Another Mother: Sour Dough Starter

Living in my refrigerator is a creature named Lilith.  She is a mature and ever growing sour dough starter, or as my sous chef calls her, a mother.  I feel this name is apt as she has quite a bite, can be hard to handle, and I have killed and revived her before.

I created my first starter, which eventually died due to inattention, in early 2011 when the Vegetarian Times did a big piece about quick sour dough.  Through that process I learned a couple of things.  First, an immature starter brings chew to the bread, but it doesn't help much with the flavor.  Second, making and keeping a mature starter takes some work and attention, but it is doable.

My current starter was built from the basic recipe that the VT uses, but I have tweaked it through a few failures.  I did make one starter that went rancid shortly after inception through inattention in the initial phases, so make sure you're not going to be gone or on a extremely busy schedule when building your mother.  Also, their recipe will flood out your starter with excess water, so I have cut that back.

An Ode to a Jar

Before you begin, ensure that you have a container large enough to house a mature starter.  It should be at least 2 times the size of your starter, so it should hold no less than 6 cups.  My jar is much like one of these, but can be whatever brand you like.   As you can see in the picture below, we made holes in the top of the jar; this serves two purposes.  First, it allows for fresh air to enter the jar, which is one way your starter will pick up native yeast.  Second, it allows for some of the condensation to escape.  As I store Lilith in the fridge most of the time, she condenses I get her out to bake, and this limits the condensation.

I have tried to keep starters in plastic, and it is doable.  The down side is that plastic containers can pick up flavors.  Therefore, I have found glass is the best long term solution.  If you are especially clumsy, it might be best to use plastic to prevent breakage, but make sure you buy a new container before beginning.

Sour Dough Starter

Initial Ingredients

1/4 tsp yeast

1 cup flour

3/4 cup water

Feeding(s) Ingredients

3/4 cup flour

2/3 cup water

On the first day, mix together the initial ingredients in your container using a whisk.  Whisking the starter together introduces air that will carry native yeast.  This will be the method you want to use with all feedings down the road.  Place the lid on the container and put it in a median temperature area in your kitchen, so that the yeast can start working.

After the mixture sits for 12 hours, add the feeding ingredients.  Stir in with a whisk, replace the lid, and place back in the median temperature area.

After another 12 hours, stir the starter together and remove 1 1/4 cups of starter to discard.  When your starter is ready to bake, you will use this to make bread products, but for now, throw it out or add it to your compost.  Add the feeding ingredients, whisk to combine, and replace lid.

Remove and feed starter every 12 hours two more times.  Then allow starter to sit for 24 hour, and remove and feed again.  At this point, you should have created a starter that has some tang coming to it.  After the 24 hour feeding, you can allow your starter to sit for another 24 hours and then bake with it, or you can place it in the fridge for storage.  I usually bake something with it, so I can see how the taste is progressing, but I am also impatient.

Once your starter has moved to the fridge, you will need to feed it at least every 7 days.  If you are going to bake with it two days in a row, leave the starter on the counter overnight before baking with it the second day.  If you want to bake two items in one day, do not remove a portion before feeding and feed it the normal amount.  Once you have made the two items, feed it just like normal and return it to the fridge.

If you notice a lot water standing on the top, pour it off before whisking it and reduce the water when you feed it.  Also, if it is starting to get dry or has lumps, mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water before baking with or feeding it.  If it is drying on a recurring basis, up the amount of water used in feedings, as your environment may be dry.

It's Time to BAKE!

Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing my own sour dough recipes.  If you happen to have a starter ready to go, King Arthur Flour has great recipes including this one for sourdough bread.  If you happen to have any recipes that call for making sponges, you can substitute your starter in a ration of 3/4 starter to 1/4 fresh flour.

I have developed recipes, including pancakes, but if you have ones you would like to see, let me know and I will put Lilith to work.

Soup's On: Creamy Vegan Potato & Corn Chowder

First, it has been a while since my last post.  The Sous Chef and I took most of the weekend off from cooking to appease a (now) 12 year old boy's birthday choices.  That's when I do most of my photos and recipe translating, so it made for some slow times in the old knife bowl.  On an upside, we got a few new kitchen knives on Sunday, so it's time to chop!

