planeflyer21 Posted April 17, 2013 Report Posted April 17, 2013 Alright...I decided to bring you all along on this experience of making bread from scratch. The method I'm following is essentially how bread was made for the thousands of years before yeast was sold in little foil packages. With whole wheat flour I'm making what's called a "sourdough starter". 1/4 cup of water mixed with 1/2 cup of flour, in a mixing bowl. Directions say to scrape the sides down to prevent feeding mold. Instead I put the starter on a plate, wash the mixing bowl and dry it, then put the starter back in. What then happens is the bacteria in the flour and yeast from the flour and air start feeding on the concoction. When it starts "bubbling" it means it is active, i.e., the little creatures are feeding, farting, and multiplying. It is a waiting game. The directions say the bubbling may happen in a few hours or as many as 36. If nothing happens by then, toss it out and start over. The starter we started doubled in size. So this morning we "fed" it...another 1/4 cup of water and another 1/2 cup of w-w flour, mix it all up. The attached photo is right after feeding it this morning, with my index finger for reference. I'll post another this afternoon, just prior to the next feeding. The goal of this process is to have a batch of starter dough. Our grandmothers and their grandmothers had this lump of dough sitting around permanently. When it was time to bake some bread, they put some of the starter in the dough to be cooked. The cultured yeast then caused the bread to rise. Jon
planeflyer21 Posted April 17, 2013 Author Report Posted April 17, 2013 Alright...those little organisms are pigs! It's only been about five hours and this starter has more than doubled in volume. Jon
MONTANA308 Posted April 17, 2013 Report Posted April 17, 2013 Nothing better then home made bred nice work Jon
planeflyer21 Posted April 18, 2013 Author Report Posted April 18, 2013 Thanks guys! Okay...absolutely, positively certain now that The BLOB was based on these bakers' starters! Split, feed, and discard about 1pm, and the monster had grown to triple size again. Per the instructions, half was again discarded, watered, but now it gets fed with unbleached all-purpose flour. This "starves" the bad bacteria but allows the yeast and good stuff to continue. Once this stabilizes in about three days, we can go back to whole wheat flour for the feeding. After all this work plays out for over a week, we can work on storing the stabilized starter in the refridgerator. At that time it will still need to be fed once a week. Jon
98Z5V Posted April 18, 2013 Report Posted April 18, 2013 Dude, it's like you have a new effin' PET here!... <laughs> <lmao>
Rsquared Posted April 18, 2013 Report Posted April 18, 2013 Hopefully not a Chia pet (or however they were spelled in the 70's an 80's) Damn you're old!
98Z5V Posted April 18, 2013 Report Posted April 18, 2013 You nailed it - you're that old, too. Don't deny it... <laughs>
planeflyer21 Posted April 18, 2013 Author Report Posted April 18, 2013 That flour switch WAY slowed down the microbial activity! It is still growing but at nowhere near the 1950s horror flick speed it was. Jon
98Z5V Posted April 18, 2013 Report Posted April 18, 2013 You're kinda scaring me with this bread, now, brother... How far is this gonna go? <laughs>
Rsquared Posted April 18, 2013 Report Posted April 18, 2013 (edited) THE BLOB! Steve McQueen. Just remember. CO2 saved the day. QUICK! Grab the fire extinguishers! ..............................................NO.........not the dry chemical kind you assholes! <laughs> After all.......they don't even chill the beer. Edited April 18, 2013 by Rsquared
planeflyer21 Posted April 18, 2013 Author Report Posted April 18, 2013 How far? I'm the only guy in the house. I'm obligated to do my part with yeast. :enguard: It is growing...but really, really slow. Kinda like a sober date. Jon
392heminut Posted April 18, 2013 Report Posted April 18, 2013 That flour switch WAY slowed down the microbial activity! It is still growing but at nowhere near the 1950s horror flick speed it was. Jon Good to hear, I was worried for you brother! I was afraid you would quit posting and when Tom went looking for you all he would find would be a huge blob where your house used to be! I'm just sayin.......... :ugone2far: :-[ :tweed:
unforgiven Posted April 18, 2013 Report Posted April 18, 2013 You'r gonna make someone a good ol'lady.Just sayin. >:D <laughs>
Matt.Cross Posted April 18, 2013 Report Posted April 18, 2013 I'd be pretty worried about my place on the food chain if I had to feed my bread..... <dontknow> <laughs>
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