Does anyone have a good sour dough bread starter recipe?

1. 61

   Luciendaskyposted 14 years ago

   Does anyone have a good sour dough bread starter recipe?
   
   I need to make a starter as a gift, and I don't know how to make one - do you need a starter to make additional starters?

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2. 61

   Catherine Rposted 14 years ago

   This is the starter I use:  1 tbsp active dry yeast and 1 tsp sugar in a quarter cup of water.  Then stir in 2 cups warm water and 2 cups flour.  This should make a thick batter.  Cover it and leave it to ferment at room temperature for 4 or 5 days before using it.  Then when you use it (you use about 1/2 cup starter for every 2tbs of  fresh yeast in the recipe) you can replenish your starter with as much flour and water as you have taken out.  This is good if your baking is an ongoing thing.  You should add a 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup of water to your starter every 5 days to keep it going.  You don't need a starter to make other starters - you can just start from scratch.

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3. 61

   Renée Benzaimposted 14 years ago

   Here's a recipe I got off of the internet a couple of months ago and it works very well.  I've also included a sourdough pancake recipe that I've made for years that's just delicious.
   
   
   Sourdough starter:
   
       Blend a cup of warm water and a cup of flour, and pour it into the jar. Add about a teaspoon of yeast.
   
   ·    Every 24 Hours, Feed the Starter. You should keep the starter in a warm place; 70-80 degrees Farenheit is perfect. This allows the yeast  to grow rapidly. Temperatures hotter than 100 degrees or so will kill it.  To feed the starter: (A) throw away half of it and then (B) add a half-cup of flour and a half-cup of water. Do this every 24 hours.
   
   Within three or four days (it can take longer, a week or more, and it can happen more quickly) you should start getting lots of bubbles throughought, and a pleasant sour or beery smell. The starter may start to puff up, too. This is good.  When your starter develops a bubbly froth, it is done.
   
   Keep the starter in your fridge, with a lid on it. Allow a little breathing space in the lid. If you're using a mayo or pickle jar, punch a hole in the lid with a nail. Once the starter is chilled, it needs to be fed only once a week. Realistically, you can get away with less; it's important to remember that your starter is a colony of life-forms that are almost impossible to kill (except with extreme heat). Even starving them is difficult.
   
   Care and Feeding: Hooch
   Aside from weekly feeding, the only other thing you need to worry about is hooch. Hooch is a layer of watery liquid (often dark) that contains alchohol. It smells a bit like beer, because it is a bit like beer - but don't drink it! Hooch builds up in your starter, especially in the fridge. Just pour it off or stir it back in. It doesn't hurt anything. If your starter is looking dry, stir it back in. If your starter is plenty wet, pour it off. Just remember that hooch is nothing to worry about!
   
   
         Sour Dough Silver Dollar Hotcakes
         Servings: 30
           1 c  Starter
          2 c  Flour
          2 c  Milk
          1 t  Salt
          2 t  Baking soda
          2    Eggs
          3 T  Shortening,melted, or oil
          2 T  Sugar
    
      About 12 hours before breakfast, mix starter, flour, milk, and salt.
      Cover and let stand.
   
      Just before frying, remove 1 c batter to replenish starter.
   
      To remaining batter add baking soda, eggs, shortening or oil, and sugar.
   
      Mix well
   
      Spoon batter on griddle about 2 inches in diameter.
      makes about 30

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4. 64

   Sara W. Hardingposted 14 years ago

   I just saw your question. There is an easy starter recipe in my hub on the subject, "The Art of Sourdough".

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