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Never toss discarded starter again! Book recommendation.

clazar123's picture
clazar123

Never toss discarded starter again! Book recommendation.

I have had this book for a LONG time. When I started making sourdough bread successfully, I turned up my nose because she made most of her starter with a packet of yeast. Also, the quick breads and muffins didn't use the starter as leavening. What a snob I was! It also demonstrates how a mindset like that can actually cloud your vision! I had a treasure in my hands and didn't even know it!

She has developed recipes for quick breads,muffins,biscuits,cookies, pancakes and waffles that all use an acid-heavy starter along with a baking soda or powder as a leavener. Perfect for discard ! Of course she has bread recipes but she seems to do a hybrid and uses a packet of yeast with those recipes. It seems the starter is more of a flavoring agent in her yeast bread section.

So everyone that hates dumping discarded starter, start saving it in the refrigerator and pull it out for some delicious baking beyond pancakes with these recipes. I was able to find it on Amazon and at Abe Books by the ISBN number.

ISBN  0-912656-63-8 (softcover)

ISBN  0-912656-64-6

Library of Congress  Catalog Card number 77-71168

Publisher H.P Books, Printed 3/77

 

I debated between the book forum and sourdough forum and thought this made more sense.

tom scott's picture
tom scott

Didn't see a link to the book.  I highlighted the softcover ISBN and right click for a google search.  Got this page.

http://www.abebooks.com/book-search/isbn/0912656638/page-1/

Is this the book?

Tom

clazar123's picture
clazar123

"Sourdough Cookery" by Rita Davenport.

Yes that is the book. I got interrupted writing the post and neglected to put the Title and author.

Thanks!

 

 

alfanso's picture
alfanso

My standard 75% hydration starter/levain is the progeny of that grandpappy 75% starter/levain from 2 years ago when I first started using levains.  I almost always make more than I need, and what one would call discard, I call "put it back in the refrigerator to use next time".  We recently disappeared for 6 weeks.  I fed that starter/levain, just to make a bigger fresh batch, the day before departure.  Napping in the back of the refrigerator, it lasted quite nicely for those 6 weeks and needed only a refresh to wake it up.

Point one being, the discard is used as the next input to my refresh, and if there is enough of it, I don't bother even doing a refresh, I just cleave off what I will use for the next mix.  In fact, that is my preferred method.

Point two being - don't discard your discard! 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

make a levain for EM's, pancakes, cakes muffins etc:-) Of quick breads you have to use some baking soda or powder in there for lift since there isn't time for the levain to make anything rise.  The levain is there for flavor and to activate he baking soda that does the lifting.  Seems like I'm always making a levain for something.

Wild-Yeast's picture
Wild-Yeast

Even scrape the starter container of the 25 grams to start the next starter off. Nothing is wasted. Levain used as the acidifying agent for waffles is one of the more useful things one can do for others. Offsetting the flour with 25% corn starch crisps out the waffle for one of the best waffles that ever filled the plate of a traveler's special...,

Wild-Yeast

loydb's picture
loydb

Can you share you full recipe for starter waffles? I've done well with pancakes, but have never had a satisfactory waffle experience. Thanks!

 

Wild-Yeast's picture
Wild-Yeast

King Arthur Flour - Standard Waffle Recipe;

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-waffles-recipe

For an extra crispieness augment flour with corn starch (< 25%) and if using butter clarify it first (removes excess water)

Wild-Yeast

Cathfm's picture
Cathfm

I love making pita from my starter and watching it puff :) also doubles as a pizza base too! New ideas could be great though my fiance never gets tired of pita (Israeli)

Cathfm's picture
Cathfm

On the topic of starters I watched chefs abroad (or cooks abroad, not sure which but it's on Netflix) and Dave Myer goes to Egypt the birthplace of leavened bread apparently, and you can see the Egyptian women doing everything in huge batches, so easily, and waiting like 20 minutes for a rise cause it's so hot. It makes all the measuring and weighing and worrying feel a bit silly.