Sourdough Starters in the Fridge

Selling sourdough means that you get to hear some pretty amazing stories.  One of my favorite ones came earlier this summer.  A younger man called saying that he was on vacation and had his sourdough starter with him.  Instantly I saw in my mind a quart jar strapped in with a seat belt in the front seat of the car.  He stated that he loved the starter and was so worried about losing it that he is traveling with it.  We get this a lot...not the sourdough starters going on vacation but that people are worried about losing their starters if they go somewhere for any length of time.  Great news!  If you are not using your starter you can put it in the refrigerator and keep it there.  When you need it just get it out and fill the culture jar with warm water while stirring vigorously.  Leave slightly more than 1 cup in the jar and discard the excess.  This works wonderfully and gives you freedom with you sourdough starters.  But, if you do take your starter on vacation with you...we would love pictures!!!

With the colder weather in our near future here is a recipe that will help out with that.

Basic Sourdough Batter

 (Makes about 5 cups batter)
 2 cups cold liquid culture
 3 plus cups white flour
 1/2 cup cold water
 1 teaspoon salt
 2 tablespoons sugar
 2 tablespoons butter, melted
 1/2 cup milk

 Mix the liquid culture with 2 cups of the flour and the water. Proof 12 hours at room temperature (68° to 72°) or 6 hours in a proofing box at 85°.

 Add the salt, sugar, and butter to the milk and mix. Add to the dough and mix well. Add the remaining 1 cup flour and mix vigorously. The yield is approximately 3 1/2 cups of basic sourdough batter.

Corn Batter Bread

This is not your standard corn bread.  The sage, celery seeds, and cornmeal give the sourdough base an earthy quality.

Basic Sourdough Batter
1 teaspoon ground sage
2 teaspoons celery seeds
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

Combine the sourdough batter, sage, celery seeds, and cornmeal in a large mixing bowl and mix well.

Spoon the batter into two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch pans.  Cover lightly with plastic wrap and proof 3 hours at room temperature or 1 to 2 hours in a proofing box at 85°, or until the dough rises 1/2 inch above the pan tops.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 45 minutes.  Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.
Send us your pictures and comments once you try this.

A very happy customer!!!

Here is a great comment from one of our customers that we wanted to share with you.

I have been making sourdough bread from scratch for more than 5 years.  I grind all of my own flour at home.

Your book on Classic Sourdoughs is an astonishing achievement, since it gives thoughtfulness and science to this ancient art.  Your book will become the Bible of breadmaking as our society makes its way back to its true breadmaking roots.  Thanks for writing your book!

Furthermore, your starters are absolutely amazing!!  My breadmaking went to a whole new level from using just one of your starters (Austrian).  I had been using my own starters for many years, but after I used just one of yours, I threw my old ones out--they are not even close to the ones that you have made available--

So from one very satisfied customer, thank you very much!!

Doug

Cranberry-Huckleberry Batter Bread

Huckleberries are out. So what do we do with them? Make sourdough bread! Check out this recipe!

Basic Sourdough Batter
(Makes about 5 cups batter)

2 cups cold liquid culture
3 plus cups white flour
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
... 2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup milk

Mix the liquid culture with 2 cups of the flour and the water. Proof 12 hours at room temperature (68° to 72°) or 6 hours in a proofing box at 85°.

Add the salt, sugar, and butter to the milk and mix. Add to the dough and mix well. Add the remaining 1 cup flour and mix vigorously. The yield is approximately 3 1/2 cups of basic sourdough batter.

Cranberry-Huckleberry Batter Bread
(Makes 2 Loaves)

Basic Sourdough Batter (from recipe above)
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup frozen or fresh huckleberries
flour

Combine sourdough batter, cranberries, and huckleberries in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Add more flour as needed for proper thickness of consistency.

Spoon the batter into two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2-inch pans. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and proof 3 hours at room temperature or 1 to 2 hours in a proofing box at 85°, or until the dough rises 1/2 inch above the pan tops.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 45 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool on wire racks.

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

CHEAT SHEET FOR SOURDOUGHS

 

Italian Sourdough-  They are among the best we have ever used, consistently producing fabulous breads and PIZZAS that are flavorful and can be QUITE SOUR.

 

Giza Sourdough Starter-  Dough made from this culture RISES VERY WELL and is MODERATELY SOUR.

 

South African Sourdough-  This is the only sourdough culture we are aware of that LEAVENS WHOLE WHEAT BETTER THAN IT DOES WHITE FLOUR, and it is therefore ideal for those who grind their own flour.  The flavor is truly unique, and when combined with 100 percent whole wheat flour, it yields breads with UNSURPASSED TEXTURE, SOURNESS AND FLAVOR.  We have also grown it using all white flour.  The nutty flavor persists and white sourdough breads made with this culture are quite different from those prepared with our other sourdough cultures.  Its ability to leaven whole wheat doughs offers the home baker almost unlimited opportunities to experiment with different combinations of WHOLE WHEAT, SPELT, KAMUT AND WHITE FLOURS.

