This is where things can get complicated.
Just like Fried Chicken.....which I might add I am well known for (**taking a low bow**.. ) ;)
Or Chili...which my boys, Danny & Derek, are well known for (**taking another big bow " for them") :D
There are many ways to to it, and just like anything..
You always generally think that the way you do it is best.
Some used milks / creams and flour, some use water and flour some add sugar.
I do it simple, I just feed it flour and water.
What you need to do is induce a yeast into it, an active yeast.
The bacteria is in the air and sometimes you can get a good yeast from the air.
Some areas like the San Francisco area or the Nome area are famous for good wild yeast. Some of my bread making cohorts likes yeast found on wild grapes.
I like to buy my yeast, but regular bread yeast doesn't work well.
It tends to get weak very quickly. I like to make yeast type sourdough and I don't want to add much yeast to the dough as some do.
What I have found is the best and this is based on some help from a friend of mine who is an old west ( period correct) cook on wagon trail cattle drives and cowboy shoots. I use a yeast called "Saccharomyces bayanus" and I buy a package for a $1.00
If you are a yeast expert you already know this is nothing but French Champagne yeast.
It has a high tolerance to it's own alcohol and it of course is famous for making CO2.
I simply dissolve it in about a cup of warm water in a 1/2 gallon jar.
I add another pint of water and stir in a couple of cups of flour.
I add more each day and use more flour than water till after about 3 days I have a jar that is almost full of something about like thin pancake batter.
By then it has that sour smell and is ready to use.
I try to use it at least 2 times a week and replace what I use, usually about 3/4 of it.
~~
I had some awhile back that I hadn't used in a long time. It was kept in the refrigerator for almost two months. It looked weak and sick... It didn't even look or smell alive..so I poured it down the drain, cleaned the jar well with soap and Chlorox and rinsed well.
I got my spare pack of yeast out and started another one.
I'll add some recipes for sourdough breads later on.
P.S.~~ Some have ask if the Amish Friendship Bread started is the same.
**Most make Amish F.B. out of bread yeast. It is just a weak version of sourdough starter, more for flavor than a real leavening.. cause most recipes add baking powder or yeast.
Sourdough Pancakes
The night before:
Mix together........
1/2 cup starter
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup whole milk
1 cup warm water (approx. Use enough to make the thick/thin you like)
In the morning add:
Stir in 2 large/jumbo eggs, one at a time.
Mix the following together and then fold in:
2 tablespoons sugar ( optional.. I don't use sugar)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt...
You can turn any basic recipe for yeast or quick breads into sourdough breads.
Here's how:
Take your recipe and use sourdough for about half the liquid.
Add whole milk if milk is required and use 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for every teaspoon of baking powder.
A little less flour might be needed, but this will get any quick bread such as corn bread, biscuits,
coffee cakes and such converted to sourdough.
Teresa,
Where do you buy your "Saccharomyces bayanus" yeast? I searched the internet and couldn't find any for sale.
-Sherry
I have a friend who is a period correct cook (called a Cosie) and he is from Nebraska.. and he gets it for me.
Dell goes to all the Cowboy Shoots and does all the open range fire cooking .. doing everything as they did in the 1800's.
I have seen the man have 6-8 cast iron skillets and dutch ovens going at once with bread raising in a bowl in the sun on the rocks.. and 2 or 3 old-time pots of coffee going on the fire
(that you could stand a horseshoe in, I might add ) :P
I learned so much the 4 days that I was in the outside open with him. He cooked for aobut 50 people those 4 days..
3 BIG meals a day..and all of it done with the tools and ingrediants of the 1800's.
Quite impressive.
So he gets some of my supplies that I use...
In fact I have 10 packages that he put in the mail a few days ago..
I should be getting them today or tomorrow...
( I could probably be talked into letting one go... ;) )
let me know what your address is and I'll send it to you.
or if you live here.. stop by and I'll share one with you.
Sherry,
Your yeast is ready to be mailed in the morning.
I started some new starter 2 days ago. It is doing nicely.
I have to add some more flour and water to it in the morning and then in a few days, it will be ready to use.
Let me know how your bread or pancakes or biscuts or whatever you bake, turns out. :)
Teresa,
Thank you so much. I can't wait to try making Sour Dough Bread! But whatever the outcome, I will come back and let you know. :'(
-Sherry
Hi Teresa,
I received your package yesterday. Thank you very much. I am going to try to make the starter this weekend.
