All About Sour Dough .

[achookwoman]

[judydawn]

My starter had the dark liquid on top of it this week too (it had been pushed to the back of the fridge, out of sight out of mind with me ) so I tipped off the liquid and 3/4 of the starter, fed it and left it out on the bench for a couple of days feeding it about 3 times I think.  Beautiful fresh new starter gobbling up each meal as I gave it.  I now have some dough rising overnight in the microwave where it will be warmer than leaving out on the bench.  Hopefully it will produce a good loaf sometime tomorrow afternoon.

[achookwoman]

Great Judy,  glad you didn't chuck it out.  Will make a good loaf. 

[cookie1]

That happened to me a couple of weeks ago Judy. I think it is possibly a good idea to refresh it every now and then if you haven't used it.

Chookie they look delicious.

[achookwoman]

That happened to me a couple of weeks ago Judy. I think it is possibly a good idea to refresh it every now and then if you haven't used it.

Chookie they look delicious.

Correct Cookie.  I think that the longer you leave it unattended,  the more care needed to refresh it.   I think it might also depend upon the size of the starter.   Mine is large, 1 + liter in  size and can usually be revived over night,  That is after a month  unattended.

The DS buns are delicious.

[droverjess]

Fab buns chookie!

[judydawn]

What did you make them in Chookie - a muffin top tray?

You haven't posted a recipe for sour dough hot cross buns have you?

[achookwoman]

What did you make them in Chookie - a muffin top tray?

You haven't posted a recipe for sour dough hot cross buns have you?

Judy,  very clever of you to detect that I used the Muffin top trays.     I did this as the dough was very soft and I knew it would spread.
I haven't posted a recipe as I was playing around trying to get a light SD bun.  All the ones that I have tried ( bought ) are very very heavy.   I made the slack dough to see if it would rise more and therefore be lighter.
this is what I did
500 g bread flour, used Laucke premix
450 g, active starter
1 egg
1teaspoon of sugar 30 g butter
100 mls. Warm milk
300 g. Fruit of choice,  included my mixed peel.
4 teaspoons of mixed spices ( I used my TMX Quatre Epices)
Could add 1 teaspoon of improver.

Knead flour, starter, egg, sugar and as much of the warm milk as needed to make a soft dough, for 4 minutes.
Add fruit and knead for 1 minute
Let rise until double.  ( Mine took about 4 hours. ) I left it in TMX bowl.
Knead for 1 minute with spice added.
Form into 12 large buns or 15 smaller.
Place on tray , brush with egg wash and cover  with plastic to double. ( could place in large muffin tins )
Pipe X on just before going into oven.
Bake at 200 for about 20 mins.

Note
  I started these at 9 am and put them in the oven at 5 pm.  They really should have had another hour to rise.  The spice tends to retard the rising.   They tasted great, were still quite fresh the next day ,  and not as heavy as the bought SD Buns.
I noticed in the bun test done by the Melb Age Newspaper, that no SD buns were tested only one which was part SD.  That would be with yeast to help it along.

[Aussie Brenda]

Just caught up with this , my SD starter had the black liquid on top i thought it was off so I threw it out , I still have the dehydrated one from Chookie so will use this when I'm ready  to start again.

[judydawn]

I've never even seen a SD hot cross bun on sale Chookie - I do lead a sheltered life though and don't get out and about much  
Thanks for the recipe, there are plenty of us out there with some sourdough starter.

AB, next time don't throw it all out - have you read where we just remove the dark liquid and most of the starter then start all over again feeding it?.  This freshens up your starter and is something I like to do from time to time as I don't use mine much.

[achookwoman]

Judy,  good to see you spreading the word about SD.  There is too much huff and puff about it.  Once you have got a starter, it is not all that difficult to maintain it.  If it smell Ok then do what Judy does.

[judydawn]

I have just made a successful SD loaf Chookie, not high but tastes great and will be easier for me to cut this size. Will post a photo later in the relevant thread. 

[Greyhoundmum]

Well my super powered SD starter has exploded out of the jar!  Made a loaf yesterday, topped it up afterwards and gave it a good stir and a couple of hours later the jar exploded.  I have to start all over again now 😪

[achookwoman]

GHM,  mighty powerful stuff.   When I feed mine,  after using it,  I leave it on the bench for a couple of hours to start working.  I think this get rid of some of the gas.   Also never more than 3/4 fill jar.

[judydawn]

Aren't you supposed to leave the lid off too Chookie, especially when it has just been fed.