We've been experimenting with using a sourdough starter for our bread (because there are sourdough lovers among us, and also because it would cut the cost of yeast out of our no spend month). It's actually surprisingly straightforward. My favorite part of these instructions is, "If this sounds brain-dead simple, that's because it is. People who didn't believe the Earth was round did this for millenia." Essentially, you mix flour with water and allow it to sit, "feeding" it with a bit of fresh flour and water each day. That's it!
I'm a little curious to see what types of baked goods can be made out of said starter. Can we make a milder, sweeter, whole wheat bread? Or will all of our bread have a strong sourdough taste-- loved by some, but not by others (ahem... me).
On the second day we "fed" the starter, and it looked nice and bubbly. This morning, after having fed it again, the bubbles are gone. We may be back to the drawing board, but I'm remaining optimistic. The nice thing about this is that there's essentially no startup cost, so if it takes a couple of tries, that's okay.
And with any luck, we'll have our own Virginia sourdough baking in our oven in no time! Yum.
2 comments:
Adele - I would love to try this. Have you had any luck?
We did have luck getting the starter started... it seemed to get bubbly quite quickly. We have some in the fridge right now, but I haven't tried actually baking the bread with it yet. I'll give an update once I do. Good luck!
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