Baking a Sourdough Bread....What can I say, its not just Baking, it's a Journey... an accomplishment of Baking with Science. It's not JUST the process of mixing the flour with water, it's preparing a healthy YEAST. It's more of yeah, I see the flour bubbling/hissing/breathing when it's the right time, to yessss there goes the healthy yeast which helps in baking the bread.
You are with the dish, watching it grow. You are with your bread for close to a month!!! The Sourdough Starter, more or less becomes your pet, yes, you heard me right! It becomes your pet, where you need to FEED it on a timely basis. You have to keep an eye on your pet and observe the way it grows. And not to forget, name your Sourdough Starter! I have named mine TRIBBLES! I have kept Tribbles alive by feeding it once a week. And you will be amazed and surprised to know, a Sourdough Starter CAN BE KEPT ALIVE FOR GENERATIONS!! A very friendly pet, who does not ask much...but needs to be said hello once in a while :)
Sourdough Starter, acts just like yeast. I can say, a vegetarian's treasure! It can be easily used in the place of your regular yeast. But yes, it definitely needs practise to know how long your dish needs proofing. I have used my starters in baking Breads, Crackers and Naan. Comes out great and tastes yum!
Here, I have given the table that I have followed. I have used 5 grams of Whole Wheat Flour and 5 grams of water [room temperature].
ALWAYS USE
- A kitchen scale for appropriate weight.
- A clean Glass Jar. [It's fun to observe the Starter grow, forming of bubbles, and if it's really quiet - you can hear a hiss].
- A clean spoon/wooden shower to mix.
- Keep the mixture in a warm place.
- When needed, if a small or half the amount needs to be taken out from the main starter, do not throw it. This is called a DISCARD. This can be used for baking crackers.
| Day | Quantity | Feed | Time | Observation | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | 5gms+5gms | - | 8.30 am | - Mix 5gms of Flour with 5gms of water | |||||||||||||
| 01 | 5gms+5gms | - | 8.30 am | - Small bubbles are seen | |||||||||||||
| 02 | 5gms+5gms | - | 9.30 am | - Small bubbles are seen. Sometimes, if there is a pink patch, discard it and save the rest of the starter. |
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| 03 | 5gms+5gms | 1st feed | 8.30 am | - More bubbles. | |||||||||||||
| 2nd feed | 4 pm | - More bubbles. More bubbles means the dough is hungry. |
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| 04 | 5gms+5gms | 1st feed | 7 am | - Take out half the quantity to a new jar. Add 5gms+5gms to the remaining. |
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| 2nd feed | 8 pm | - Observe for bubbles. | |||||||||||||||
| 05 | 5gms+5gms | 1st feed | 9.30 am | - Feed accordingly. | |||||||||||||
| 2nd feed | 9.30 pm | - By now, the dough starts to have a sweet smell. Sometimes, there can be a slihgt hiss that can be heard from the starter. |
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| 06 | 5gms+5gms | 1st feed | 9.30 am | - Take out half the quantity to a new jar. Add 5gms+5gms to the remaining. |
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| 2nd feed | 9.30 pm | - By now, the dough starts to raise, have a sweet smell, and drop from the sides. Sometimes, there can be a slihgt hiss that can be heard from the starter. |
Continue to:
- Remove 60% of the dough from the main and add to the discard jar.
- Main 'starter' keeps growing, and this is what is used for baking the Sourdough Breads.