And now for something completely different!!
I love working with the Elite in a week team. Not only are they all amazing at what they do, but we all get on so well, and there is lots of chatting that takes place during our team lunches.
The last lunch got round to sourdough. I was a covid baker, and I still have my pandemic sourdough starter. we have a meeting coming up this week, so I promised them, all a starter, and a primer on what to do with it, so here is is!!
Feeding your sourdough
I made a little video on this, but the key points are
- You don’t need to keep much starter back
- you don’t need to feed it every week, every 2 months is fine
- you may get black liquid on the top, as ling as it doesn’t smell bad, just yeasty, its fine , pour it off
- If you feed it regularly, you feed it equal ratio 1:1:1 starter:strong:flour:water by weight
- if you don’t feed it regularly , then the ratio is 1:2:2
- if you don’t ffeed it regularly, the feed it twice before you use it to get some strength back
Favourite recipes
Basic bread
This is my favourite basic sourdough bread. Its so simple,
- feed the starter in the morning
- mix the dough in the evening and do 3 stretch and folds.
- in the morning shape the dough and put in tins or banneton ( I usually use tins)
- later in the day cook the bread
Breakfast Pancake traybake
https://littlespoonfarm.com/sourdough-pancakes-waffles-recipe
I love this, instead of making waffles or pancakes, I pour the mix into a lined brownie tin 9×11. then I sprinkle on top, blueberries and choc chips, and give it a little swirl, Cook at 180 degrees for 20 mins, then slice and serve with maple syrup. so much easier than standing over a pan making individual pancakes.
The mix on the morning you use it is a joy to see, so bubbly – try and and you’ll see what I mean.
Cinnamon raison bread
https://homegrownhappiness.com/sourdough-cinnamon-raisin-bread
This is a nice breakfast bread. we like to make this with dried cranberries
Focaccia
https://alexandracooks.com/2019/03/22/simple-sourdough-focaccia-a-beginners-guide/
This focaccia is very easy, full of olive oil, and very yummy. Its a great bread for guests. Particularly lovely with an olive oil and balsamic dip. because what this bread needs is more olive oil!!
Croissants
https://homegrownhappiness.com/easy-sourdough-croissants/
This takes a bit of planning, but taking readymade , unbaked croissants out of the fridge, means you can have freshbaked croissants on the table in 30 mins
- friday morning – feed the starter.
- friday eve – make the dough
- saturday – add the butter and fold the dough to make the flakes
- saturday – shape the croissants and put in fridge
- sunday morning – the best croissants you’ll get outside france
