Wild Yeast Sourdough Starters Exchange

Okay Wild Women!

I'm going to try my hand at my first loaf tomorrow. Do I feed the starter in the morning right before measuring out what I need for baking or just stir it down, measure out what I need and dive in (so to speak)?

I can't find my bookmark that explained that part! I'm so goofy and unorganized! I thought I was secure in what I had learned so far and now I'm nervous, excited and want to do my best for a decent loaf!

Thanks everyone! if this works, I'll start drying out my starters for mailing on Sunday or Monday.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
 
Sorry everyone, but one last question -

The basic loaf recipe Janie recommended for a first loaf calls for bread flour, but can I use my AP flour in its place? I was just at the store last night and didn't realize I needed to reload on bread flour.

Just trying to save myself a trip to the grocery store - again!

Thanks!
 
Tricia,

If you have vital gluten,(and I bet you don't) all you have to do is enhance it by adding 1 tablespoon per cup of that into the all purpose flour. That's what is in the bread flour. Gluten gives the elasticity to raise nicely. I haven't tried it without bread flour or gluten to add to AP. Maybe someone here can answer that. Would like to know myself. Good question.

Janis, I'm starting to make bread today. Tomorrow I bake and will have a finished product with your starter. A final 1 c. of flour and 1 c. of water into the already bubbly mixture and then will make the dough bread and raise most of it today. Will then put it overnight in the fridge for a bit to get more of the tangy sour flavor. Tomorrow, will warm it up and finish the rising process and bake it. Not sure how I want it baked yet. I think maybe oblong this time, with cuts down it. Will have pictures once it's done.


Janie
 
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Janie - Thanks for the tip! I just have a ton of AP flour in the house. My DH went crazy at the grocery one day and bought everything in multiples! LOL! Well, I used a good chunk tonight on my cake for Easter and I went ahead and picked up more bread flour before coming home tonight. I read that it gives it a different texture and won't rise as well, so I didn't want to risk it this being my first time.

I have so much flour of all kinds now it's just funny! I used to only have one bag! LOL!

Looking forward to the pics of you loaf! I'm sure it's going to be wonderful!
 
Happy Easter weekend Wild Women!

My first loaf is in it's rising phase! So far, it has looked just like the pictures for each step! Here's hoping for a successful loaf!
 
syzygy314 said:
Happy Easter weekend Wild Women!

My first loaf is in it's rising phase! So far, it has looked just like the pictures for each step! Here's hoping for a successful loaf!
Click to expand...

Tricia, I'm hoping along with you, fingers crossed.

Janis, Here is a picture of the starter I used from you, and bread I baked from it. I doubled the recipe, because we needed bread. Had company over and they ate all the bread up.

This was fantastic! Like you said the dough was silky bubbly and just wonderful to work with. I don't think you can have a bad loaf from this starter. I love it! Thank you so much, it was a pleasure.

385203617.jpg


Janie
 
Well, we have success! At least as far as I can tell. I won't be able to slice and taste test the loaf until tomorrow as it just came out of the oven, but here it is fresh out of the loaf pan:
 

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Here's the sliced loaf. Obviously, needs some work, but I'm still very happy that it worked out as well as it did on my first attempt. It's not really soury, but the bread does have that chewy quality of sourdough.

P.S. Janie - Please tell me how you got the larger photo in your post rather than as a thumbnail! I so can't figure that out! :eek:

P.P.S. PM me addresses (except for Janis) so I can forward the dried starter. Will be starting the drying process today on the white starter and, if all goes well, I'll be sending the wheat starter too, but I may have let it get past it's prime. We'll see today! Ah, the hazards of a full-time job and bad organizational skills at home! My work efficiency and organization is fantastic! Go figure!

Anyway, Happy Easter and no rush getting back to me!
 

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Janie - Your loaf looks amazing!

Tricia - Amongst the craziness of the weekend I've been following your fledgling loafs....what fun!

Everyone - Sorry I've been a bit AWOL. DD turned 15 on Saturday and we adopted a kitten as her gift. DS turns 13 tomorrow and my step-son turned 14 on Saturday as well so it has been a hectic few days...and it isn't over! At least we have a little break until my other step-son turns 16 but...Holy Smokes...I don't know if I'm coming or going!

I did attempt my second loaf and had much better success. Actual rising! The texture is much more sour-dough like and there's no bitterness. I did have some more technical difficulty in that the loaf is still too wet to really be able to shape so I have a very amusing huge hole down the center of the loaf!

I've dried up a bunch of starter and I'll be packaging that up and shipping it out. I think I have all the addresses........
 
