Sourdough Bread!

I love baking, and using Sourdough Starter was an interest of mine. I know this is my Math Blog, but I don’t have another one set up know. I could easily do some math to go with the baking but…

Anyway, I had gotten my first bit from King Arthur Flour Company, it eventually got neglected & I thought it died, so I tossed it. I eventually got another batch and although it got neglected for a bit, a few times, I have been able to ‘nurse it back’ each time. I have found some sites that tell you how to prep it for vacation and such, which is kind of cool. I sometimes remember to do that if I don’t think I will use it for a while.

Right now my kids are baking a bit (no school due to Covid-19), so I figure now is a good time to be using it.

I just gave a friend some, so figured I should right up some basic tips and share some of the recipe sites I like.

I keep mine in the fridge until the morning that I think I will use it. I try to let it warm up before doing anything. Then I do the 1 to 1 to 1 ratio. 1 cup of starter, 1 cup flour, 1 cup water. You can do smaller or larger or weights depending on what you need. This is feeding the starter. I let it sit out until is starts to bubble & put this in the fridge. I use what is not fed in the recipes. This is technically call the discard, but who wants to waste stuff… There are a few recipes that you use the fed starter, but I haven’t used them yet…

If you don’t already have starter or a friend that has some and you don’t want to order any right now for whatever reason, there are a few websites that will tell you how to make it. In fact King Arthur Flour has one:  https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe (no I am not getting money from them, they are just the ones I use and like to get some things from.) On that page is also a link to their baking guide. If you ‘google’ “make your own sourdough starter”, you will find a bunch.

One of my favorites, but it has to sit overnight before you make it is Sourdough Pancakes, yes another from King Arthur.

Another I make a lot is Sourdough Banana Bread. I think this is the one I started with https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/recipe/sourdough-recipes/sourdough-banana-bread/. It looks like a good easy recipe. I printed one out a while ago and made my own modifications to it. I add whatever ‘small’ dried fruit I have on hand, raisins, cranberries, etc. I sometimes add chips, like chocolate, peanut butter, or cinnamon. I sometimes exchange some of the plain flour for ‘healthier’ ones. Depends on the day and what I have on hand.

My younger daughter loves it when I use it to make crumpets! Yes, what English Muffins are based on and it is a super easy recipe. I think this is the one, but when I ‘googled’ a similar King Arthur on came up too… https://cnz.to/recipes/bread-brioche/sourdough-crumpets-with-natural-starter-recipe/

There are some great fruit muffin recipes. I am still trying to find the perfect scone recipe. This should be enough to get you started!
Tammy