipes for sourdough starter, but this is one I've
- used, and it works fairly well.
- It came originally from the cookbook
- \fIThe Complete Sourdough Cookbook\fR by Don Holm.
- .IH "makes 3 cups" "makes 750 ml"
- .IG "2 cups" "warm water" "500 ml"
- (about
- .TE 110 45 ")"
- .IG "2\(12 cups" "flour" "500 g"
- .IG "1 pkg" "active dry yeast" "7 g"
- (optional)
- .PH
- .SK 1
- Get a container for the starter. Crockery is best, but just about anything
- can be used, \fBexcept metal\fR. Try to get something with a lid. I use a
- vinyl plastic food-storage container.
- .SK 2
- Mix flour and water (and optionally yeast).
- .SK 3
- Let the starter sit (uncovered or loosely covered) in a warm place until
- bubbly and sour, about 3\-5 days.
- .NX
- If you do a lot of bread baking, there will probably be enough yeast spores
- floating around your kitchen so that the added yeast isn't needed. The less
- yeast you add to the starter, the more ``authentic'' the flavor.
- .PP
- If the starter starts turning orange or green, throw it away. Other nasty
- things have started growing in it!
- .PP
- After the starter is ready, it can be used immediately. Try to use some of
- the starter once every few days, or it will start to die. The starter can
- be refrigerated to last longer (use at least every other week). Make sure
- the starter is at room temperature before using.
- .PP
- After using some of the starter, replenish what you take with equal amounts
- of warm water and flour. Let the starter sit until nice and bubbly before
- using again.
- .PP
- Usually, the first starter made will need a while to ``come up to strength.''
- Best bets for first recipes are ones that don't require much raising, such as
- pancakes, or ones that have additional yeast.
- .SH RATING
- .I Difficulty:
- easy.
- .I Time:
- 5 minutes preparation, 5 days waiting.
- .I Precision:
- no need to measure.
- .WR
- Bill Turner
- Hewlett-Packard Personal Software Division, Santa Clara CA
- {hplabs!}hppsdc!bill
-