It coulda been a disaster...

[GotGarlic]

Hi, all. So I found a recipe for bread-machine sourdough bread starter and an accompanying recipe for the bread itself and decided to try it. Never having made starter before, I wasn't sure how big a container to put it in. I had a couple of empty sauce jars (24 oz.) and put the starter in them, then went to do some stuff on the computer, etc.

Went back to the kitchen a while later and heard a funny sound ... turned around and the starter was leaking from the jars all over the counter! I quickly cleaned out a cookie jar and put the starter in there. It's probably a 2-quart jar. Will that be big enough? The starter was 2 1/2 tsp. yeast, 2 cups flour, 2 1/2 cups water and 1 tbsp. honey.

I'm thinking I should have made half the recipe ...

 

[Wart]

I make a sponge for my breads using roughly the same ratios of water to flour, (20 oz W and 10 oz F) BUT I use only 1/2 tsp yeast. BUT I also use 2 TB flour.

I use a 2 quart bowl and it will grow to be 2/3 to 3/4 full.

The bubbly perking will gather at the top of the sponge, in a bowl the perking will be spread out, with a jar the perking will be in a column.

I would get a bigger jar or put it in a bowl.

PS: Curiosity is, you use more yeast and less sugar, I use more sugar and less yeast .... I wonder how that balances out ..... Wofes out of town today, Mayhaps I'll make a mess.

I have a picture somewhare ...

PPS: LOL, One night I hurridly threw together a wheat starter, Half hour or so later I went to bed, Just before I went to sleep the 'something isn't right' subroutine woke me, Yep, too much yeast, the sponge had lifted the lid and was crawling out of the bowl and onto the Fridge shelf.

 

[Wart]

Yep, here it is:

That's about the 50 ~52 oz level (just measured it)

 

[GotGarlic]

Thanks. I can't believe what I just did. Took a picture of it, then dropped the lid when I was putting it back on and broke the cookie jar. Had to throw it all away. I am so p-----. Should I risk making another one in the ceramic bowl I brought back from Turkey?

 

[MostlyWater]

got, you can freeze it.

 

[GotGarlic]

got, you can freeze it.

The cookie jar kinda smashed on the side, so there were probably lots of little pieces of ceramic in it. Oh well, stuff happens.

Question, though, Wart: Do you cover your bowl? If yes, with what - a cloth, or plastic wrap? Thanks.

 

[Wart]

I cover the pictured bowl with a Revere Ware SS lid, If going in the fridge I use a pot lid that fits inside the bowl, if sitting on the counter, right now, I'm using a pan lid. In the fridge room is a concern. On the counter bugs and cats are the concern.

When I've ran out of lids I have used 'Saran" wrap, clingy stuff, with a small tiny slit.

I've heard stainless sets up electrical potential whioch can kill yeast. All's I'll say is I was thawing a dough ball in a shallow Revere SS double boiler with SS lid and it lifted the lid and crawled out of the pan. I have a picture of that one too.

I now use the deep double boiler.


GG, How long is this stuff suppose to work/ perk? I used cool water in the 20/10 mix with 1 TB yeast and 1ts sugar and within half an hour it looked like a boiling pot. ! Is this suppose to be in a 'cool' place??

 

[GotGarlic]

The recipe said to leave it on the counter for 10 days, stirring once a day, then refrigerate. I need to get a new container before I try it again.

 

[Wart]

For fun,

About 4 1/2 hours ago I put 20W, 14F and 1 ts yeast into one bowl, and 20W, 8oz White Whole Wheat, 6oz AP and 1 ts yeast, no sugar, into another (larger) bowl.

Darn if BOTH weren't crawling out of the bowl within an hour and half.

Another couple of hours I'm going to make these sponges into dough and let them age in the fridge for a couple days.

I've seen a recipe for starter using 1/4 ts yeast, I'm thinking a whole packet (2 1/2 ts) may be a bit much, I know 1 ts is looking that way.

 

[Mama]

Hey don't feel bad got garlic things like that happen to the best of us.

A few years ago, my youngest daughter was still in college playing softball for the school. It was 3 hours away. She wanted to host a make-your-own pizza party for the team at her house and asked me to help (In other words "Mom will you bring everything so we can make pizza?").

Well I bought some pizza sauce, gathered together a bunch of different pizza toppings and made some bread dough. I put the dough in a large tupperware salad bowl, covered it with plastic wrap that had been sprayed with PAM and placed it on the car seat next to me for the ride south to her school.

I was by myself and just enjoying the ride when I just happen to look over and the dough was coming over the sides of the bowl! I reached over and punched it down with my fist and it shrank back into the bowl. Because it was sitting in the seat next to me and the sun was shining through the window onto it, it rose very quickly and I had to punch it down several times while riding down the interstate. I had to laugh when I thought about what the people in the cars around me must have been thinking when I would reach over and punch down that dough since they couldn't see the bowl!

 

[GotGarlic]

That's pretty funny, Mama!

 

[babetoo]

babe

 

[LPBeier]

Oh, Mama, that is too funny! I have been cooking for our church's week long youth conference for several years now. The first year I didn't have my own KA and borrowed my neighbor's to make pizza dough. She recommended the recipe in the book. I made about three batches the night before and when they were ready I just wrapped them in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge thinking that pizza dough doesn't raise THAT much and that the cold would keep it until the next day.

Well, my DH opened the fridge in the morning and I heard him shout and a few crashes. I ran to the kitchen to see the three packages had burst their seams and when the door opened they pushed a whole pile of things out of the fridge. There was dough, glass, liquid and plastic wrap all over the place! I started to cry because my poor dough was no good but then we looked at each other and cracked up laughing. I made only two batches and ended up with more than enough for pizzas to feed 30 people.

Unfortunately I have used the same recipe with my KA and it never turns out the same so that must have been some yeast I used that first time!!

GG, don't give up, once you have it down right you will be enjoying wonderful homemade sourdough bread - there is nothing better!