Did everyone have a great Easter?

Tricia, Your loaves look really great! You must be so proud!:D I can just imagine how wonderful it tasted.:p

Is the wheat and white starter the same starter? If so all you have to do is send one or the other. As we prepare the dough, we can make it wheat or white. Does that make since?

For pictures on our forum, I use a site called picturetrail.com Once you upload your pictures all you need to do is take the URL that you like, copy the "for forum" one and then paste on our forum. Trick is though, use the old upload they have available. When I use the new one, for me, it doesn't work like I want it to. Pretty cool.:cool:

LOL! I know how organization goes. I need some of that as well. :rolleyes:

Suzanne, You have been very busy celebrating. I'm sure, because of all your birthday celebrations, everyone is very happy for what you did for them. How sweet to have a mommy like you. They are very lucky kids. Wish them all happy birthday for me.:)

Hole down the center? Perhaps a dressing in there to dip the marvelous bread in? OOOOOOOOOOOh, sounds yummy. Can't wait to try the starter.;)


Tomorrow is my last day for my starter and will be shipping LIL lake starter out in a couple of days. I have everyone's address except for Beth's.

How ya doing Beth?

Have a great day everyone,

Jaine
 
Suzanne - I'm surprised you even had time for bread baking with all that going on! Happy Birthdays' to all your birthday children! What an Easter you must have had!

Janie - I did prep both starters the same way, so I'll just send the white one that is drying in the oven right now. It might be a couple more days as I spread it kind of thick! DH has been making fun of how heavy the slices are! LOL! I told him if he's mean, I won't bake him any more! The only problem I had with the wheat starter (I still used white unbleached flour for the loaf) was that I had to bake it a bit longer than the white. I'm assuming that's because the wheat in the starter is more dense? Anyway, going to do some more experimenting this coming weekend with a loaf from Peter's book without starter just to see if my issues are me being heavy handed or that I need to let the starter strengthen a bit more next time.

I noticed that using the First Loaf recipe during the 5 hour ferment I saw a nice rise out of the dough, but during the 2.5 hour proof right before baking, there really wasn't that much, but the loaf rose a good bit in the oven. Is that normal or should I have left it to proof longer before baking? Hmmm . . . anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Don't forget to PM me your addresses!
 
Tricia, How warm is your oven for drying the starter? I air dry mine at room temperature.

It's normal that the loaf of bread in the oven rises. That's really a good sign.

Spreading it thick is OK, like you said, it takes longer to dry is all. I'm so proud of you for learning something new and doing something you are interested in. Can't get better than that!

Janie
 
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The oven is at room temp. It's gas, but we have an electric pilot light and, as far as I can tell, it doesn't stay on until I turn the oven on. My old oven had a manual pilot and it stayed on once you lit it, so it was always just a bit warm. We're having temps in the 70s and are to hit 80 by Wednesday, so we're pretty comfortable here right now!

I don't want to leave it out (not that I have room anywhere in my house to set these things), because of the pets! Milo stole a piece of my second loaf last night right after I had sliced it! Sneaky little guy! Simon, my kitty, would eat it, then puke it all over the house!

Should I maybe turn the light on?

I'm loving this! I thrive on learning new things! We do that for our anniversary every year instead of buying gifts!

janiejoey said:
Tricia, How warm is your oven for drying the starter? I air dry mine at room temperature.

It's normal that the loaf of bread in the oven rises. That's really a good sign.

Spreading it thick is OK, like you said, it takes longer to dry is all. I'm so proud of you for learning something new and doing something you are interested in. Can't get better than that!

Janie
Click to expand...
 
janiejoey said:
Janis, Here is a picture of the starter I used from you, and bread I baked from it. I doubled the recipe, because we needed bread. Had company over and they ate all the bread up.

This was fantastic! Like you said the dough was silky bubbly and just wonderful to work with. I don't think you can have a bad loaf from this starter. I love it! Thank you so much, it was a pleasure.

385203617.jpg


Janie
Click to expand...

WOW!

I love the photo!

I don't quite have the words to describe how cool it feels to see the product of my starter in Janie's kitchen.

BTW - everyone's bread this weekend looked fantastic!

Congratulations Tricia and Suzanne!

:D
 
Hi Everyone!

Janis! What a beautiful loaf!! I did not send pictures of mine for obvious reasons- it was ugly!!

Everyone-I am having a hard time keeping up with you bakers!! We have been getting ready for a trial, so I have worked nonstop for a week now--

I did get a chance to put together my first loaf last weekend- I wanted to walk through the steps and then ask questions later--

So, I ended up with a delicious loaf, but rather misshaped- it kind of spread out on the sheet- but it was tasty!!

