This post might seem to be a bit “out of the blue” – and it is. I’ve just started learning and experimenting with Sourdough and I’m not quite ready to post about it all just yet.
However, I have two gorgeous cousins who are also interested in it and I thought I’d dry some of my starter, Bullwinkle, and send him to them.
I did that quite successfully, as you can see. I started out with flakes and then remembered I owned a coffee grinder I could powder them in. So I did.
Then I realised that they’d have to reconstitute him. I needed to learn how to do that. I also needed to check that these little bags of magic powder would actually work before I sent them off into the vast reaches of Oz.
Or I might be disowned or something.
This blog post is for Marina and Laurina. (Yes their names rhyme, but I promise they have different mothers.)
Moving on.
Start with a small, clean bowl. To it, add a teaspoon of starter powder followed by a tablespoon of unchlorinated water. (Boil your kettle, use that when it’s cooled.)
Pre-grinding flakey starter was used for this pic. Don’t panic.
Mix to a slurry and set aside for a few hours. To be safe, do this at breakfast and the next step in the evening.
Now add a tablespoon of flour and the same weight of your unchlorinated water. So, if your flour comes to 20 g – for the sake of argument – then add 20 g of water. It is important to use the same type of flour the starter was originally made with. You can wean it onto another type after it is out of ICU.
Mix well, cover loosely and put aside.
It will look particularly unimpressive.
The next day you may see a bubble or two, or you may not. Don’t despair. Repeat the feeding process above and put it aside. You will know it has revived when bubbles appear. If more than 4 days pass and no bubbles surface – ahem – discard and start again.
Like this.
Transfer it to a larger bowl or jar and add 100 g each of flour and water. Mix well and place aside. Your mixture will double in size and rise.
There’s life in them thar bubbles!
Feed it again, place it in the jar you want to store it in permanently, cover loosely and transfer to your fridge.
Look how happy the one I revived is!
All bubbled up and ready to bake!
Yes, the process is slow. It’s not an instant ‘add water and bake’ thing. But, you know, that’s actually a really good introduction to the slowness of the sourdough baking process.
Enjoy it.
Meanwhile, The Boy has decided I should go into business selling little bags of sourdough starter. What do you all think?
Budget Bounty 