This is the Biblical, the old-timey way.
This is the first in a series of four posts: (1) Sourdough bread: Flour and water. That’s it. (2) Abraham and his guests (3) Hospitality in ancient times (4) Deuteronomy has no interest in an afterlife.
When I became un-homeless, one of the first things I wanted to do was resume a favorite hobby from my days before homelessness; namely, breadmaking. I particularly wanted to try my hand at sourdough, so that I would not have to buy yeast for my bread.
Sourdough is the way all bread used to be made, where one maintains a supply of live, yeasty material, and takes from that for each new batch.
Wild yeasts are already present in wheat flour, and when the flour becomes damp they begin to become active. Also present is the bacterium that makes milk turn sour; this gives the mixture a sour taste. The higher the ratio of flour to water that you use, the sweeter the mixture will be; the lower the ratio, the sour-er it will be.
There are two major differences between sourdough and conventional breadmaking: (1) one has to create and maintain “starter,” and (2) the bread takes much longer to rise. Currently, each batch of sourdough I make is a 15-hour process.
The starter
To create the starter, one chooses a plastic or glass bowl with lid, that one will devote to this use forever. I would start off by mixing 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water; I maintain a 2:1 ratio of flour to water. The result at first may be a stiff dough, but will liquefy in a few days.
Then one puts the bowl in a safe place.
One “feeds” the starter at least once daily — more about this shortly — until it becomes ready to use, which is when it has become bubbly and foamy. The Betty Crocker article I read said that takes a week. The Wikipedia article I read said four weeks. In practice, given the specific wild yeasts that happen to be present in the flour I use, it took four weeks.
“Feeding” involves adding flour and water to the mixture and stirring it up real well. How much and how often you feed will depend on (1) how often you bake, (2) how much starter you use for each batch, (3) how intensely active you want the starter to stay, and (4) what specific wild yeasts happen to be present in the flour you use.
Are they more robust, like John Cena, or less so, like Arnold Stang?
Arnold StangJohn Cena
No one can tell you up front which kind you’ve got. Trial and error is the only way to find out.
The commercial yeasts available in stores are the result of generations and generations of selective breeding, to isolate only the most robust strains. How one selectively breeds microscopic fungi is beyond me, but that’s what they did.
As of this writing, I am feeding mine twice a day, 2 tablespoons flour and 1 tablespoon water each time. I use one cup of starter for each batch, and I bake once a week. So, the amount I make just keeps pace with the amount I use. I read an article by a woman who feeds hers four times a day, because she wants it to be intensely active at all times.
Under certain circumstances, you may wind up with a lot of excess starter. In that case, you can (1) just stop feeding it a while, (2) fridge or even freeze the excess, or (3) use it to make other things.
In my case, the simplest thing would be just to make pancakes, since my starter is already the consistency of pancake batter.
Mixing and baking
I will assume the reader has already done some breadmaking.
My current practice is as follows.
Into the mixing bowl, I pour 1 cup starter, 1/2 cup warm water, and 1 tablespoon sugar. I put that in a warm place to let “proof” for ten hours. It takes that long for my starter to become active. Yours may act sooner.
The ten hours past, I stir in enough flour to make a good dough. There are no other ingredients: flour and water — that’s it. Then I knead; put it back in the mixing bowl; smear the surface with margarine; and put in a warm place for five hours. It takes that long for my dough to double. Yours may need less time, or more.
The five hours past, I punch down and transfer to the greased baking pan. Back to the warm place for another five hours, to double again. Yours may need less time, or more.
I bake at 350° for 40 minutes.
You can, of course, embellish it with flavorings or chapped nuts or raisins, whatever.
The stuff …
… even has nootropic effects. When I consumed my very first loaf (sic), this euphoria came over me; and twelve hours later, I was overwhelmed by this warm, sweet scent that cannot have had any other source. This may explain why humanity has been so much in love with wheat, for so long.
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