SC - kitchen commandments

[Louise Sugar]

>
>Date: Tue, 3 Feb 1998 10:10:41 -0500 
>From: Christi Redeker <Christi.Redeker at digital.com>
>Subject: RE: SC - Bread Making From Platina
>
>Elizabeth wrote:
>
>>By the way, if you do not know anyone with a sourdough starter, we can
>>bring you some of ours when we come out for the Known World Arts and
>>Sciences event, if that is not too late.
>
>>Elizabeth/Betty Cook
>
>I do not have any, but I am sure that people around here do.  But I
>would be glad to accept anything from your kitchen.  
>
>BTW bring copies of the Miscellany too, then I don't have to have you
>ship them.
>
>On a side note, I mention again that I am here in Colorado and have
>great knowledge of the area that KWAS is being held, if anyone needs any
>information I will be glad to help.  
>
>Murkial
>

If you have some time at home, it is quite eeasy to make your own sourdough
starter. Although I reccomend that you start from scratch, it is easier to
use (purchased) bread yeast. The trouble with purchased bread yeast is it's
propensity to take over and conquer all...in other words, you may never get
"sour" dough.

I have a colonial recipe for "Salt Rising Dough", the version *without*
potato water in it. Curiously, there's not too much salt in it. Although the
source not to hand at the moment, the gist of it goes like this (I do this
by heart several times a year---my husband likes his sourbread really sour!): 

Take a 2-qt jug (non-reactive) and quarter-fill it with water that is warm
to the touch. Add 1/4 cup sugar, honey or other sweetner, 1 tsp. salt, 1
tbsp sour cream, unflavored active culture yoghurt, or buttermilk, and
enough flour to make it as thick as pancake batter (griddle cakes, thick
crepes, crempog or crumpets to you non-yanks). If you are feeling lazy, now
is the time to add your bread yeat, but you have been warned! All you may
get is a big jug of active commercial bread yeat! Loosley cover the jug
(very loosley), and place it in a large stockpot with a few inches of warm
water in it. Cover the pot and leave overnight in a warm place (I like to
leave it just over the pilot-light of my gas stove). The next morning, there
should be bubbles from fermentation and the starter should have "risen" up
the sides of the jug. Sometimes. If the weather does not cooperate or you
don't have the right kitchen gremlins, etc., it may be necessary to remove
the jug, add more sugar/flour (it may have seperated, which mean you don't
have the right gremlins in it yet---that's OK, we can fix it) and let it sit
on the counter loosley covered until fermentation takes place. If you do
this over the course of a week, feeding it every day or every other day,
adding water as needed,it will get very sour---the way we like it. The
natural yeast has a cycle of flavors--if you catch it at it's sourest, the
next time you use it it will noticeably milder.

Once soured, keep it in the refrigerator, feed it once in a while, and use
it frequently---like every week or more. After a while, if you get sick of
the starter, feed it, put it in a pretty container, and give it away to (not
very good) friends, calling it Amish Friendship Bread (groan). Tell them how
to take care of it and also tell them you never want to see it again---in
any re-incarnation.

To bake with it: Take at least half the starter, well mixed from the jug,
and make your basic dough with it, using the starter as part of the liquid
(do not add bread yeast to the dough). Allow to rise for a long
period---overnight if necessary. My Sourdough loaves tend to rise in a
less-round shape than bread-yeast doughs. This means your loaf may have very
square top corners. Feed and water the other half of your starter, and put
it on the counter until sour again, and then use or refrigerate. Because of
the long rise, I use a one-rise method, but it is possible to have a 2-rise
if you have patience. In this case you may want to rise in the oven, barely
warmed on the lowest setting, with a pan of warm water to speed the process.

Have fun--and do not under any circumstance tightly seal the starter. It
will eventually explode!

Aoife

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