I made my first successful batch of SourDough bread this afternoon. It was pretty good if I do say so myself. When I first attempted it after activating the sour dough cultures I bought from http://www.fermentedtreasures.com The instructions said that it might take a few weeks and even months for the full “sour” flavor to develop. My first couple of batches were pretty much failures.

Here is the recipe I used and it made two large loaf pan sized loaves

SourDough Bread
1 Quart Sourdough Starter
6+ cups freshly ground spelt, kamut or hard winter wheat (I used hard white wheat)
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 cup cold filtered water

Traditional sourdough bread, prepared with a starter rather than with yeast, has a delicious flavor but tends to be heavy for modern tastes. Spelt gives the most satisfactory loaf.

Your starter should be at room temperature and have gone through the bubbling, frothy stage, like the picture below.

Place starter, salt and 1 cup water in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until the salt crystals have dissolved. Slowly mix in the flour. Towards the end you will find it easier to mix with your hands. You may add more water if the dough becomes too thick. It should be rather soft and easy to work. Knead by pulling and folding over, right in the bowl, for 10 to 15 minutes; or knead in batches in your food processor.

Without pressing down the dough, cute or shape loves into the desired shapes or place into 2 large well buttered loaf pans or 4 smaller loaf pans. Cut a few slits in the top of the dough, cover and let rise from 4 to 12 hours, depending on the temperature. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Allow to cool before slicing.

The bread will keep for a week without refrigeration.

Here is how mine looked this evening.

I originally ordered both the San Francisco and Yukon strains/flavors of sourdough but was unable to taste the difference and it was a pain keeping both cultures alive separately so I combined them. I am greatly encouraged by how easy this recipe was and how good the results were!

I have had several people ask me where they can get Whey.  To my knowledge this is not something you can purchase by itself at a store.  It is however super easy to make at home and one “batch” makes enough whey to last the average user several months of use in various cultured recipes.

If you have access to Raw Milk use the following instructions.

1/2 gallon of raw milk
1 tablespoon plain Yogurt or 1 capsule pro biotics.

Mix together and place in a glass jar on counter and cover with clean cloth and rubber band.  Leave for 2 to 4 days until milk separates.  Line a colander with cheese cloth and place over a large bowl.  Dump milk/liquid into this and leave for 12 to 24 hours.  Tie up corners of cheese cloth, loop over wooden spoon and hang over gallon glass jar until liquid (whey) stops dripping out of it.  What is left in the cheese cloth can be salted to taste and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.  The “whey” can be put in a jar, tightly sealed and stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

For those of you who do not have access to Raw Milk use these directions.

1 Quart of Plain (Preferably whole and organic) Yogurt

Line a colander with cheese cloth and place over a large bowl.  Dump yogurt into this and leave for 12 to 24 hours.  Tie up corners of
cheese cloth, loop over wooden spoon and hang over gallon glass jar
until liquid (whey) stops dripping out of it.  What is left in the
cheese cloth can be salted to taste and stored in the refrigerator for
up to 1 month.  The “whey” can be put in a jar, tightly sealed and
stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Let me know if anybody decides to try it!

I have been sadly remiss in my duties as an active participant of the Xanga world. 

So, what is new for us?  We have a new venture that is helping to take up a lot of our previously nonexistent free time.  We now have a few plants in the ground that I hope will grow to hearty adulthood and bear fruit.  This also means I have to spare a few minutes a week to dump some water on them, and spritz them down with an organic bug repellent made from Neem Oil.  Beeyoutiful continues to go through growing pains.

Noelle still chatters up a storm and adds things to her list of skills on a daily basis. 

The kitchen and I are spending a lot more time together as well.  1) I am trying to stay on “top” of it better and 2) Adding more cultured/lacto fermented foods to our diet.   Right now one whole counter of our kitchen is covered with an assortment of glass containers covered with cloth.  3 containers of Kombucha, 1 Sourdough starter, 1 cultured cream cheese/whey and another soaking/sprouting beans. 

On the whole cooking note here is an altered recipe for cultured Salsa taken from Nourishing Traditions.  Steve and I both love this Salsa!!

4 medium/large Tomatoes, peeled, seeded (I didn’t seed mine, too lazy) and diced
2 small onions, finely chopped
3/4 cup chopped chile pepper, hot or mild (I used frozen mild Green Chille from NM)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp dried mexican Oregano
1 tsp freshly ground Cumin
Small Dash of Cayenne
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey (un pasturized “live” whey)
1/4 cup filtered water

Mix
all ingredients and place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar. Press
down lightly with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer, adding more water
if necessary to cover the vegetables. The top of the vegetables should
be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at
room temperature for about 2 days before transferring to cold storage.
Will stay good in cold storage for up to 6 months.