[Sca-cooks] Sourdough

[johnna holloway]

Sourdough can be very tempermental to get started
and learning to bake with it can take some time.
Don't despair yet--- just be patient and keep trying.
So, With regard to sourdough--
I can offer these pointers--
Bear mentioned the Ed Wood book. The newest edition is
titled-- Classic Sourdoughs, A Home Baker's Handbook.
This updated version of Ed Wood's wildly popular
World Sourdoughs from Antiquity features over 90
recipes (including a chapter on baking sourdough in the
bread machine). Wood covers preparation of a
sourdough culture, then shows the reader how to build
the culture, and make, shape and bake the breads --
Softcover, 210 pages. It costs 19.95 and is available from
The Bakers Catalogue at King Arthur Flour.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/cgibin/start/ahome/main.html

One good thing about the Wood book is that he tells you how to
time the sourdough as to whether or not it's a fast or slow
batch. That makes a great deal of difference as to when you bake
and how long you let it rise before baking. And yes a small amount
of good yeast is another consideration, especially for bread
machine sourdoughs.

You might want to start over and this time when you make the
initial batch use spring water and organic flour (like King
Arthur bread flour). Tap water in certain parts of the country
can kill the batch; even well water ran through a water softner
doesn't cut it. Then continue to feed it with only the same ingredients.
Mine has has lasted for years in a quart glass preserving jar with
a lid that hooks down on the metal collar. Keep it in the back of
the fridge and feed it as needed of equal measures flour and water.

Hope this helps,

Johnna Holloway  Johnnae llyn Lewis

Erika Thomenius wrote:>
> This is a serious cry for help.>
> I have been trying several different tacks to try to make sourdough, snipped
> Can anyone give me some pointers, or recipes that have worked well for them?
> -Gytha "Wretched little microbes aren't going to beat me!" Karlsdotter