This soup is delicious and creamy and satisfying.  It is also extremely simple and quick to make.  The poblano gives it a kick and smokiness.  You can adjust up and down the heat by putting in or leaving out the veins and seeds of the pepper.

Creamy Vegan Potato & Corn Chowder

Ingredients

2 cups frozen or fresh corn kernels

2 pounds Yukon gold (or other waxy) potatoes

1 poblano pepper, diced

1 large onion, chopped

2 low sodium bullion cubes and 6 cups of hot water

          OR 4 cups vegetable broth and 2 cups hot water

3 cloves of garlic chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

Dice potatoes and place into a large bowl filled with cold water.  Allow to soak for 15 minutes to remove the excess starch.  Pour off the water and allow the potatoes to drain thoroughly.

In a stock or soup pot, heat olive oil and saute onions, peppers, and corn until softened (about 5 minutes).  

Add the potatoes and garlic cloves and saute for another minute.  Add water and the bullion, or stock and water, and then cover and bring to a simmer.  When bubbling, remove lid and allow to cook on medium low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are just cooked.  Taste for seasoning, adjusting salt and pepper as needed.  Allow to cook for another 5 minutes, so that the potatoes to start to break down.

Scoop about 3 cups of soup into a smaller, heat safe container and blend until smooth.  If you don't have an immersion blender, see note below.

Return blended soup to the pot and bring back to a simmer for 5 more minutes.  Turn off heat, removethe pan from the burner, and allow the soup to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: If you don't have an immersion blender, scoop into a regular blender and blend until smooth.  Remember to remove the insert from the middle of the lid and cover with a kitchen towel to allow steam to escape but prevent scalding.  You will probably want to hold down on the edges of the towel to keep it from moving.

OK, the cooking onions, peppers, and corn picture was not necessary, but I love the way it looks.

You can serve this soup with a loaf of crusty bread and a salad for a complete meal.

Vegan Baking: Ginger Pear Cake

This is my second baking of this cake in two days.  The first one, while delicious, didn't come out pretty.  The batter was too wet and it was baked in the wrong size pan.  The flavoring was also more of a spice cake and less gingery.  However, it was delicious, and almost instantly disappeared.  This one is just as tasty, better textured, and the right size.  If you're not a fan of ginger, you can replace it with other spices, or just increase the amount of vanilla you use.

Ginger Pear Cake

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) olive oil

3/4 cup room temperature water

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon ground dried ginger)

1 ounce (2 tablespoons) clementine or orange juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 asian pear (sometimes sold as apple pears)

Heat your oven to 350 degrees.  In the bowl of a food processor, add flour and sugar and process for approximately 2 minutes to lighten the texture of the flour and make the sugar crystals finer.  Move the mixture into a medium sized mixing bowl.

To prep your pear, finely dice 1/2 of the pear and slice the other half very thin for layering in the bottom of your pan.  Line the bottom of a spring form pan with wax or parchment paper.  (Either lightly grease the bottom and then fit the round, or use the pan's mechanism to hold the paper in place, as I did.)  Arrange the pear slices on the bottom of the pan in a spiral shape or other pattern.

Once the pan is prepped, add the baking soda, salt, and ginger to the prepared flour and sugar mixture.  Use a whisk to evenly mix together the ingredients.  Add the water, vanilla, orange juice, and oil and mix to combine.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the diced pears.  Add the batter to the prepared pan carefully to keep from moving the pear slices around and smooth out the top.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  When baked, place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.  Then flip the pan onto a large serving plate and release the spring mechanism carefully.  Remove the bottom of the pan and the paper from the cake.  Allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

 

As you can see, the texture of the crumb on this cake is pretty fine.  This evenness is a result of the food processing that the flour sugar underwent.  To skip this step, you can use whole wheat pastry flour and superfine or caster sugar.  As you can see, this recipe is devoid of any white or all purpose flour, and this change allows for that omission.