I was also able to find the yeast online at Homebrew Heaven. https://secure3.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=hombre&BusType=BtoC&Count1=58727443&Count2=975867867&ProductID=577&Target=products.asp (Select DISTILLATION SUPPLIES & ALCOHOL FLAVORINGS. Then pull down the Current Category found at the top of the page and select Wine Yeast.)
Thanks again.
-Sherry
Thanks a bunch for adding the link . I can now start to get my own.. I never even looked as Del gets his yeast and just got mine and sent it on.. ( I was lazy I guess) :-[
I have used my starter and made pancakes.. Which Ashley loves and ate 4 of them..
I have made sourdough cornbread and also used it to make my homemade flour tortillas...
They turned out awesome..
Then of course after each time, don't forget to fed your starter..and add back flour and warm water.
It should last you up to a year if you use it every week or so... The yeast just keeps regenerating itself..
Kind of neat and it is delicious..
Good luck.. :laugh:
Hi Teresa,
I have a couple of questions about making a sourdough starter
1. Should the mixture be kept in the refrigerator even when you are first making the starter?
2. Should it be bubbling or anything? Mine isn't so I am hoping I didn't kill the yeast.
3. Today is the third day, but it doesn't smell sour. Should it?
I may have to resort to buying a starter. This site seems to have some really good ones including a San Francisco sourdough and Italian starter. http://www.sourdo.com/culture.htm
-Sherry
I will try to explain this in a detailed way... as sometimes I think when we explain something that we have been doing for a long time, we tend to leave out the little things... so bear with me..and I will just talk about it a bit... and try not to leave out stuff.
I always make my starter in a warm 1/2 gallon jar.Fill with hot water and let set... then dump and add your yeast that is dissolved in a cup of warm water.. your flour and more warm water.
Do not use metel whisks or metal spoons or metal anything at any time with your starter.. Don't ask me why.. it might have something to do with the reaction to the metal and the yeast maybe.
I NEVER put mine in the fridge..unless I am going to be gone for a full week or 2 and can't feed it.. Cold or cool will put it to sleep temporarily.
A starter needs "fed"...
In other words.. you really need to use part of it in something at least once a week.. so you can feed it back.. ( by mixing and putting warm water and flour back into the jar)
When you feed a starter , it should be and WILL be very bubbly and alive..and even might ...after it sets on the counter, for an hour or 2.. will bubble and raise over the jar. I use a piece of cheese cloth secured over the jar top with a rubber band. ( because cheesecloth breathes )
Depends on what I am going to make.. as I don't use recipes.. I just handful of this and handful of that.. but I use a heavier amount of starter in my recipes than a lot of people do. I have the recipes posted on here... but even then, I use more starter and cut down on the milk...
Then I feed it back .
It should... for the first 4-5 hours or so when you first make it.. be bubbly and almost kind of foamy even. I usually set mine by the Bunn coffee maker.. The little bit of warmth from the steel water reservoir will keep it from getting too cold and going dead.
Then the 2nd day, I add more warm water and flour...
Then the 3rd day..I add more flour and warm water.. using more flour than water. When at the end of the 3 days, I have a jar that is almost full of something about like thin pancake batter.
True starter will have a separation of liquid and solid. There will be about an inch or 2 of liquid that comes to the top. This is perfect. Just stir it back in on occasion with a wooden spoon. Of course when you use a cup or 2 of the starter and you feed it back.. you will keep it stirred.
Your starter should have a wonderful pungent sour smell and lay quiet when it is ready to use.
If you have any more questions... ask away.. or call me...
I will do my best to help you.
I have made pancakes..corn bread.. flour tortillas, bread, cinnamon rolls... biscuits..
They have all been excellent..
If you think your starter is dead.. check it by turning on your oven to about 150... until it warms up.. and set your jar inside.. turning off the oven. Let it set in there...See if that does anything to it..
I have used the premade starters.. but actually all they are is a "special yeast" that maybe ..because of climate ..area..and conditions.. do better in getting started. But they are good. I used them for years.. but none of them did ..for me.. as well as the champagne yeast that I use now. I had a problem with them going dead too soon..
A good starter should stay active and last you a year or more.
Just try a bunch of different ones until you find one that gives you all of the above charateristics.