Hi Jon!
What part of the world are you in? I think that might make some difference in
the flavor of the sourdough
My current starter is a sourdough jack starter which I first got about 20 years
ago. I always keep some dehydrated and have had to restart it a couple of
times due to stupid mistakes or trials that I did and didn't work well.
The finished loaf is pretty tangy. I maintain a whole wheat starter and a
white flour starter and use them both. Really think the key to a tangy starter
is to use it all the time, pancakes, biscuits, bread, chocolate cake, anything
you can do with it.
The sourdough jack cookbook is good and Bookshare has a couple of books by Ed
wood who is a pretty big name in sourdough. some of those people make it too
complicated and it takes the fun out of it for me.
I know if you look up Karl's sourdough starter on the net and send them a
self-addressed envelope they will send you some dry starter to use. I could
also send you some of this sourdough jack starter or on eBay I have seen books
with the packet of starter still attached.
There is a site with some good information at:
http://www.breadtopia.com
regarding sourdough and making your own starter with pretty good instructions.
Also the site at
http://www.sourdoughhome.com
is a good place to read about the various methods and starters.
I measure my ingredients by weight rather than volume and I think this helps to
get a more accurate starter along the way.
I have not used yeast in years. Even do cinnamon rolls with the starter, along
with hamburger and hotdog buns. I do a long rise in the fridge so I think it
develops the flavor a little more along the way.
Also a higher temp for the final rise will make a more sour bread although it
probably won't rise as much.
I hope Ihaven't given you too much info. Let me know if I can answer any other
questions. I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions along the way. Glad to know
of other blind cooks.
Jim
On Aug 19, 2015, at 4:48 PM, Jon Rawlings <twosocks76@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Jim:
It is definitely OK for list members to forward messages to their
friends...not that I could stop it from happening anyway, right? Your
comments about sourdough have me very interested in your skills. Some 20
years ago, a leader in our local church congrigation took all us boys from 16
to 18 years old to a ranch about 250 miles north of here. It was a very fun
and memorable trip for a number of reasons, but I'll never forget the
sourdough bread. I was always the last one down from the table and could
hardly stand up when there was no food left on my plate. Since leaving
culinary school, I have tried twice to get a good sourdough culture going,
but have not met my own expectations.. I just couldn't get any sour flavor
to develop. The bread I had at the ranch had a very sharp tang and pleasant
flavor that I would do anything to duplicate at home. If I had a way to go
back up to that ranch just to get a sample of the starter, I'd do it in a
heartbeat. From what my "Professional Baking" book says on the matter, the
best sourdough cultures are started from dark rye flour. I make my own
French-style and sandwich bread all the time, but I'm afraid of another
failure if I tried a sourdough starter again. Even the sourdough I had while
in San Francisco a couple years ago fell far short. I've recently seen
recipes for sourdough bread with chopped rosemary in them; something I would
love to both taste for myself and make at home. I know what you're talking
about with regard to the feel of the dough. It definitely comes with
practice, but any blind person, IMO, can learn to do it. How long has your
sourdough culture been going, and how strong is the flavor in the finished
bread? Tell me more.
Jon
