SC - Sourdough
Decker, Terry D.
TerryD at Health.State.OK.US
Mon Jun 22 07:00:01 PDT 1998
> There is, of course, another method of keeping a sourdough starter. This
> is to use a wooden baking through, and letting the remains of the last
> dought form part of the next. This was done in country-side Finland up
> until quite recently. I tried a version of this a few months ago. After
> baking I left the bowl (plastic) stand on the counter until dry. The
> next weekend I then simply mixed down the crusty remains with some
> flour and water. And it started to rise after having been left alone
> overnight, and worked well as a starter.
>
I got to thinking about this the last time you mentioned it. The wooden
baking trough works for small batches, but I don't think it is effective for
commercial quantities. I expect large batches of bread were boosted with
ale barm to get a good rise in a reasonable time.
However, let's take your technique a little farther. Create your leaven,
let it rise and bubble for a few days, then dry it out. (Most bakers won't
do this because reconstituting a leaven in quantity is a pain.) Grind the
dried leaven to powder. At that point you have a high yeast content powder
which can be added to the dough to leaven it. The powder should retain its
potency up to about 120 degrees F and, as long as you kept it dry, could be
easily transported in a pouch or a flask. The technique is similar to some
stuff I've found in 19th Century recipes.
> Or you could just freeze it between uses if you aren't going to bake
> every week.
>
Good idea. Bread dough will rise after freezing without a lot of problem,
so a leaven should freeze just fine. I would let it come back to room
temperature before mixing dough.
> /UlfR
> (wondering how to fake ale-barm for baking)
>
> --
> Par Leijonhufvud parlei(at)algonet.se
>
I faked it with 1 teaspoon of dry active yeast in 16 ounces of water (U.S.
measure) and a teaspoon of sugar for food. Give it a day in a sterile
loosely covered container. The yeast solution tends to settle, so give it a
shake before using. 1 ounce of the solution will leaven two pounds of flour
quite nicely.
I was trying a different mixture, but I lost that batch to mold.
Bear
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