Help form the Sour dough boys ( or gals)

[Okie joe]

I Going to make a starter?

1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup water...
.no yeast....
Do you add sugar to flour?
Ok I dont know sourdough do you add yeast to starter ....
Do you use natural wild yeast in flour????

Get a starter?

add sugar to flour?

how do you feed it ? how much....

how about somebody do a sticky (info on makeing a starter and how to make it to bread?)

If I missed it some where point me in the right direction....Thanks

[erain]

i am sure Bassman will be along with your answers, if not send him a pm.

[SmokinLee]

I would add 1/2 tsp. of yeast to it, no sugar. You add sugar to later recipes.

[Kingudaroad]

Here is a great tutorial on starting your own starter.
http://www.breadcetera.com/?p=58

[Kingudaroad]

I also have a packet of dried starter I got from Gunslinger I would be happy to send you. It's pretty easy to get going.

I feed mine equal weights of flour and water disposing of about half the starter before each feeding.

It is wild yeast that you are growing amongst the flour and water. Here is the ingredients for my baguettes to give you some idea...

600 grams of active starter(contains 300 gr each of flour and water)
200 grams water
400 grams flour
20 grams salt

[Bassman]

The easiest way is to start from a starter. Either Gunslinger or I can fix you up if you don't want to mess with making your own. Otherwise it depends on how fast you want it to work. I have seen some start with water, flour and yeast. It activates pretty fast using that formulation. I have always used just white flour (other than back when I made some rye starter).

Sourdough White Bread


1 cup sourdough starter
2 cups lukewarm water
2 ½ cups bread flour

The night before you plan to make bread, prepare your sourdough batter. Place the starter n a warm bowl. Add the lukewarm water and stir until well combined. Gradually add the flour, beating until the batter is smooth. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set the bowl in a warm place until morning.

6 – 6 ½ cups bread flour
2 Tb honey
2 tsp salt
1 ½ cups lukewarm water
½ cup dry milk
2 Tb butter, melted
1 egg
1 Tb water

Return one cup of the sourdough batter to your original starter. To the remainder in the bowl, add one cup flour, honey, salt, water, dry milk and melted butter. Beat until smooth. Add flour, one-half cup at a time until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and becomes too stiff to stir with a spatula. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and begin kneading, using the remaining flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the board and your hands. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm spot (85*) until doubled in bulk. This will probably take at least two hours. Punch the dough down, cover the bowl and let rise again for 30-45 minutes. Turn the dough out onto the floured board and divide it into two equal pieces. Shape each into a loaf and place in well oiled loaf tins. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. Slit the tops of the loaves lengthwise about one-half inch deep. Combine the egg and water and brush the tops of the loaves with a little of the glaze. Bake the loaves in a preheated 375* oven for 35-45 minutes or until they test done. Turn out immediately onto a rack to cool.

Note: I also mix one egg in the original dough to lighten the loaf.