I don't want to bother you with questions that someone else asked, so I am going to go back and read and see what my mistake was.

Janis- your loaf looks great too! How did you get Janis starter going so fast- doesn't it need 2 weeks too? Oh, I am probably asking something that you answered already..
 
My LIL starter is ready to make some test bread. Tomorrow I will prepare it and put it into the fridge for the 2nd rise (it helps make it more sour) and bake a loaf the next day. I already have spread the starter out on parchment paper thinly and it should be ready to send out in a couple of days.

Tricia, Milo knows what is good!;) Poor Simon, kitties are like that aren't they?:D

It sounds like you are doing just fine. Keep up the good work. I love learning new things too. It's so cool!:cool:

Beth, Do you want a starter too? Just pm me your address. Just making sure is all.

How was your loaf of bread ugly? It sounds like it might have been too wet is all. Just add a little more flour next time so it can hold it's shape more. You are doing great.

Go ahead and ask any question you want. It's hard to go back and look for the answers. Ask away!

When Janis's starter came, I immediately put a T. of tibid water into 1/2 t. of her starter. That night I added a 1/4 c. of flour and 1/4 c. of water. The next day I added 1 c. of flour and 1 c. of water. That afternoon I made the dough for bread, let it rise, for about 5 hrs. and punched it down, kneaded it a bit and put it into a poof basket. Left it in the fridge over night. The next day, took it out, (it raised a lot during that time) then warmed it up for another hour or two, took it out of the basket and placed it on a stone, sliced it and baked it. You don't have to wait another 14 days to get it ready, it's as ready as it's going to be for baking. It's so much fun!

Sounds like the trial is intense. Hope you can get into the bread baking just to get away from it all. ;)

Take care everyone,

Janie
 
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Hi Beth! I understand the pressures of trial! I worked in litigation a bit as a paralegal, but the hours just weren't for me. Good luck! If you want samples of my starter as well, let me know and either send me your address as well or I can get it from Janie.

Ask all the repeat questions you want! That's what I do, especially when I can't find what I know I saw earlier! It's hard to keep track of all the info!

Janie - You make it sound so easy! I have been reading that proofing in the fridge overnight is a good method to use so I may try that next time! I'm excited to be getting your starter sample soon too!

I left my oven light on last night and mine should be ready in another day! I'll mail out to those whose addresses I have and if anyone else wants a sample, I'll mail out later. I'll keep some in the freezer or fridge for later.

This is so great! DH has class and review on Saturday in Boston at BC, so I'll be alone to experiment some more! I'm going to try the french loaf from Peter's book, so I'll prep my pate fermente on Friday night! Next weekend, I think I'll reconstitute Janis' starter and try another sourdough loaf using the overnight method! Oh! I'll have to work that out a little differently. Going to a barefoot running clinic in Boston next Saturday! The Harvard Professor who did the study on barefoot running is going to be there as well as the author of Born to Run and one other marathoner. It's going to be fun! I just hope my foot is better by then! Of course, it won't be if I don't stop doing cardio and plyo legs on it! I'm so stupidly stubborn! Well, off to the shower! Just finished plyo legs, abs, and stretching, then breakfast, Ibuprofen and an ice pack on the foot for a while! Eventually, I'll go to work! LOL!

Have a beautiful day! It's going to be 80 today here! Yay!
 
Sending out my LIL starter and Carl Griffith 1847 Oregon Trail tomorrow 4/8/10. I can't wait for you to try them. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I do need to make sure I have Janis's address correct. I want to make sure I have it right. :) Sometimes I can't read. One of the first things that go when you get older is your eye sight.:(

Tricia, Sounds like you have the house to yourself for awhile. Enjoy experimenting with your bread or cultures/starters.:D

Also enjoy your bare foot running clinic in Boston. What happen to your foot?

Janie
 
Janie - I have no idea what happened/what I did! It just started hurting in the middle of my run last Saturday. It's been tender and swelling over the course of the day ever since, but I've been icing 2x a day and taking Ibuprofen which seems to help, but it hasn't completely gone away yet. It doesn't help that I haven't backed off my workouts, though, except for the running. I'll be taking a break from all cardio and plyo legs next week if it's not better by this weekend.

Anyway, I think my starter is finally dry! 90 degrees yesterday helped! I'll scrape it and break it down and package it tonight and mail it out tomorrow!

If you have Beth and Suzanne's addresses could you PM them to me? They are the only ones I don't have!

Thanks!
 
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