Using My Starter

[pennsy]

Ya'll:

A challenge of sorts for you experts out there! I'm throwing down the gauntlet.

Yesterday I fed what I thought was my dormant "starter" or fermentation, as Nancy Silverton calls it. It is a home starter which I created moons ago from grapes, flour, and not much else but airborne "spores." Didn't realize I'd be in service to the thing for so long. Yesterday I was going to throw it away since I'd neglected it for some time. Took it out of the fridge, stirred it up and noticed it was alive. Couldn't bear the idea of throwing it out, since it hung in there for so long. Unfortunately, I'm not in the mood for a full fledged day of baking several loaves of bread. Plus, I'm not thrilled about turning on my gas oven.

Help me out guys, put on your thinking caps, anybody got a recipe for a small bread - pastry(?) pancake, whatever that could be thrown together and baked in a toaster oven? I'd like to use at least a cup of the stuff. I have a huge selection of large recipes, but I don't want to produce something that won't get eaten quickly, and I don't want to freeze anything either. Wish I could gift some of it to somebody. Blessed an old neighbor with some once, but she got tired of dealing with it, and really didn't know how to use it.

Good luck, if I find anything in my archives, I'll call off the search.

Best,

Pennsy

 

[pennsy]

Halt (Unless you don't want to)!

Re: the starter question: I think I've found some possibilities which I'll give a whirl, bread sticks. I plan to rework the size of one recipe I've got, and try to use up some of the starter. Thanks for listening folks, but jump in anyway, maybe, you have something really startling to add?

Best,
Pennsy

 

[Wyogal]

Sourdough pancakes, make 'em up, put them in the freezer to zap or toast when you want a pancake.

 

[Chef Munky]

How about Sourdough Dinner Rolls,they can be made up ahead of time and kept frozen until your ready for them.

Ever had Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls? Good stuff!!!

Sometime this week I'm going to attempt making sourdough sticky buns.The messy ones.

Instead of using a bread pan I'll use a bundt pan.Make the sticky part separately using Corn syrup,Cinnamon,Pecans or Walnuts. Add that to the prepared bottom and sides of the bundt pan.I might just drizzle the sauce in between the layers of dough.Let it all seep into and around the crevices of the dough balls.
I'm learning how to be flexible,so far I'm ok with that!

Make medium sized balls with the dough.
Fill up the pan.Let it rise,then bake.
Invert it onto a plate when it's done.

Munky.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Be careful with soudough pancakes. Though when made properly, they are very good, they can get way too sour when made with a wild yeast starter. So, temper them with more flour and sugar to ballance the flavor.

Another great use for sour-dough starter is to make a couple loaves of a combination - half sour dough and half comercial yeast dough. Thsi gives you a sweeter flavor with sour dough overtones. I made pigs-in-the-blanket with the hybrid dough and people raved abouth them for weeks, litterally. The nice thing about this mixture is that you can make the dough, let it rise, punch it down, and wrap the hot dogs or sausages to encase them. Then freeze them before they have a chance to rise the second time. If kept in an evacuated airtight container (vacuum sealed platic bag works well) to prevent freezer burn, they can be taken out and unfrozen as needed. Let them rise and bake as you would biscuits. They should take about 20 minutes baking time.

Good luck. You might also freeze your starter in seperate sealed containers for storage. You can take as many out as you need to make whatever you need the sour dough for.

Seeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[pennsy]

Freezing?

Now that's something I've never done...freezing the starter. Wow, maybe I'll try that one. Dunno why that never occurred to me - maybe because I've not had an experience with someone who has done it! Good idea, what can I lose? I've got a whole lot more starter than a cup or two that I can freeze. Good ideas, group; TANKS...

Thanks for the good ideas

Best,

pennsy