The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

My first loaf with Australian sour starter

qahtan's picture
qahtan

My first loaf with Australian sour starter

This is the first loaf I made with Australian sour starter.
A little over baked but that's OK, better than underdone..
:-))) qahtan

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Ricardo's picture
Ricardo

I am in OZ and would like to know where you got that starter from
Thanks?

sphealey's picture
sphealey

This is a US source, but you may be able to use it to figure out where the Tasmanian and New Zealand cultures originate:

Sourdo.com

sPh

qahtan's picture
qahtan

I am in Canada and got my starter from Teresa at
http://www.northwestsourdough.com
This is the crumb from that loaf

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

I don't quite understand the sour dough stress. When ever I start new, I just follow the cook book recipe. My home town baker (professional) once let me get a good wiff of his sourdough and it litterally took my breath away. So when I mix mine, I give it a few days fermentation and bake combining some baker's yeast. About the third time or three weeks down the line, I notice a deffinite change in smell ( I believe it picks up local yeasts) good ol' sour. I have known of some who add a teaspoon of apple vinegar to their dough, just to make it taste sour. But this works for me albeit longer: 3.5 cups flour (sometimes part rolled oat flour), 2 soup spoons sugar, 2 teaspoons Baker's yeast, 2 cups of water. Large bowl cover with a wok lid and give the mixture plenty of room to rise. After about 5 days, remove 1.5 cups of starter for recipe, replace with 1.5 cups flour and 1 cup warm water, beating before and after use. All at room temp on top of book shelf. When it gets warmer, I send it on holiday or confine to the refrigerator.

If I used it everyday, I think it would become less sour. In the good old days, we would break off and save normal dough from the fresh batch to start the next batch, Sour dough had it's own place. When there was no time to let it sour, there was no sour dough. I've never tried replenishing sour starter every day, something in the deep recesses of my brain keep me from doing it.

There is one quick way of getting your local baker's sour dough yeast. Buy a hunk of dough from him/her, take it home and give it water and flour and let it alone for 3 days.

Since I wrote the above, I have found and visited articles here on Sour dough and sour bread and beginning to grasp the termonology. Interesting and this is an interesting site. Always something to learn. Guess I've been growing my own local yeasts with the help of baker's yeast. I do notice a difference at sea level. Mini Oven

qahtan's picture
qahtan

I notice you use commercial yeast. True sourdough does not contain
any comecial yeast.

Also the idea you say of getting a piece of sour dough, (raw). yes a
good idea, I tried that idea some time ago, it was no more sourdough
than my aunt Fanny's cat.;-))))
There are not many places where you can get proper sour dough bread......

qahtan

rmk129's picture
rmk129

Hi qahtan,

The photo of the crumb from your Australian loaf is making my mouth water!!!!

Also...as a fairly new member to this site, if there is one thing I have learned from reading all the posts, it is that baking true sourdough loaves is an entirely "commercial yeast-free" process...which is why I currently have a funny-looking mixture of rye flour and orange juice (previously warmed and soaked with raisins) sitting in a jar on my kitchen counter (Day 1 of my first attempt at creating a natural starter, following a combination of Sourdoughlady & Floydm's instructions).

From perusing this site's sourdough-related posts and photos (such as yours!), I have also been adequately forewarned that today may be the beginning of a somewhat all-consuming sourdough baking addiction :) If my starter attempts fizzle out, I will come back to look at your photos as inspiration to try, try again!!!

qahtan's picture
qahtan

Same recipe, but more care shown with baking,,,,qahtan

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

sphealey's picture
sphealey

The bacteria that you are trying to start are fairly delicate to begin with. If you can actually smell the chlorine in your drinking water that is probably too much, which is why people are recommending bottled spring (not distilled) water. You could also leave a glass container of tap water out for a few days, stirring it once or twice per day - that should allow the chlorine to dissipate.

Once you have the starter going I think you can use tap water for your doughs. You might try one with tap and one with bottled spring to see what the difference is.

I did have one guy who worked at a "spring water" bottler in upstate New York State tell me that in fall and winter you were possibly getting real water from the spring, but in the busy spring and summer seasons, well, let's just say that the night shift was VERY productive compared to the day shift when the QC inspectors were on-duty.

sPh

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Yes, I start out with baker's yeast but after a couple of weeks I reduce the yeast in my bread recipe as the natural yeast grows in my starter. When I first landed here in Feb. I was ready to produce my own yeast but as baker's is available here for just 10 cents a 15 g package, I buy what I need. I love the sourdough but my hips don't. My husband likes plain white baguettes. So....

Chlor will evaporate quicker if poured into a shallow glass pan, say 1 cm, for a day ought to do it. I used to have to sanitize my vegetables in chlor water and leave them out to "air" to get rid of chlor. You must go through clothes like crazy, the Chlor wears them out faster.

One question, If I use Australian rolled oats, ground as flour in my sourdough starter, Is my starter then Australian sourdough? :) Mini Oven