The Big Bread Thread ?

[Chockswahay]

Do a sourdough starter!

Won’t work with GF

 

[Puddleduck]

Do a sourdough starter!

Won’t work with GF

I checked the so called sourdough gf from Warburtons - and it isn't true sourdough, just has sourdough flavour added.

I've tried to grow sourdough several times and the starter always goes pink and starts to stink very quickly - after just a few hours.

 

[Puddleduck]

I've ordered rice flour (a bulk purchase order - not what I really wanted as it is a blend of brown and white rice but I can work with it) so hope it arrives. I also hope it is human food grade (as advertised) and not the horse food supplement type.

Usually I pay about £2 a kilo for rice flour but some people are asking silly money for it at the moment......... I will end up paying twice the normal price but these are not normal times.

 

[Puddleduck]

So trawling through t'internet (as one does) I found a recipe for a millet sourdough loaf and starter. The bread looks awful but if the starter is okay I could use that in one of my other flour blends and maybe make a reasonable loaf. As the quantities are quite small and I have millet flour I'm going to give it a go ........ not sure if my yeast will arrive or not as it appears the people I ordered it from have gone out of business.

I think most gf starters are rancid is because of the potato starch going off so maybe millet would be okay - I'm thinking that millet beer and the like are common in Africa so fermenting millet might not be so horrid. Rice flour doesn't work as a starter as it is usually sterilised for food use to stop it fermenting.

 

[denisejoe]

Good luck with that Puddleduck. Would be great for you if it works.

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[Chockswahay]

Is this any use? @Puddleduck

(I still think you’re on to a non starter with this tho’). Oops.... pun intended ?

 

[Puddleduck]

Is this any use? @Puddleduck

(I still think you’re on to a non starter with this tho’). Oops.... pun intended ?

Thanks .... it always worries me when a so called gluten-free recipe starts with wheat berries as at least one of hers does - and she admits that she is not gluten free. I have loads of recipes and recipe books (and have written a few with one published ) but it is getting ingredients that is the issue right now.

The recipe for the sourdough starter on that site calls for sweet rice flour which I can't get plus in the UK it is sterilised to stop it fermenting and to increase shelf life - not so in the US........ Every day a school day as I have to research more and more, but now I know why rice flour in the UK has such a long shelf life.

I just hope that the things I have ordered do arrive. If not it will be meager rations for a while.

 

[Riverbankannie]

Today’s soda bread. I always like to amend it (sorry Chockswahay ) so today half and half white flour and chestnut flour from Shipton Mill. I had forgotten about the chestnut flour as it was in the freezer,an unopened bag stored inside a ziplock bag. I store my chestnuts in the freezer too. This is one bag of three I squirrelled away last autumn. It takes a while to shell them but they freeze well. We have some trees on the village green and I go up every day in the autum and fill my pockets. Last autumn very very plentiful but small (No good for roasting in shells) so I mostly had them to myself.
My sister wants to make some but says she doesn’t know how to find cream of tartar in Stockholm although there is an “english” shop there. Any alternatives?

 

[Chockswahay]

Today’s soda bread. I always like to amend it (sorry Chockswahay ) so today half and half white flour and chestnut flour from Shipton Mill. I had forgotten about the chestnut flour as it was in the freezer,an unopened bag stored inside a ziplock bag. I store my chestnuts in the freezer too. This is one bag of three I squirrelled away last autumn. It takes a while to shell them but they freeze well. We have some trees on the village green and I go up every day in the autum and fill my pockets. Last autumn very very plentiful but small (No good for roasting in shells) so I mostly had them to myself.
My sister wants to make some but says she doesn’t know how to find cream of tartar in Stockholm although there is an “english” shop there. Any alternatives?
View attachment 380448View attachment 380449

Ooh, they look lovely Did they taste as good as they look? What 'basic' recipe did you use?

Baking Powder is just fine to use as it is already a mix of soda and tartar, she will need to use the same amount as if they were separate (like my recipe). The reason I prefer to make my own is for greater control over the taste.

 

[Riverbankannie]

I used your non-dairy recipe but 100gm chestnut flour and 100 plain white.
I’ll tell my sister to look for baking powder. They are not on lockdown in Sweden !

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[Wildbill]

I would like to make a sure do starter how do you do it?
bill

 

[Chockswahay]

I would like to make a sure do starter how do you do it?
bill

Here you go Bill, try this?

 

[Riverbankannie]

Here you go Bill, try this?

Just had a quick read of that - it uses so much wholemeal flour which seems to be as rare as hens teeth at the moment !

 

[Chockswahay]

Just had a quick read of that - it uses so much wholemeal flour which seems to be as rare as hens teeth at the moment !

There are loads of ways to make a starter..... that was just one from a trusted source I have always used Organic Wholemeal Rye for mine. It is easy to get overloaded with information when it comes to Sourdough.

I never throw away any starter, I keep a few grams in the fridge in a jar and simply refresh it 3 times when I want to make bread with it, for example 5g starter add 5g water add 5g flour =15g..... when this has 'grown' i repeat again 15/15/15 = 45 then once more 45/45/45 so only 65g of rye gets used overall. The starter can be used then for any type of sourdough

 

[Puddleduck]

So far my millet starter hasn't gone pink and smells okay. First feed was today. I've drawn a line of the jar so I can see how much it has "grown". It's not a fast growth and more solid than I expected but we will see.

