I have *had it* with sourdough!!!!

I can't stand the way I spend two days on it and then it may or may not rise. It may rise but take 3 hours. It may rise in 2 hours. It may not rise at all. And when that's your dinner, it's extremely frustrating and wasteful!!!

I guess this is a vent, unless someone has some good advice about sourdough.

[cobluegirl]

I want to try and make it...however your post doesn't sound very encouraging..

what recipe are you doing?

Sorry...

More later...gotta clean up dinner and get ds to bed.

I use a recipe that came with my starter from sourdo.com. I have modified it significantly to improve rising time and flavor, and I normally have good results...but the problem is, it's unpredictable. You never know if it will rise in 2 hours (the shortest time I have ever had with sourdough) or 6 hours, like tonight (I just took it out of the oven and won't be able to enjoy it until morning). It just makes me nuts.

[Rea T]

Really? My starter has always been consistent. (Although I think I've killed it because I haven't fed it in ages.) I've never had it not rise and the amount of time really hasn't varied significantly. I wish I could tell you my secret, but I don't have one.

[cobluegirl]

The recipe I have makes your own starter. says it takes about a week.

All you need is flour and water.

2 cups of water
2 cups of flour

don't use water that smells strong or is heavily chlorinated. Starchy water from cooking potatoes or pasta is rich in nutrients that yeasts like. It can be used as long as cooled first. stir together virgorously. put whole fruit into it to speed up the process. Cover with cheesecloth or any other porous material. store in warm area with good air circulation. stir daily vigorously. you should notice bubbles after a few days. Once yeast is active add 1-2 Tbs of flour each day for 3-4 days and continue stirring. Add more water if it gets to thick.
Once you have thick, bubbly batter, your starter is ready. Save some for your next batch.

bread
2 cups grain (left over rice, oatmeal, killet, buckwheat or any grain)
2 cups sourdough starter
2 cups water
8 cups of flour 1 tsp of salt

Mix a sponge: place left over grains in a large bowl. Pour sourdough starter over it. Add lukewarm water and 4 cups of flour, enough to make a thick batter. Use at least half wheat flour (whole or white or some of each or spelt, but augment with some of whatever other flours you may have. Stir batter well. The glutenous mas is called a sponge. Let the sponge sit in a warm place, covered with a moist towel or cloth for 8-24 hrs. stirring occasionally, until it is good and bubbly.

2. When it is good and bubbly, add salt. Salt inhibits yeast, which is why we keep it out of the starter ad the beginning of the process. but salt contributes to the development of the dough and prevents yeast from acting too quickly; bread without salt tastes flat and lacking.

3. Add flour, about 4 cups gradually. Keep adding flour and stirring it in, until the dough becomes so thick that you cannot effectively stir it with a spoon.

4. Knead the dough well on a floured surface. Add more flour as needed. you need to knead long rough to "work the "gluten so the dough develops elasticity. Give it at least 10 mins.

5. Place kneaded ball of dough into a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a moist, warm towel and set the bowl in a warm place for the dough to rise.
6. Rise the dough until its bulk increases 50%, which may take several hours.

7. Once the dough has risen, form it into loaves. place is greased pans

8. Rise for another hour or two.

9. Preheat over 400 degrees and bake. check after 40 mins.



oy oy oy...LOL that was abreviated from my Wild Fermentation cookbook.

[CapeTownMommy]

Have you tried the 5-minute bread? The dough becomes sourdough over time and is absolutely divine (my dh is a bread snob and he LOVES it).

Thank you, ladies! I will have to try some of these suggestions. That's odd that no one else has this strange arbitrary rising thing with their sourdoughs. This one last night finally rose enough at 9:30 pm so I baked it then. I took it out to cool and went to bed. I admit I woke up at 2am and had a piece.

When you consider kitchen temperature and variations in humidity, it makes sense to me that there would be *some* variation in rising time...but not *that* much.

I think if I didn't grind my own grain by hand I wouldn't be so upset. But doggone, that's a lot of work.

Originally Posted by CapeTownMommy

Have you tried the 5-minute bread? The dough becomes sourdough over time and is absolutely divine (my dh is a bread snob and he LOVES it).

Amusingly, I am the first one to post the recipe to that bread - you can see it a few threads below this one. It is good, but I am trying to avoid commercial yeast.

[cobluegirl]

the temp of your house will make a difference as to how it rises...

Originally Posted by cobluegirl

the temp of your house will make a difference as to how it rises...

Yes, and apparently, warmer is not always better. It did better in the winter. I actually have a thermometer in my kitchen and it was 73 degrees during the rise time.

I wonder if the fact that I used the bread machine (suggested by the booklet that came with the starter) for mixing, proofing and kneading had anything to do with it. I have been using this same starter for a year and this is the first time I used the b-machine to mix and knead it.

[cobluegirl]

if that is the only difference than maybe it was the bread machine...weird...

[CapeTownMommy]

Originally Posted by herbalwriter

Amusingly, I am the first one to post the recipe to that bread - you can see it a few threads below this one. It is good, but I am trying to avoid commercial yeast.

Originally Posted by cobluegirl

if that is the only difference than maybe it was the bread machine...weird...

Well, this may sound wacky, but I wonder if the bread machine method meant the dough didn't get exposed to extra wild yeast in the air...or maybe there's something synergistic there. I do know that I tend to have excellent results with bread when ds helps me. It's almost like he puts something special into the bread (like dirt, ha). I had no idea bread was so emotional. Maybe I should try the 5 steps with my next lump of dough...the bear hug would be messy though.

[cobluegirl]