Re: 015 - Marcy Lawrence <marcy@j51 - Sourdough Baking In Bread Machine -- Need Advice
I haven't used commercial yeast in several years. The secret: experiment (picture
of mad scientist rubbing hands, "Heh, heh, heh!"). There shall be failures.
My starter is Ed Wood's Parisian. Russian is more active and sour, I understand.
Here's what I've come up with for overnight bread:
Save 1/2 cp starter and put rest in machine.
Mix saved 1/2 cp starter, 1/2 cp unbleached flour, 1/2 cp "hot" water to make next
starter. By "hot" I mean hot enough so that when mixed with refrigerator-cold
starter, it comes out at 90 F. Put starter in proofing box overnight. Using
a proofing box is important for starter consistency. Add flour or water to be
consistent about the thickness of the starter.
Add 1/2 cp flour and 1/2 cp "hot" water to the machine and turn it on. Add water
until the thickness is "right." Something like heavy cream, YMMV: experiment!
Turn machine off. Add 1/2 cp flour, sweetener, salt, oil, and a pinch of
baking soda. For me a "pinch" is 1/4 tsp. Purists will argue, but I find that
the baking soda helps the bread to rise and makes it sweet enough so that the
rest of the family will consider eating it.
Set the timer and go to bed.
In the morning put the starter in the refrigerator.
The routine varies between the warm, humid summer and cool, dry winter. In the
summer I start it around bed time -- around 8 hours. In the winter I start
it in the early evening -- around 12 hours. The thickness in the machine may
need to change, too, when you mix it.
Herb
foster@scr.siemens.com