SC - Greetings!

[Decker, Terry D.]

>Anyway--does 
>anyone know how to make sourdough or clarified butter? I have two 
>bread recipes, and one calls for ghee and another one calls for 
>sourdough. Merci beaucoup!
>
>Yours in Service,
>Isabelle de Foix
>College of Misty Mere
>Kingdom of Meridies

Basic Sourdough Starter

2 Cups warm Water (105 - 110 degrees F)
pinch of sugar
1 pkg dry active yeast (1 rounded teaspoon, 7 g.)
2 Cups flour

Take a bowl capable of handling 3 qts or more.
Pour the water into the bowl
Dissolve the pinch of sugar in the water
Dissolve the yeast in the water.  Let stand for about 15 minutes, the
yeast should activate, start bubbling to the surface and make the
solution look creamy.
Stir in the flour.  Scrap the flour from the sides of the bowl and blend
it into the mixture.

Loosely cover the bowl with a piece of cheescloth.  This keeps the bugs
out, but lets the wild yeast in.
Put the bowl in a warm location.  80 degrees F is preferred, but 70
degrees F will work.
Each day for the next four days, add 1/2 cup warm water (105 -110
degrees F) and 1/2 cup flour.  Stir in thoroughly.
After four days, put the starter in a container that can be sealed and
refrigerate it.
Once a week, add equal amounts of water and flour to the mixture (about
1/2 cup of each should do it)
Replace the starter as used with eqaul amounts of water and flour

Notes:

It takes about 1 cup of starter to replace the yeast in a standard bread
recipe.
You don't need to use the sugar, but I find it helps the yeast.
While the starter sours, your kitchen (and possibly your house) will
smell like a barroom that doesn't swamp the floors.  
If there are any bugs in the house, the fermentation will attract them.
I recommend two layers of cheesecloth with enough excess to tape it to
the sides of the bowl.  I use masking tape for easy clean up.

There is no guarantee that the starter will sour properly.  Even
commercial starters fail.  However, North America is blessed with a lot
of wild yeast that makes good sourdough bread (much to the brewers'
dismay).

Bon Chance

Bear



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