Bread Machine (98 page)

A thicker, doughlike piece of starter will always ferment more slowly than one that has more liquid. Remember that the same rules apply to sourdough starters as apply to commercial yeasts when it comes to heat and cold—excessive heat, over 100°F, will kill the delicate yeasts. Starters of any type can be frozen, though, and fed and used when they are thawed, an important technique to keep seldom-used starters going. (I wish I had known it years ago when I was given some special starters and couldn’t keep them going for lack of use.)

So many bakers never work with sourdoughs because they just can’t develop an acceptable starter. As I did not want this to be the case with you, my starters are fortified with some commercial yeast or use some of the freeze-dried starters that are commercially available.

Among the starter recipes included here is a selection of “fast” starters. These include Next-Day White Sourdough Starter, Next-Day Rye Sourdough Starter, Suzanne’s Sourdough Starter, German Beer Starter, and French Buttermilk Starter. Each can be made from scratch in 112 to 3 days with ease and predictability. These quick starters are also important for bakers who make sourdough breads only sporadically, as they can easily be made fresh each time you want to bake. The Grape-yeast Starter is more traditional, and does require more time to make.

Each starter has its own characteristic flavor and rising power. Most of the starters given here can be used interchangeably in any of the sourdough bread recipes in this book, and you can also vary the flours you use to make the starters. For certain recipes I have suggested certain starters, but feel free to experiment. A German Beer Starter may not be the best choice to use in Sourdough Banana Nut Bread. All you have to do is consider the ingredients you have put into the starter and how they will mesh with the ingredients of the bread, and you will have a delicious outcome. If, by chance, you already have a good starter sitting in your refrigerator, by all means take it out, feed it, and get to baking! If you make gluten-free breads, you can use white or brown rice flour in place of the wheat flour in your sourdough starter; it ferments nicely.

You can make anything from pizza dough to French bread to pancakes with a sourdough starter. Please note that this type of baking is different than any other in this book. It has a much more developed flavor with a bit of a punch. You will know when you are baking sourdough bread because even its aroma while baking will be tangy.

NEXT-DAY WHITE SOURDOUGH STARTER               
Makes 2
¹
/
₂
cups starter

T
his is my version of a sourdough starter that is ready to use after thirty-two hours. If you start it early in the morning, it will be ready to use the afternoon of the following day. It is a sure thing for first-time sourdough bakers, eliminating an often variable product. I use a dry culture starter from Goldrush Sourdough, which is readily available on supermarket shelves and from The Baker’s Catalogue. It makes a clean, tangy starter.

INGREDIENTS

One
¹
/
₂
-ounce package commercial dry sourdough starter

2 cups bread flour Pinch of active dry, bread machine, or SAF yeast

2 cups warm water (85°F)

¹
/
₂
medium apple, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks

For the first feeding:

¹
/
₄
cup bread flour

¹
/
₄
cup warm water

Combine the packaged starter with the flour and yeast in a medium bowl. Whisk in the warm water until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the apple chunks. Transfer to a plastic container or crock. Cover with a few layers of cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band; then cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let stand at warm room temperature for 24 hours (80°F is optimum), stirring the mixture 2 to 3 times. It will be bubbly and begin to ferment, giving off a tangy, sour aroma. It will be the consistency of a pancake batter.

Remove the apple chunks. Add the first feeding flour and water and whisk to combine. Let stand for 8 hours longer. The starter will be ready to use. If you desire a more sour starter, or do not wish to use it right away, cover the starter loosely and store it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. For information about maintaining your starter, see
Technique: Building and Maintaining a Sourdough Starter
.

NEXT-DAY RYE SOURDOUGH STARTER               
Makes 2
¹
/
₂
cups starter

S
ome sours utilize rye flour and add a bit of onion, a classic old touch that contributes greatly to the flavor and encourages fermentation. This is a fast version of rye bread starter that uses a packaged dry culture to add flavor. It has a wonderful aroma evocative of all that sourdough baking epitomizes. This starter is ready to use after thirty-two hours. Begin it early in the morning, and you’ll have Sourdough Rye Bread for dinner the following night.

INGREDIENTS

One
¹
/
₂
-ounce package commercial dry sourdough starter

1
¹
/
₂
cups dark rye flour

¹
/
₂
cup bread flour Pinch of active dry, bread machine, or SAF yeast

2 cups warm water (85°F)

1 thin slice onion

¹
/
₄
large clove garlic

4 caraway seeds

For the first feeding:

¹
/
₄
cup rye flour

¹
/
₄
cup warm water

Combine the starter package with the flours and yeast in a medium bowl. Whisk in the warm water until smooth. Stir in the onion, garlic, and caraway. Transfer to a plastic container or crock. Cover with a few layers of cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band; then cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let stand at warm room temperature for 24 hours (80°F is optimum), stirring the mixture 2 to 3 times. It will be bubbly and begin to ferment, giving off a tangy, sour aroma. It will be the consistency of a pancake batter.

Remove the onion and garlic pieces. Add the first feeding flour and water, and whisk to combine. Let stand for 8 hours longer. The starter will be ready to use. If you desire a more sour starter, or do not wish to use it right away, cover the starter loosely and store it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. For information about maintaining your starter, see
Technique: Building and Maintaining a Sourdough Starter
.

Technique: Building and Maintaining a Sourdough Starter

Time and nourishment are two of the key elements in developing a starter with a good, strong flavor. This process is also called “building” a starter or mother. Usually a sourdough starter does not get used up when a dough is made from it. Although many of the starter recipes I include here are easy enough to make fresh each time you want sourdough bread, you may also wish to keep and replenish leftover starter for your next baking. In order to maintain a starter in good condition, replenish it each time you use some. Also feed a starter whenever you haven’t used it for 2 weeks. The directions that follow may be applied to any of the starters in this book.