Sourdough Not-Just-September

There is something growing in my fridge. But this time, it is good. My little sourdough starter has been with me for years, every so often taking a nice little staycation in the freezer while I go on holiday.

Because I can’t use my sourdough starter every few days, I keep it in the fridge. The night before I want to use it, I take it out and let it start bubbling away again, feeding it if is a bit low in quantity or if it doesn’t really get active. I feed it with ordinary flour and milk, usually a cup of each, and sometimes a small spoonful of sugar. Every so often I come across articles on sourdough and there seems to be many ways to start and keep your sourdough starter. Whenever I’ve tried to change what I do (using water instead of milk is something I recently tried) it just doesn’t go right for me. I’m in a groove and it looks like I’m stuck in it.

Did you know that last month (along with being many other things) was Sourdough September?

I did try the 10 second recipe in the Sourdough September link but it did not work – perhaps because I wondered about it from the start? Who knows? Has anyone else tried that method? I’d love to hear if you have, or if you do go for it. For me, the dough was heavy and was just a dense lump in the pyrex dish. I didn’t even bother with heating my oven to bake it because last time that I had dough like this (when I tried a different sourdough bread recipe), the baked version was just a warmer incarnation of the unbaked lump.

This month, I’ll stick to my usual recipe. Today I used spelt flour, though I often use plain flour or a lovely grainy type called Cotswald Crunch. We’ll slice one tonight with a cup of tea, and pop the other one into the freezer.

The starter.

Punching down the risen dough.

Oven-ready loaves.

Put the kettle on!

Sourdough Bread

• 5 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 (8 g) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups sourdough starter

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and dry yeast. Warm milk and add butter so it starts to soften and melt; add to flour mix. Stir in starter. Mix in up to 4 cups flour gradually.
2. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turn once to oil surface, and cover. Allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.
3. Punch down, and let rest 15 minutes. Shape into 2 loaves. Place on a greased baking tray (I use baking paper or sprinkle cornmeal on the tray instead of greasing). Allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.
4. Bake at 190 degrees C (375 degrees F) for 25 minutes, or till done.