After a lot of research by my Mom and Aunt about sourdough starters and breads I decided to give my sourdough starter a refresh and start anew. The end result was this beautiful loaf pictured above that I made on Monday, May 31st. It was fantastic! It was well worth the wait and the effort to make. Now my spirits are lifted and I have a new faith in my sourdough starter.
Thoughts on Sourdough:
My Aunt had commented to my Mom about how the miners that first discovered sourdough didn't really fuss with it much other than keeping it going by adding flour now and then. This lead my Mom and I to the conclusion that we shouldn't "baby" our starter so much and maybe that is why my bread had not turned out well in the past.
My Aunt said:
"As for "hooch" I believe that term was invented by the sourdoughs and I think they did drink it now and then to get a little buzz on. I think they had to be pretty desperate for alcohol to drink it because it tastes vile. I think (from what I remember reading about it years ago) that some of the old prospectors and like people had starter that they kept going for years. They would start out with a bag of flour and make a well in it and add water and mix it up with the starter they already had and just keep it going that way, in the bag of flour. They took out what they needed to make up biscuits or something along with enough flour for the biscuits and then add a little water to the "well" area, stir it up and then load up the mule and keep on going. I imagine that during the short time there were cattle drives that the cooks did the same thing. I don't know about when the pioneers crossed the US but I would imagine that sourdough starter was easier to come by than baking soda or powder and didn't take up space or add weight if you kept your starter in your flour bag. "
This got my Mom thinking about it too. Last Friday when we got together at her house she had decided to leave her sourdough starter on the counter at room temperature and leave the lid off. I thought this was a good idea because it mimicked what the miners did and it seemed to work well for them. When I got home I decided to do the same thing with my starter. I added a half cup of flour and a half cup of warm water to it to get it going again. After letting it sit around for a couple of days I decided to make bread again. Sunday night I made the "sponge" for the bread and let it sit overnight to develop.
After I had done this I heard from my Mom again about sourdough and she said:
"I am glad your sourdough starter is bubbly again, and that you are feeling encouraged. I have been thinking about sourdough bread and how it evolved, and after checking out several sourdoughs in my recipe books and comparing them with what Echo told me, I think part of the problem is that sourdough recipes have evolved to fit modern life, and we need to go back to basics.
What I mean is, if those old miners carried their starter around in flour sacks with some starter mixed in at the top of the sack of flour, then kept it going while they were off all day doing their mining, it has got to be easier - and more flexible - than the recipes we have seen. All of the recipes in my books expect the bread to have a 2-3 hour rise, for example. I don't think miners were quite so fussy on timing, nor do I think they could be, given the work they did, and given the fact that they moved around a lot trying to find the gold where no one else had a claim, given the fact that they were out in the boonies and couldn't probably replenish their sugar or soda or yeast supply as easily as they could carry around a big bag of flour. If so, I don't think they needed a tablespoon or even a teaspoon of sugar each time they mixed in some more flour and water to replenish the starter. I'll bet that they didn't put it in every single time they replenished, either. Real sourdough had to be hardy and had to be able to keep going in a variety of conditions to fit the lives of miners.
The reason I am reconsidering the sugar is because modern recipes call for it to feed the yeast. I know from my experience with yeast breads is that some of them have sugar and some don't. They all rise, with or without sugar or honey. So, just as we can get energy from the starch in flour, I think yeast can too. Also, how can the bread be sour if I am adding sugar or honey to it every time? It just doesn't make sense that those old miners or the sourdough starter are so sensitive that sugar is a must.
I am also encouraged by the recipes we have used recently that call for very little yeast and a long rising time. I think we ought to try making the sourdough with a longer rising time. I have noticed that most of the sourdough recipes call for additional yeast, and even some have soda in them, and often additional sugar. That just doesn't fit the image of sourdough for miners to me. I think those additions are so that breads will rise more quickly, such as expected by modern cooks.
If we have the time to let the sourdough bread dough sit around for a few hours, why don't we do that instead? Frankly, I think that fits better anyhow; and I wonder if it also fit the original developers - miners - better too, as they could bake it when they were done for the day, or first thing in the morning before they went to work, or whenever. The dough is just not that fussy when it has a chance to rise slowly. As we know, some of the low-yeast recipes allow 8-18 hours, and I let that one go that I made last Friday almost 24 hours. The temperature of the day would be important, too, and because of the fact that these miners lived in the outdoors, tents, shacks, or houses without insulation, they were most likely hot and cold with the seasons, and the sourdough had to cope with that as well. Anyway, those are my thoughts on sourdough. It will be fun to try some loaves this way and see what happens."
I think that my Mom's thoughts on sourdough are correct. Luckily, I have never added sugar to my starter. I might try letting my bread rise for a longer time as she mentions as well. I am happy that we both decided to "go back to basics" with our starter.
Here is my recipe with my notes below:
Sourdough Buttermilk Bread:
Makes: 2 round artisan loaves
Ingredients:
Sponge:
1 cup sourdough starter
3 cups flour
2 cups warm water
Bread:
2 teaspoons yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 ¼ cups cold buttermilk
4 cups flour
4 tablespoons wheat germ
2 ¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal
Directions:
- Mix the sponge ingredients and let them sit in a bowl overnight.
- In a glass measure mix the yeast and ¼ cup warm water. Let it sit 5-10 minutes. Add this to the sponge. Then, add the flour, buttermilk, wheat germ and salt. Mix in a stand mixer or by hand until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
- Knead 5-10 minutes with a dough hook on a stand mixer or about 15 minutes by hand. It must be very smooth. It will still by sticky. Add flour as needed.
- Put the dough into a greased bowl, cover and let rise 3-4 hours in an area that is about 70 degrees F. I like it put the bowl in a sink full of warm water. It rises beautifully! As you can see in the picture below:
5. Turn out onto counter, flatten and press out some gas.
6. Divide into 2 parts, and form round loaves. Put the loaves onto baking sheets or stones sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover with a towel and let rise at least 1 hour.
7. Preheat oven to 375. Put a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven. Fill it with warm or near boiling water. This will help steam the bread.
8. Slash the tops of the loaves with a razor or sharp knife. I made a cross shape on the top of my loaf. Bake at 375 for around 40 to 45 minutes. I baked the loaves on my convection oven setting for 40 minutes at 350F and about 15 minutes at 375F.
Happy Baking!
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