aprons and mama

     

Our aprons have been earning their keep this weekend. We have been in

the kitchen alot. So we thought (Taylor and I) we would share with you

how to start your very own Sour Dough Starter.   

We will call her mama.. 

Not very long ago, bread was made using only two ingrediants: flour and water.

No "chockfull of chemicals" rising agents and no bakers yeast.

Just wholesome bread made by loving hands and products that

were familiar to the bodies they fed.

Baking bread with your own sourdough starter is better for you because the starter pulls in wild

yeast spores from the enviroment around you, those which are familiar to your body.

Artisian bread is a wonderful bread.

What is it?

Well, mostly it is exactly what its name suggests: bread that is crafted, rather than mass produced.

You can give special attention to the ingrediants, shape, and texture.

For ease of keeping up with feedings we started ours on a Sunday.

Here is the recipe we are using for our Sourdough Starter:

Water

Flour

Thats it.

No yeast, no sugar, nothing else.

Just water and flour and your tender loving care..

To get started you need a large

ceramic bowl, a wooden spoon,

unbleached, organic all-purpose flour,

and purified water and a love for fresh home-made bread.

Add 4 cups of flour (for a large "mother")

and 3 cups of water

slow and easy girls...

stir well, and cover with a wet dishcloth

that's it!

You will be leaving your mother on your counter.

Never put her in your fridge (humidity causes mold),

and (if started on a Sunday) you will feed her

every morning (monday-friday) 2/3 cups flour

and 1/2 cups water, stirring and recovering her with the dishtowel.

This is what she should look like after a day or so:

Lots of air bubbles (lets you know she is doing her job), and

very thick and fat feeling (kinda how I feel some days =).

After her first real feeding, she looks healthy and glowy don't you

think?

On the seventh day (which, by the way, is the day of rest for your mother ) your mama

is ready. She's been working hard all week for you and now you can enjoy some of

that hard work.

She should have lots of air bubbles and be smelling sweetly sour.

So you can take two cups out and cover her back up (don't feed her anything

today, she is resting, and while your at it, cover me back up and I'll sleep an hour longer.)

Then on Sunday, start your feeding schedule again, adding 2/3 cups flour

and 1/2 cups water, back to work mama....up and at em mama..

Anytime after that first week that you want to make bread other than on

Saturday, just take what you need from the mother

 before you feed her for the day. Just make sure you always add back

to her what you take away. I love that concept...

We haven't quite made it to that point with our new starter but when we do we'll post more pictures

and some recipes for the different kinds of bread we're making.

Just remember that this is your mother. She is adapting to your home.

So she will be different from any other starter you've bought or been given.

Sourdough is very forgiving and you can (almost, most of the time =) revive it back to life.

kinda like you, huh? bad day?? tomorrow you'll be better.

Your mama is the same way. She understands..

There are many many ways of starting, feeding, and storing your sourdough starter, this

is just the way we have found we like.

Here is some basic stuff from what we've read,

You'll want to use organic flour or at least as close to that as you can find.

Just plain ol' pillsbury dough seems to do weird things.

Same thing for the filtered water,

the chlorine in your tap water will kill your starter.

You will also need an instant thermometer for when you bake the bread and

a dutch oven is nice to have (but not neccessary at all!).

Why not try making your own starter today (or Sunday)?

 I find her comforting.

I talk to my mama.

"You're looking good mama."

"How ya doing mama?"

 You get the drift. She is good company.

and

when my house smells of  fresh soudough bread

I'll be so so happy.. and to think this is the way

God meant bread to be.