All About Sour Dough .

[achookwoman]

Get going now.  Once it is going you can maintain it for ever.  I like to bake mine in an iron pot.  But you can use any size tin.  Depends on the shape and size you want.  Ask for help if you need it. 

[troupie]

I have brought the mix in and given it its first feed. Still smells OK - cant wait to make some bread but of course I have to.

[achookwoman]

Groupie,  leave it on the bench and feed it again when it bubbles.  Give it a good stir when you feed it.  I leave a large stainless steel spoon in my container and give it a stir when I pass.  Don't try to hurry it while you are building enough to use. 

[troupie]

I might have killed it. Brought it in after the 3 or 4 days; were bubbles on top so fed it; done that for a couple of days and now it doesn't seem active at all. Please teacher, what have I done wrong?

[achookwoman]

You probably have done nothing wrong.  Leave it on the kitchen bench,stir it and leave overnight where it is warm, lid off. Tomorrow morning feed with 1 tablespoon of bread flour and 1 tablespoon of filtered water,  good stir.  Leave on bench until it bubbles.  It is only dead when it smells bad.  Then you chuck it.  In the mean while ,  just wait.  Nothing is lost but a bit of flour. 
Hang in there Troupie,  we can always give you some starter,  but it is nice to grow your own. 

[troupie]

Me again; first of all I would like to say thank you to you ACW for all the help with this process. I have progressed a little bit. My culture was bubbling away nicely and had grown enough so I made bread last night and cooked it this morning. I think it spread more than rose. I had it in a round dish and put the lid on to cook. It was quite heavy or perhaps dense; had a nice texture and some holes which I would expect. The flavour was good even though it was a bit on the dense side.

I will keep trying and wondered how long I should wait before it starts rising as nothing had happened at about 8 or 9 hours so I just cooked it. Many thanks, t.

[goldfish]

Hi Troupie -  my first loaf was as dense as, too.  If it's a bit on the cool side it can take ages to rise.  I've tried different things, putting the bowl out in the sun (when there was sun!) and also lighting the oven on a low temp for a while and then turning it off.  I put the covered tin in the oven and even then it took a few more hours even after being out all night.  Sour dough, I've learned, will not be rushed in any way shape or form . . .but it does need to rise!  It breeds and needs (breads and kneads?? ) lots of patience.

Congratulations on getting your starter started - that in itself is a great start!!

Also, check out what Chookie says here . . . .http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=9565.135

[cookie1]

Well done troupie. As GF says SD will not be rushed. I'm finding in this weather that I can make the bread first thing in the morning ( having fed the starter the night before- with lots of flour and water). The dough does very little for several hours and then it seems to start rising. It takes all day and I cook it very late afternoon or early evening.

It's so exciting to see it all come together.

[troupie]

Thanks goldfish and cookie1; it was a cool night last night and I just left it on the bench to rise. My dough was quite loose; almost like a thick pancake batter so perhaps I should have put a bit more flour in. I just poured it straight into my small Bessemer dutch oven. I have fed the culture and its in the fridge. I am excited to get this far so wont give up (bit like chocolate, I'd give it up but I am no quitter). I love to achieve something like this. Thanks again to everyone who has helped me.

[achookwoman]

Congratulations Troupie.  You are well on the way.   Just to make a starter is really something special.  Every year when the weather turns cool my starter decides it needs a bit more sleep.  I blame everything, including the flour for the time it takes to rise. 
It does sound like the dough was a bit too slack.  A firmer dough will give a better loaf but will also take longer to rise. I am glad that you don't give up easily as you are nearly there.  Keep trying and thank you for sharing your experience. 

[cookie1]

Troupie I love your comment about the chocolate. It's just perfect.

[Bonsai]

Chookie I always follow your sourdough instructions and get lovely loaves. We ate a rye bread at a restaurant recently which was wonderful, but I can't get my home-made bread to taste the same. I wonder if they use more rye flour (which I know doesn't rise much), or if I should use a very slow rise in the fridge to get the lovely sour flavour. Ideas anyone!    I'll contact the restaurant as well, for the amount we spent they should at least share the bread recipe!

[achookwoman]

Bonsai,  I am always surprised at how little Rye flour is in Rye bread.  If I want Rye bread I use Farfallinas recipe,  but this is not SD.  I also use the recipe from the Agrarian Kitchen which has very little Rye in it but when baked has the fine texture of Rye bread.  I think you would have to do a very long rise with more Rye flour as you say there is not much Gluten in it.
Yoke probably has a recipe for Rye SD bread but I don't have much luck with her recipes.  
During the week I will have a go with Rye flour and let you know how I go.  

[cookie1]

I also use farfallina's Rye bread recipe. I love it. I have made sourdough using Yoke's recipes, but I started with a rye starter.

[Bonsai]

I have Yoke's book and she doesn't actually have a rye loaf recipe, only white bread using a rye starter. I might try Farfallina' recipe.