Sour Dough

I've rediscovered a lost art... baking from scratch using wild caught yeast!

I started with Youtube, watching as many videos as I could about how to do it. The technique I used was to simply mix some white organic wheat flour together with water to make a runny pancake consistency. Pop this in a jar outside and cover with an old stocking held in place with a lucky band. This is so that yeast will land on the mix from the air. Keep your fingers crossed and discard half each day, replacing with more flour and water and mixing. This is critical as it is fresh food for any new yeast that arrives and keeps conditions right for rapid growth.

Depending on temperature mainly, you should have a good colony going in about 1 week. Keep feeding it at least once per week and don't keep too much of your starter and let it get too big, it works best when it can grow fast and you don't want to use truckloads of flour to achieve this end.

Tonight I've started what I hope will be a tradition. I have milled my own organic rye flour to feed our starter. I used our Thermomix, which was a present from Rodney's mum Helen. Milling my own flour optimises both nutrition and awareness of our food. Grain keeps well and was designed (by nature or God, you decide) to keep. Flour is vulnerable to oxidation of natural oils and is best fresh, particularly whole-grain which includes the 'germ'.

To make a good bread, you need active starter (when it is growing, rather than waiting for you to feed it again) and not too much of it - say ~1/3 cup for a loaf. I like to 'air knead' which is when you oil up your hands and fold and stretch the dough up in the air rather than in a bowl or on a board - where it might stick. If too soft - ie. you pour a runny mix in to bake, it won't dry enough inside to make a proper 'grain' of bread and will be doughy. If too dry, the yeast won't work as well. Add oil to help the bread stay fresh for longer - to reduce trans fat you can use coconut, lard, butter or olive oil (olive may produce a little). There are so many sour-dough recipes, both savoury and sweet.

I pop mine in a silicone baking container and leave to rise on my seedling raising tray overnight - because it keeps it warm. I then bake it in a medium oven and pull it out when it looks right.

Coming at bread making for the third time, I have very much enjoyed it and found that a machine was not necessary although we do have one and for 'normal' / fast bread I'm still happy to use this. Sour dough however, may (I've heard) 'etch' metal - so glass or ceramic is the go when you leave it to rise.

Why cook this way? I am convinced that using microbes in our food is healthy for us. As is the process itself - reconnecting with food as we make it, rather than shovelling it in as fast as possible! ...but back to microbial activity:
- fewer defensive chemicals from the plant itself, in essence pre-digested
- higher protein, lower sugars
- higher nutrition, Vitamins K (several) found in fermented foods
- no 'magic box'... I know where each and every part of my food has come from and how it was made ... not the case for commercial yeast kept in the freezer!

I'm very happy to buy less yeast as well. From time to time we'll go back to the bread machine and bought yeast, but this is primarily for convenience.


I also have a container of wheat flour, a present from my good friend Jess Mess,  and I'm very much looking forward to using this! I think it's not 'bread making' wheat as this is not usually available but I can use it for biscuits and to add the 'whole-meal' taste. I will be keeping my eyes open for other options which might include farmer direct from family friends.

No doubt I'll blog on sour-dough again most likely using my lovely new book on the topic that Rodney bought for me just before he left for Russia :)