The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

NY/NJ Wanted: Sourdough Starter, Fresh or Dry

March 18, 2020 - 8:29am
daveazar531's picture
daveazar531

NY/NJ Wanted: Sourdough Starter, Fresh or Dry

Long time no talk all. I used to follow this amazing community daily from 2012-2015. I am now stuck working from home and would love to get back into making homemade bread. I use to have “Friends of Carl” starter but I never dried any out for long term storage and now I am in need.

I live in Middlesex County NJ and don't know of any local bakeries that use sourdough. Yelp has not been much help. I'm considering venturing into my old neighborhood in Brooklyn. But before I do I wanted to ask if anyone has a recommendation? OR if you have a nice sourdough that you have dehydrated and would be willing to mail id be happy to Venmo you the cost of postage.

 

Thanks and I look forward to reading and seeing all of the great things this community creates

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idaveindy's picture
idaveindy
May 23 2020 - 4:45am

Welcome BAA-aaack!

www.carlsfriends.net is still going.  $1 suggesting donation, plus S.A.S.E.

I got some and used it for a while.  It's powerful, strong, a little goes a long way, lasts a long time in fridge between feedings.  

But, I prefer the taste of a different sourdough culture, so I dehydrated several samples, and switched.

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TFL has a bunch of users in northern NJ and  metro NYC, so maybe edit the title of this post, and put "NJ/NYC:" at the beginning, to get their attention.  You might get some help after the COVID lockdown is over.  

The Carl's group (1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough Preservation Society) does things in batches, so it can take 3 to 6 weeks.

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One of the people involved in CarlsFriends.net is here on TFL: www.thefreshloaf.com/user/chefcdp

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Bon appétit, amigo.  

daveazar531's picture
daveazar531
Mar 18 2020 - 11:49am

That's a good suggestion thanks! 

bonnibakes's picture
bonnibakes
Mar 18 2020 - 3:27pm

Someone local here in Greenpoint shared some of her starter in January that is based on Nancy Silverton's version. It's been happy living with me and of course I'd be happy to share. I can take some and dry it out & mail it to you. Email me at bonnibakes@gmail.com and we'll figure it out. Times are strange and we all need to support each other, and each other's sanity, in any way we can. Baking makes me smile! Bonni

daveazar531's picture
daveazar531
Apr 6 2020 - 2:08pm

I just wanted to give a public shoutout to Bonni who shared some starter.

 

basic SD receipt.

  • Feed the 30g starter with 50g Trader Joes AP flour and 50g Bottled water, let double in size
  • mix the following and allow to sit for 1 hour
    • 75g of the above
    • 250g TJ's AP flour
    • 50g Bobs Dark Rye Flour
    • 240g Water
  • add 8g Salt and mix well with a splash of water
  • 4 Stretch and Folds every 20 or so minutes (i did not do well timing these)
  • fridge overnight
  • Take out of the Fridge and preshape into a small lined basket dusted with rice flour/ap flour mix
  • Crank the over with a lodge combo cooker to 500
  • once it passes the poke test, flip onto a small sheet of parchment for easy transfer and score.
  • Bake for 20 minutes covered
    • Remove from cast iron cooker and put on a cold baking sheet and lower temp to 450
    • Bake until its dark enough for you, temp check if desired
      • I notice in my oven my bottom gets very dark so putting it on a cold sheet pan allows me to get a much darker upper crust without burning the bottom

Thoughts about the bake:

I was very happy with the oven spring and crumb texture. I might spritz the loaf next time to remove the excess flour from the crust. Very good tang from the starter.

Used old and excess starter to make Scallion pancakes and  Zatar Frybread. Both came out great

 

 

First SD Loaf

First SD Loaf - Bottom

First SD Loaf - crumb

 * some odd shadows on the bread here, it was a consistent color though the crumb in real life.