 

Finland Sourdough Starter-  It has a wonderful and DISTINCTIVE flavor and it RISES WELL.

 

Russia Sourdough-  It is a FAST-LEAVENING culture, handles heavy Russian WHOLE WHEAT doughs, and works very well in automatic home bread machines.

 

Bahrain Sourdough-  It rises well and is one of the MOST SOUR we’ve encountered.

 

Red Sea Sourdough-  This culture has a MILD FLAVOR and works well in home bread machines.

 

Saudi Arabia Sourdough-  It rises moderately well and has one of the most DISTINCTIVE FLAVORS of all the cultures.

 

Polish Sourdough-  This is one of the better RYE cultures.  Also great for PUMPERNICKEL bread.

 

New Zealand Rye Sourdough-  It is RYE SOUR.  Easy to produce rye bread with.

New Zealand Sourdough General-  One of the easiest and best choices for the NOVICE SOURDOUGH BAKER.  It works for everything from WHOLE WHEAT, POTATO, SWEET BREADS, ETC.

 

Austria Sourdough-  This culture is especially adapted to RYE flours, rises somewhat slowly and produces one of the MORE SOUR doughs.

 

France Sourdough Starter-  This starter RISES VERY well and the dough has one of the MILDEST SOURDOUGH flavors.

 

Yukon Sourdough Starter-  This starter has a MODERATELY SOUR flavor.  Great for sourdough FLAPJACKS AND PANCAKES.

 

Tazmanian Sourdough Starter-  This culture produces breads with a DISTINCTIVE FLAVOR AND TEXTURE.  It has the added benefit of being ideal for SPELT AND KAMUT flours.

 

Original San Francisco Sourdough-  Once you get acquainted with it, it will do ANYTHING YOU ASK OF IT.

DIFFERENT FLOURS

 

WHITE-  Italian, Giza, South African, Finland, Russia, Bahrain, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand General, Austria, France, Yukon, Tazmanian, Original San Francisco

 

Whole Wheat-  South African, Russia, New Zealand General

 

Rye-  Polish, New Zealand Rye, Austria

 

Spelt (different texture than white flour)-  South African, Tazmanian

 

Kamut (in between white flour and whole wheat)-  South African, Tazmanian

 

Pumpernickel (rye)-  Polish

 

Potato, Sweet Breads, etc-  New Zealand General

 

 

FLAVORS

 

Mild-  Red Sea, France (mildest)

 

Moderately-  Giza, Yukon

 

Very Sour-  Italian, South African, Bahrain (most sour), Austria,

Distinctive Flavor-  Finland, Saudi Arabia, Tazmaian

Sourdough Crackers

These were easy to make and had an amazing taste.

Here is the recipe for you.

Sourdough Crackers (from I'm Naturally Simple)

1 Cup Sourdough Starter
1 Cup(ish) Flour
1/4 Cup Melted Butter (I substituted coconut oil the second time I made these and it worked beautifully)
Salt and/or Spices of your choice
... Melted Butter or Olive Oil (your choice, I used olive oil)

Combine flour, starter, and butter. Add enough flour to form a stiff ball. Cover and let sit aside for at least 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes has passed roll dough out very thin. Baste with melted butter or olive oil, sprinkle with salt and/or spices to taste. Cut dough length wise then cross wise to create cracker shapes. Transfer to baking sheet. Prick the top of each cracker with a fork.

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes has passed begin checking your crackers. Depending on how thin you rolled them will depend on how quickly they cook. My batches average 14 minutes. You want the cracker to be crisp and lightly browned. These burn quickly so pay close attention.

Remove from oven and let cool. Leave them on the cookie sheet as they continue to crisp as they cool. Cool completely before transferring to storage container.

Enjoy!

Don't forget to try these with our South African (whole wheat culture) or our Polish or New Zealand (rye culture). 

Please share with us your twist on this recipe!

One of our employees, Margie, tried out our sourdough to make cinnamon rolls.  They looked fantastic.  We are now trying to convince her that she needs to have a taste sampling of them at work.  Don't you think that is a great idea?  Here is the recipe that she used. 
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls (printed from cooks.com)
1/2 cup starter
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups flour
1/4 cup butter
3 tbsp. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour (approx.)
1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped nuts
Melted butter
Combine starter, milk and flour (2 cups) in a large bowl.  Cover and leave at room temperature overnight.  Next morning, beat together the butter, sugar and egg.  Blend into sourdough.  Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, soda and baking powder and mix with other mixture.  Turn out on floured surface and knead until shiny.  Add flour as needed.
Roll out to an 8 x 16 inch rectangle.  Brush surface with melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and nuts.  Roll up dough, cut roll at intervals, dip in butter and place in 9 inch square pan.  Let rise about 1 hour and bake at 375° for 30 to 35 minutes.
Icing: 
1/2 stick butter melted
3 tbsp. evaporated milk
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Her family went nuts for these cinnamon rolls.  Even the sourdough skeptic husband (who said he never eat sourdough is now converted). 
Happy baking and please send us your stories, pictures or ideas!!!