I'm looking at making a sourdough pizza base for my stone grill. However, looking at a lot of recipes they contain 'sourdough starter'. Before I waste high hopes on tonights dinner and attempting to produce my own with a 5 day wait - Does anyone know whether this is available in supermarkets?
beaker59,
Jul 16, 12:34am
Haven't seen it for sale you will have to start your own unless you have a friend nearby with one. Otherwise just use commercial yeast until your's is bubbling away nicely.
davidt4,
Jul 16, 12:38am
I saw a rye starter for sale a while ago at a farmers' market, Clevedon I think, but I've never seen it at a supermarket.it's very easy to make your own.If you carry out a search of this forum you will find an enormous amount of information about sourdough.
A sourdough starter takes time. I've made one, in the summer in about 3 days but have had to take extra care when making my first loaf of bread from it or I'd have ended up with a rather heavy, unrisen, brick. The longer you keep your starter going the better and stronger it becomes, making yeasts that work with all the flours you use. I started a sour dough thread on here so long ago I cannot remember when. It was called Sour Dough - Success At Last. It may still be on here.
Here is a link to the site I used. This link was the best and easiest, even though I now have books with step by step instructions by some of the best bakers in the world I still love this guy's method and the bread recipe that comes with it.
fyi, Hugh Fearney Whittingstall of River Cottage fame made one overnight by dropping in a piece of fresh rhubarb but I don't know how strong it would have been and whether it would have worked so well on flours but it is another way to get a starter going.
For what it is worth, I really like beaker's advice. It is the best around.
Don't try and make a sourdough starter and expect it to be producing anything by this evening.
Because of the health benefits we only ever eat sour dough, when we do have bread, now.
gotmilk2,
Jul 16, 1:37am
Thanks for all for your information. Certainly thanks to those who've provided links - some excellent reading here. $5 isn't too bad for a starter if I get desperate. As good things take time, I will look at an alternative recipe for tonights dinner but endure to make better sourdough bread and pizza bases.
kanoo,
Jul 18, 11:17am
Here's a sourdough starter from The New Zealand Bread Book by the Holsts. 2 cups high grade flour, 1 cup low fat milk or unsweetened yogurt, 1 cup water, 1 tsp active dried yeast: Mix all ingredients in a clean jar, leaving about 1/4 of the jar clear for headspace. Cover the jar and leave it in a warm room, out of the sun, for 4-7 days, depending on the temperature. Each day, stir the starter with a clean spoon. For the first few days it may have a tendency to bubble up and overflow, but it will quieten down and become thinner after a few days. Refridgerate in a lidded jar after the mixture takes on a definite sour smell and develops a clear layer on top. To use: stir well and pour off as much as you need. Replace each cup used with a cup of water mixed with a cup of high grade flour. Leave the jar at room temp for a day before using any more. If you do not use your starter regularly, give a cupful away once a week or throw it out. Starters need a long rising time and the dough needs extra yeast to speed up the process. Happy pizza making!
skippie1,
Jul 18, 6:36pm
check out TM, I have bought sourdough starter from here. edited to add tradersname-nchun from Lower Hutt.
buzzy110,
Jul 18, 10:29pm
I'm trying to be diplomatic here but I have deep reservations about the Holst's sour dough breads and even their normal breads. A decent starter never uses milk. The thought of leaving milk out on the bench for days on end sort of worries me. Plus, having been making beautiful, fluffy and long lasting sour dough loaves for a while now, without recourse to commercial yeasts I know that commercial yeast is completely and utterly unnecessary.
I looked at their book and the pictures of their breads left much to be desired. If that is the best they can do they should not have published that book because there will be many home cooks making bread that is always inferior to bought bread, when it absolutely shouldn't be. The bread I produce is always superior in texture, size, shape and longevity , every time.
I think that yeast is necessary with their starter because the wildyeasts produced using milk are not well adapted to flour and water. The best wild yeasts are those that grow on the ingredients used in the dough.
guest,
Jul 18, 10:39pm
I've made, and continue to use every week, sourdough starter. It's not that hard to make - although I've heard it can be tricky to get 100% right. I'd reckon it would take two weeks to get one to a point you could start using it - and mine is definitely better now than it was 6 months ago.
kanoo,
Jul 19, 7:56am
That interesting that you say that, I'm always a bit disappointed that my loaves never look the same as in the book, and they are definitely inferior to bought bread. I've never been patient enough to make my own sourdough starter. Your answer was wonderfully diplomatic ;)
antoniab,
Jul 19, 8:57am
A seller on here - nchun, sells different starters, havent bought from them before but they also have interesting fruit trees and a dutch? kneading spoon/whisk I want to buy for bread :)
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