ZOURDOUGH SOURDOUGH STARTER
Bella is from a bakery on the WHARF in SAN FRANCISCO. ..... This one has to be over 100 years old and is very active with a great sourness to her. We reproduce her in San Francisco at my sons house and store her (in wet form) there, after drying we move her to the mountains, where I live.WHY?...well, in trying to keep this one completely authentic, I figured we should keep it in the area where the yeasties were born.
YOU WILL GET: BELLA!!!! MAILED TO YOU. WITH DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO BRING IT BACK TO LIFE. YOU WILL GET: files of recipes on how to make awesome bread, pizza dough, pancakes, pretzels and the list goes on.. I MIGHT EVEN INFORM YOU HOW TO MAKE BROWN AND SERVE BREAD. BELLA IS A FAST STARTING STARTER.
Activating your sourdough starter Mix 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm pure water (because impure water is just dirty), 1 tablespoon of sugar (this time only) and package of starter powder in a bowl. Cover bowl with CLING WRAP, this helps to keep the starter from drying out and forming a crust on top, and put on the counter or in a warm place if it is cold. On the second day just stir it up. On the third day add an additional 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup pure (there is that word again. I live in the mountains, we have great water, if you live in a city, you have crap, use filtered water) lukewarm water, stirring to mix. By 48 hours you should see bubbles and signs of life. It’s alive! Be careful to recognize if the starter is really alive at this point, it will be showing bubbles and that is good, if it just gurgles, you have created a Zombie and the only true way to kill a Zombie is with two shots to the brain. (If your not watching the walking dead on AMC you might be a Zombie yourself) On the fourth day add 1/2 cup lukewarm water and 1/2 cup all purpose flour. (seems to be a pattern here) Feeding your starter daily for about 5 days will help it reach full activity and flavor. Whats that you say, your bowl is going to overflow, pour some out you dummy. Really, do I have to spell it all out for you, use common sense. At day five you may continue to keep your starter at room temperature feeding it daily or put it in the refrigerator and feed it at least once weekly. The secret to successful sourdough baking is FRESHLY FED STARTER ! NOTE: hang a red scarf on the oven and tell everyone that your baby is in there (don't put a real baby in the oven, you will go to jail and it makes them taste funny) Learned this the hard way, not the real baby taste thing sheesh, the sour dough starter in the bowl thing. Seems my wife forgot and preheated the oven without looking inside, which is normal to do, even though I accused her of trying to destroy my hobby, well, a melted plastic bowl, almost lost my starter along with a big mess in the oven was the result. What did we learn? Hang a red scarf on the oven handle, although she did it again a few months later and the scarf was in place. The battle between my wife and I over this hobby is just another story. My other starters and their stories will be listed as I find time or as my A.D.D. allows, I may even sell them in groups, but for now, you can buy Bella.
Cheers and great bread Christopher
ADDED: Red scarf is not enough it seems. As of today, another batch has been toasted, maybe pull the handles off the oven or tape a big note on it also.