My sister gave me the best sourdough starter in the world. It was a wild yeast starter, that means you do not add yeast to get it going. I was a bad sister and did not keep it fed like I was supposed to, so I am trying to do my own starter. I tried the one where you use whole wheat flour and orange juice and you feed it every 24 hours to start. This one did not work for me, that does not mean it would not work for you. I am now trying one from the Pocket Farmer, 1/4 cup of water and 3/8 cup bread flour. Add this every 12 hours and stir. I am seeing some bubbles, which is good, that means it is active. If after 24 hours you do not see bubbles discard and start over. You also want to keep your starter (in the beginning phase) around 70-80 degrees. It is a living organism and you must keep it cozy. I am on my third feeding for this one and today I will discard 1/2 and add more water and flour. Your starter, once it is growing should have a mild aroma of beer and should be the consistency of a good pancake batter. You do not want it too thick or too runny. Here is a picture of what I have so far.
My mom and my sister are my role models for cooking and caring for my family. I know this is Fathers day week but I am going to brag about two of the strongest women in my life. My mom always made homemade bread for us, not because she had to but because that is what her mother did. Funny how our moms influence our lives. My moms homemade loaf bread is the best in the world, she did not buy bread until she and dad started eating whole wheat bread. I am not sure if I shared this before or not but the hubbs started having food allergies not long after Sprat was born. He could not eat any store bought bakery items, and that included bread. My mom gave me her recipe that was her mothers. This was the first time I had made bread. It was a great feeling and every time I use that recipe I think about my mom and my grandmother (she passed away when I was little). During this time of uncertainty with the hubbs and his diet, I made every thing from scratch. That is a daunting task, to say the least, but between my sister and my mom and their wealth of recipes and help we survived and thrived. The hubbs food allergies corrected themselves after a year or so and I do not have to make our bread any more. I do make some every now and then just because my family and I like it.
I blame my sister for my obsession with sourdough bread and its' starter. She gave me my first
starter and I loved it but I was just lazy about taking care of and feeding it. I guess it is a good thing my kids and husband are more vocal or they would be sitting around covered in mold too. Just kidding. . . . . . . Before I let her starter go to the dogs I made several loaves of bread and tried to make crackers. My crackers did not turn out that great, they were a little thick. I am going to give them another shot with this starter. Once I get it going I will share the cracker recipe and how it turns out.
