[Sca-cooks] Sourdough

[Decker, Terry D.]

Sourdough is generally denser and than yeasted bread.  Modern commercial
sourdoughs don't usually reflect this, because they are often yeasted to
insure a proper rise and given a sourer taste by adding citric acid.

It may be that it was too cold to rise, but 70 to 90 degrees F ambient air
temperature should be adequate as should the 12 hours for the first rise.
Humidity can be a factor.  Too wet or too dry affects the rise.

Not breaking the starter apart in the liquor can cause a problem.  The
starter needs to be scatter through the dough, which is achieved by pulling
the starter apart in the liquor, putting some of the leaven into suspension.
The liquor will look something like dissolved dry active yeast without the
foam.

Use two rises.  The first (8 to 12 hours) lets the leaven spread through the
dough.  The second (2 to 4 hours) for aeration after shaping the loaves.  If
one is blessed with a very active starter, the rise times may shorten.

After four days, I would expect the starter to be active.  Ways to tell.
After it is fed, the starter will thin a little due to the production of
alcohol and some other liquids.  I had one extremely active starter which
made the kitchen smell like a distillery.  Bubbles will form from the
released carbon dioxide (if you have the starter in a clear container, you
can see gas bubbles form between the starter and the container).

Each starter is different, so you will probably need to experiment to find
the best techniques to use it.

I doubt you will have a hockey puck, but I would expect the bread to be very
dense and chewy unless oven spring pumps it up.

Even if you do have a hockey puck, don't let it bother you.  You're learning
a new set of techniques and should expect failures.  I've had some
spectacular ones trying to perfect the light-as-air baguette and first
attempt at manchet produced what I refer to as Francis Drake's bowling
balls.

Bear


> Ok- in process of making my first loaf of sourdough from a flour/water
> starter.  I used 2/3 cup of starter to about 4 cups to make the dough
> (looked and felt enough like bread dough) Let it to rise all
> day (8am-8apm)
> and it rose a little, but not nearly like I expected.  Could
> it be the area
> wasn't warm enough for it to rise?  Or was my start not ready
> yet? (I let it
> ferment on the counter 4 days, feeding it twice a day).
>
> Humm....
> Just afraid that when I try to bake it, I'll have a lovely
> dense hunk of
> something resembling a hockey puck.. (will let you know tomorrow..)
>
> Vitha