Thread: Who bakes bread?

I read, after the initial week build, if you put it in the fridge after use you don’t need to feed it for up to 7 days. Then the night before you want to bake you bring it out to warm, add equal fuel to current weight and next day good to bake again.
I hope it’s that easy cause I see me being a weekend loafer.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

I read, after the until week build, if you put it in the fridge after use you don’t need to feed it for up to 7 days. Then the night before you want to bake you bring it out to warm, add equal fuel to current weight and next day good to bake again.
I hope it’s that easy cause I see me being a weekend loafer.

That works for me. This is after the last feeding at room temp, then allowed to digest for an hour and then put in the frig--



I use a rubber band to keep track of how much the starter rises.

I fed then refrigerated my starter last Monday--

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Made a special delivery today...in my 67 GTO

Goats were great. Always wanted one with the original hemi. That was a car!

Originally Posted by MikeB52

I read, after the initial week build, if you put it in the fridge after use you don’t need to feed it for up to 7 days. Then the night before you want to bake you bring it out to warm, add equal fuel to current weight and next day good to bake again.
I hope it’s that easy cause I see me being a weekend loafer.

A week for the initial growing/building was a bit short for me. I went by a rule of thumb I read somewhere that it should visibly double in volume 1-4 hours after feeding. I think I went 10 or 12 days until mine got to that point. All depends on the environment of your house.

I usually feed mine every 7-10 days, but when I went 10 days it was a bit slower to rise and consistency is a bit off. Still works well in baking though.

A couple tips I learned along the way.
-When feeding, add water to starter, mix until smooth and then add flour. Makes it a lot easier to get a homogenous mix.
-Use a LARGE container! My starter overflowed multiple times over night, expanding in size 4 to 6 times original size.
-Wash anything starter touches as soon as you're done. If it dries, it takes forever to soak and scrape off.

Apparently the old timers used to use the clear “hooch” that forms at the top of the starter to clean brass as well as a few other things they thought of.

My 2cents worth....

Originally Posted by dinnermint

A week for the initial growing/building was a bit short for me. I went by a rule of thumb I read somewhere that it should visibly double in volume 1-4 hours after feeding. I think I went 10 or 12 days until mine got to that point. All depends on the environment of your house.

It really does depend on the temperature in your kitchen. It takes at least a week
for a brand-new starter to get going properly, meaning both lively and sour.

Originally Posted by dinnermint

I usually feed mine every 7-10 days, but when I went 10 days it was a bit slower to rise and consistency is a bit off. Still works well in baking though.

The longer you leave it in the fridge without feeding it, the more sour it gets.
Take it out every few days, stir any "hootch" on top back in, and give it a sniff.
When it's sour enough to suit your taste, bring it out, feed it, and let it sit out
overnight at room temperature. That outta do'er!

Originally Posted by dinnermint

A couple tips I learned along the way.
-When feeding, add water to starter, mix until smooth and then add flour. Makes it a lot easier to get a homogenous mix.

Good idea.

Originally Posted by dinnermint

-Use a LARGE container! My starter overflowed multiple times over night, expanding in size 4 to 6 times original size.

I use a 2qt mixing bowl.

Originally Posted by dinnermint

-Wash anything starter touches as soon as you're done. If it dries, it takes forever to soak and scrape off.

I don't know why that is, buts it's true.

If you're new to sourdough cooking, maybe the easiest thing to start with is
pancakes. Then maybe some bread, and then maybe a cake. The most difficult
recipe for me was biscuits: handle the dough too long, and you end up with
something more like dinner rolls...or hockey pucks.

Biscuits are tough to make, something about the science of keeping the fats in the batter cold (the butter) and minimizing gluten formation.

Last night, made a 100% whole wheat sourdough loaf in a 5x9 pan.

A GTO, nice bread truck.
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Thanks for the tips gents. My starter growth slowed right down on day 3 and 4. Still bubbling and souring.
But slowly, with no where the activity of that first rise.
Adding the water first and mixing, good tip, as well as the cleaning right away.
Think I’ll go between 2 mason jars and rotate them for cleaning and pouring off excess.
Mine weigh about 400 grams with the lid so makes for an easy tare weight

I came across a website which may be of interest to sourdough bakers.
There are lots of "Tips" and a host of exotic starters for sale, as well.

www.sourdo.com

Or maybe everyone else already knows about this one.