Has anyone had any luck with the following:
Using GoldRush Sourdough Culture along with instructions & recipes from
Donna German/Ed Wood's book "Worldwide Sourdoughs From Your Bread Machine"
without the use of commercial yeast?
I tried the same type of culture/instructions about a year ago, had several
failures, got tired of messing with the culture and dumped it.
I started this new culture three weeks ago and as yet have not had a
success... Except with a recipe made completely in the bread machine which
uses active dry yeast, but it's not true sourdough bread when yeast is added.
My culture has been well fed, has plenty of bubbles, has a sour aroma and
I've (presumably)followed all instructions precisely. Last week I used the
dough cycle for sourdough French bread, allowed 2+ hours for the rise, yet
had a glob of dough spread out flat on the baking sheet. Using the same
recipe today, I incorporated more flour (approx 1/3 cup) into the dough
before shaping. It held it's shape well, although it did not rise after
three hours. Just for kicks, it was baked following a four hour rise... the
birds probably won't even eat this! It has a sour flavor, but the texture
is dense and gummy. Another failure.
Am I being impatient trying to use the culture before it's ready, or is it
dead already? Maybe the GoldRush brand should be substituted for a more
reliable brand like Sourdough International. Maybe using the ABM to mix the
dough is at fault or maybe it's just my inexperience.
Has anyone used the above mentioned combination with success? Any
comments,suggestions,help or hints are welcome!
Thanks,
janis@ethos.net