Sourdough starter

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CWS4322

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I am about to embark on playing with recipes in the Jan Hedh book, Swedish Breads and Pastries. The first thing I want to try is the rye sourdough starter. It entails using raw grated apples. The instructions don't indicate if the apples should be peeled. Thoughts?
 
The purpose of adding fruit or fruit juice to a beginning wild yeast starter is to acidify the water and flour mix to make it more friendly to yeast growth and less friendly to growth of an undesirable bacteria.

Grapes or grape juice and pineapple juice seem to be more prevalent for this purpose than apple juice, but they share similar pH so I assume that is the purpose in this recipe. In the case of grapes, some bakers count on natural yeast on the skin to contribute to the party. If there are yeast organisms on the surface of the apple, grating it with the skin on would be a plus. There are also some enzymes in the apple skin that may help break down the starch in the flour into simpler sugars the yeast can use. I would grate the apple with the skin on.
 
Day 3 and the starter is quite spongy. It started as "dough" (which surprised me). One more day and it will be time to do the next step.
 
You should be taking pictures... share the experience...

Good to know it is moving along nicely.
 
You will never get those years back.. you just have to try and be there when it starts school... :)
 
Well--my camera was on my desk...looked high and low...I left it in the barn, so no pics for Day 3 either. Today I have to scrape the dough down, add 200 grams rye flour, 200 grams water 35C (95F), stir, and let sit for another 24 hours. Tomorrow, it goes in the fridge, and this week end I'll make sourdough rye bread using this starter. Has anyone ever dried the sourdough?
 
Why put it in the fridge if you are using it this weekend? I find with my starter I need a couple days to get it happy again after being in the fridge. You could just keep doing feeds/discards until you are ready to use it.
 
The recipe makes about 1000 grams of sourdough. I need 500 grams for the recipe, so I will probably put the excess in the fridge because I only bake bread on weekends. But, I was thinking of drying it according to the instructions in the book so that it can be revived in about 4 hours next time I want to use it.
 
I haven't dried any.

I thought you meant you were storing it all until the weekend.

With my starter I keep it in the fridge and maintain it at about 150g. When I am going to bake using it I take it out about 56 hours before I start.

Roughly:

Noon: remove from the fridge and feed.
Midnight: Feed and a discard.
Noon: Feed and discard.

These feedings I keep the volume small. (normally a 50g feeding)

Midnight: My production feeding. Since I need about 150g of starter when I bake I feed at 75g to get to roughly 225g. This leaves enough to do a 50g feed after pulling what I need for storage (accounting for some waste).

I let the last feed go about 7-8 hours then pull what I need for the bake. This is about where the starter peaks (for me).
 
According to the book (Jan Hedh's Swedish Breads and Pastries), you add more flour until it is dry and crumbly. Then you pour it out on a table (I think I'll use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper) and let it dry for 2 days at room temp. Then pulverize into a flour in the FP, store in a jar. To use, you whisk warm water into it (porridge consistency) and let sit 3-4 hours, add a bit more water and flour, cover with plastic and let rise until the next day.
 
The first loaf was horrible--it didn't rise. The crust was hard. The chickens liked it. I have 3 more loaves in the oven now. Here's what I did:

1 c buttermilk
2 T veg. oil
1/2-3/4 water
1 egg
5 ice scream scoops of starter
2 T molasses (black strap)
1 T grated orange rind
2 T orange juice (freshly squeezed)
1 T cocoa
1 cup sauerkraut (pulsed in the FB)
2 T caraway seeds
2 T fennel seeds
2 T brown sugar
1 tsp Kosher salt
4 T yeast
3 c dark rye flour
4-5 c AP flour

I mixed everything in the stand mixer, dumped the dough in the breadmachine set on dough setting. Kneaded the dough 15 minutes, shaped into loaves. Let rise for 20 minutes (I had planned to check in 30, but the dough was double in 20). Brushed with egg white and sprinkled rye flakes on top.

Preheated oven to 375. Put a pan of water in the bottom, sprayed the oven. Put the loaves in. I plan on checking them in 25 minutes to spray the oven again, check interior loaf temp. Waiting for it to reach 98F.

The photos are (1) when the loaves were shaped, (2) when the loaves went in the oven. Let's see how this batch turns out! So far, it looks like it might. The dough was tasty (yes, I tasted it). And, I liked the feel...we'll see.
 

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Keep in mind when you are working with a starter the bread usually doesn't rise as fast as when using yeast, it'll get there though.

I plan about 6 hours on the first rise when I am doing SD but it takes what it takes.

The loaves look good (for rye bread). :)
 
They smell good. The starter sat for about 10 hours. So it was ready. I just find using rye flour the loaves are heavy to start with and what I made on the weekend, well, the inside was good, the crust was awful. I figured I might break a filling if I ate it. They also look good in the oven....internal temp is 82F, oven is at 375.
 
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I find mine peaks about 6-8 hours after a feed, which is when you should pull it for use. That gives you the most active starter and it is mature. If you wait too long the beasties have started to calm down and they take time to get going again and don't raise the bread well. Too soon and it doesn't get a good flavor.

I can't help ya with the crust.

Also, when you are steaming your loaves you should only do that (as I understand it) during the first third of your baking. After that it can be counter productive, though I am not sure why.
 
I find mine peaks about 6-8 hours after a feed, which is when you should pull it for use. That gives you the most active starter and it is mature. If you wait too long the beasties have started to calm down and they take time to get going again and don't raise the bread well. Too soon and it doesn't get a good flavor.

I can't help ya with the crust.

Also, when you are steaming your loaves you should only do that (as I understand it) during the first third of your baking. After that it can be counter productive, though I am not sure why.
So I should pull the pan of water out NOW?
 
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