The instructions said twice as much millet flour to water ...... and I will do that at the moment.

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[Puddleduck]

So far my millet starter hasn't gone pink and smells okay. First feed was today. I've drawn a line of the jar so I can see how much it has "grown". It's not a fast growth and more solid than I expected but we will see.

The instructions said twice as much millet flour to water ...... and I will do that at the moment.

It's growing smells slightly musty but millet smells like that anyway.

 

[Puddleduck]

Chockswahay my millet starter 4 hours after the first feed. Does it look "right" to you? I've never got this far with sourdough before!

The bottom of the green line was the top of the starter after knock back and feeding so it has grown.

 

[Puddleduck]

2nd feed today so all going well tomorrow will be bake day.

When I fed it today I noticed that before the second feed it had fallen back but a couple of hours after feeding is growing again. Not sure if that is normal or if I should feed and let it work tomorrow before baking.

I am making a written record of everything I am doing so I can either repeat or amend my method. I will also make a note of the recipe I use and exactly what I do - again so it can be repeated and altered as necessary.

 

[bigtwin]

We managed to get some live yeast today.

Question: is it possible to use this fresh yeast to cultivate more yeast? If so, how?

Chockswahay ?

Ian

 

[denisejoe]

Getting big bubbles in the sourdough whilst in fridge.

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[Puddleduck]

Getting big bubbles in the sourdough whilst in fridge.

Mine has small bubbles, but I only have a small amount in a glass jar on the bench.

At least if it doesn't work I have not wasted too much.

 

[denisejoe]

Normally only small bubbles in jar but get bigger as it gets more active

 

[Puddleduck]

Plan for tomorrow .......

A. Get up earlier than has been the case since lockdown , feed starter and make drink - possibly go back to bed

B. 2 hours after feeding starter and if it has grown make up the bread slop (it's not dough when you make gluten free!) and leave for 4 hours to rise.

C. Change clothes and stand outside as funeral cortege passes (my ex-Boss, mentor and friend, an old man but very much missed)

D. Come back in and change again.

E. Bake bread if it has behaved itself. If not add baking powder to the slop and make waffles. They would freeze.

B may end up coming after C and D depending on timings.

 

[Chockswahay]

View attachment 380748
Chockswahay my millet starter 4 hours after the first feed. Does it look "right" to you? I've never got this far with sourdough before!

The bottom of the green line was the top of the starter after knock back and feeding so it has grown.

Looks OK but normally a starter would take a week or more before it becomes viable

 

[Puddleduck]

Nor only small bubbles in jar but get bigger assets more active

Mine is active (lots of small bubbles) after about 2-4 hours and rises well (increases by about 50%) then drops down and lurks until it is fed again. I think because it is gluten free there is nothing to hold the bubbles in and the gas works its way up and out through the mix.

When I make the bread I will make the physllium husk into a gel (replaces gluten to a certain extent) and also use a small amount of xanthan gum and an egg.

Chockswahay I am following the directions given in the recipe. He says he makes fresh on a weekly basis to prevent it going rancid ? I've always found my gf starters to go rancid very quickly - often within 24 hours I get a mould bloom

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[Chockswahay]

2nd feed today so all going well tomorrow will be bake day.

When I fed it today I noticed that before the second feed it had fallen back but a couple of hours after feeding is growing again. Not sure if that is normal or if I should feed and let it work tomorrow before baking.

I am making a written record of everything I am doing so I can either repeat or amend my method. I will also make a note of the recipe I use and exactly what I do - again so it can be repeated and altered as necessary.

Normally the best time to bake with a starter is after a good feed and use it just as it either peaks or is beginning to fall

 

[Chockswahay]

We managed to get some live yeast today.

Question: is it possible to use this fresh yeast to cultivate more yeast? If so, how?

Chockswahay ?

Ian

No.....(sorry) ?

 

[Puddleduck]

Normally the best time to bake with a starter is after a good feed and use it just as it either peaks or is beginning to fall

That was I intuitively thought.

 

[Chockswahay]

View attachment 381055View attachment 381055 Getting big bubbles in the sourdough whilst in fridge.

Now that is looking lovely! How long did it stand before fridge? Often due to the time it takes for the dough to lower its temperature it carries on proving. The fridge time is more for retarding and developing flavour. I would think it would be best to bake from cold to avoid over prove

 

[Chockswahay]

Plan for tomorrow .......

A. Get up earlier than has been the case since lockdown , feed starter and make drink - possibly go back to bed

B. 2 hours after feeding starter and if it has grown make up the bread slop (it's not dough when you make gluten free!) and leave for 4 hours to rise.

C. Change clothes and stand outside as funeral cortege passes (my ex-Boss, mentor and friend, an old man but very much missed)

D. Come back in and change again.

E. Bake bread if it has behaved itself. If not add baking powder to the slop and make waffles. They would freeze.

B may end up coming after C and D depending on timings.

I have no experience with GF sourdough but I understand that it is mush harder to obtain good results. To get a good result from a starter that is only a couple of days old is unusual to say the least. Have you considered feeding it for a week or so to develop strength and maturity?

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