Sourdough

I read about how you can make your own sourdough starter.  Really?  Leave flour and water on your kitchen counter for 2 weeks and you can use what grows to bake bread?  How cool is that?  Missy Meyers has a really cool blog with a great tutorial.  John Ross also wrote a great article.

Day 1: mixed 1/2 c flour with 1/4 c warm water in a pint jar.  It was like a really thick dough so I added a bit more water.

Day 2: maybe some water separated out?   It smells fine.  Fed it.

Day 3: Phew!  Like really fragrant stinky cheese.  But lots of bubbles.  The farmer wants to name it "Audrey Jr." after the plant in Little Shop of Horrors.  I think I may have kicked the bacteria into high gear because I stirred it last night with a spoon that had been used in a jar of applesauce.  oops.  Wow. 4 hours later and it has grown.  Still smells like cheesy old sneakers...  Waiting for it to get more sour...

Day 4: lots of bubbles, and a strong cheesy odor.  Maybe a little bit more sour.  Makes your nose wrinkle up.

Day 5: Less smell, fewer bubbles, maybe separating?

Day 6: Not many bubbles at all.  More sour smelling.  Two hours later it seems to be coming back to life.

Day 7:  Audrey seems to be kind of dormant.  Smells like sourdough though.

Day 8: A few bubbles.  Not much happening.

Day 9: Separating.  Still not much happening.  Paging Audrey...

Day 10: Audrey appears to be waking up. Bubbles and a sourdough smell.

Day 11:  Audrey is alive!  Proofed her tonight so that tomorrow, we can bake.

Day 12:  I decided to bake because I wont have time for another few weeks.

Audrey did not do much overnight.  I decided that it was because she was too cool.  I put her near the simmering tomato sauce and she seemed to perk up a bit.  But still 12 hours after proofing her she still was not where I wanted.  The "sponge" increased in volume by half.  I wanted double.

I cheated and added a packet of Fleishman's yeast in addition to the sponge.  Otherwise, I followed Missy Meyer's recipe.   The point of this is to make bread.   Having trouble creating a warm spot in the house on this cool, rainy day.

I finally got it to rise (sort of) and baked it.  It has a thick crust and is soft and chewy inside.  The flavor is quite good.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that is an inch and a half high and might be able to be used as a door stop.  I was stubborn and wanted to make this bread on a weekend day.   I should have waited.  

There is some of the Audrey sponge left.  I will continue feeding her on the counter for another few days and then fridge her until we are ready to make bread again.  I'll post if I get it right.