Week 34 -- Advanced Yeast Dough Methods

Soft dinner rolls, pizza crust, soft beer pretzels, and sweet pastries come from yeast dough. Soft dinner rolls and sweet pastries use rich dough, fat is the tenderizer. Pizza crust and soft beer pretzels use lean dough.

Sourdough is slow-fermented bread that makes use of naturally occurring wild yeast and bacteria (lactobacillus, also found in yogurt, pickles, and wine) for leavening, the origins of this leavening power for bread (or beer-making) are rooted in ancient times, when grains, grasses spread across the northern hemisphere following the retreat of the last ice age (circa 10,000 BC), it's the unique combination of wild yeast, acetic acid (think lemon and lime) and lactic acid which are by-products of the lactobacillus, that produce the wonderfully unique flavor of sourdough bread

Sourdough Starter

a live fermented culture of fresh flour and water that cultivate the natural yeasts found in our environment --natural “wild” yeast is all around us, found in a bag of flour, in the air, on our hands, everywhere -- just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn't there
Commercial yeast is not required for leavening sourdough bread
A small portion of sourdough starter added to your bread dough makes it rise

Creating a Sourdough Starter

The overall process for creating a starter takes about 7 days (or more - lots of variables come into play)
Use a 1 quart jar with a cover
Day 1, begin with 2 oz (by weight) of whole wheat flour, along with 1/4 cup water, to jumpstart fermentation, mix the flour and water with a fork until smooth (thick and pasty), place cover on the jar and leave in warm place on counter
Day 2, 24 hours later, check to see if any small bubbles appear on the surface, bubbles indicate active fermentation, don't worry if no bubbles appear, for they may have formed and dissolved overnight, you may also notice a brown liquid forming on the surface of your starter, and this called "hooch," the presence of hooch indicates that your starter needs to be fed, but at this point just leave your starter covered and in a warm location for another 24 hours
Day 3, if you happen to see any hooch, pour it off, then remove about half of the starter mix and discard, before feeding the remaining starter with 2 oz AP flour and 1/4 cup water, mix with fork until smooth (thick and pasty), cover jar leave in warm place on counter
Days 4, 5, & 6, continue feeding the starter as on Day 3, following same process of removing half and discarding before adding new feed
As the yeast begins to develop, your starter will rise, and bubbles will form on the surface and throughout the culture
Day 7, the sourdough starter should be doubled in size, plenty of bubbles, spongy, fluffly texture, similar to roasted marshmallows, with pleasant smell, if those conditions are met, your starter is now active
Float test: to guage whether the starter is ready and active for breadmaking, drop a small dollop of starter into a glass of water, and if it floats, it is ready
Transfer starter to a clean jar, and you ready to begin a sourdough bread recipe

Caring For a Sourdough Starter

Like any living creature, sourdough starter needs some care
Feeding Routine

1. Begin by removing and discarding about half of the starter
2. Replenish what’s left in the jar with fresh all purpose flour and water, as prescribed above
3. Cover loosely, and let it rise at room temperature until bubbly and doubled in size, then once it falls, the bubbles will become frothy and eventually disappear, and you’ll know it’s time to feed the starter again
4. Feed your starter everyday if it’s stored at room temperature, if kept in the fridge, feed it once a week
PS: if you miss a feeding don’t worry - your starter is not going to die, though it might look ugly (and smell horrendous) but it usually just needs a few feedings to perk back up

Storing Sourdough Starter: Two Options

1. Room Temperature: If you bake often, a few times per week, store the starter at room temperature, this keeps fermentation going quickly, starter should be fed 1 or 2 times per day at room temperature, depending on how quickly the starter mix rises and falls
2. Refrigerated: If you do not bake often, store starter in the refrigerator in covered container, feed once per week to maintain its strength (just feed it cold and put it back in refrigerator immediately), when ready to make dough allow starter tome to room temperature and feed it as needed, to wake it back up

Cooking Class Notes

Week 34 -- Advanced Yeast Dough Methods