Dried Starter Instructions

Dried Sourdough Starter

In the early days of The Yorkshire Sourdough’s creations, the end products were a little hit and miss with some inconsistent results. But these were early days and over time, this determined little outfit has fine tuned the process and incorporated some wonderful Yorkshire flours on its journey.

Using organically grown Yorkshire Spelt and Rye which has been milled in Yorkshire by an artisan miller, we have two different and terrifically tantalising sourdough starters which are not only churning out delicious recipes such as blinis, pancakes and batters like there’s no tomorrow, they are also producing great bread.

If you want to see for yourself how Spelt and Rye starters can pack a dough punch they are available from the Yorkshire Sourdough Company in a dried format; all the established Yorkshire milled flavours, in a need little packet.

Like twins, each starter has its own characteristics and flavours and should be kept as two separate identities. For variation on bread types and flavours, you can use different flours for the main bread making process and add one of the twins, Rye or Spelt, as the fairy dust to make your bread rise and induce that unmistakable sourdough flavour.

Dried starter revival and getting started:

Measure out half of the dried starter and soak for 30 mins to an hour in 2 -3 tablespoons of cold to luke warm water. The flakes of starter will soften but will not totally dissolve.

Next add 1 -2 tablespoons of Rye Flour (or Spelt depending on which starter you have) to the soaked flakes and stir well. If the mixture is a tad dry, add more cold to luke warm water until you have the consistency of pancake batter.

Finally cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature for 24 hours. You can check to see if there is any progress and while doing so, a quick, occasional stir will help things along.

The following day, stir in 2 tablespoons of the flour du jour (Rye or Spelt) in the same amount of water. Stir this occasionally to egg-on the fermentation process. Start to see small bubbles on the top and around the side of the starter, and you know it’s happily fermenting away. If you’re not getting the bubbles, you might need to repeat the process of adding 2 tablespoons of flour to the same amount of water for a couple of days or until the starter gets a’bubblin.

Once the bubbles appear, you and your live starter are in business, and it will need regular attention so that is can grow and stabilise into a healthy baking companion. At this stage you will need to slowly increase the amount of flour you feed it and again match it with the same volume of water. As you do so, you will also notice that the starter bubbles more vigorously and begins to double in size. Don’t be surprised if you need to increase the size of the container to accommodate your fast-growing friend!

Once you have an established starter, you will need to keep it in top-notch condition with regular feeding at room temperature. Alternatively you can slow the process and the number of feeds down by keeping it in the fridge.

Visit our blog at yorkshiresourdoughcompany.co.uk for more information about rearing and caring for your starter as well as some tasty recipes for sourdough bread.

Your sachet of dried starter should take off at the first attempt but just in case it does not (sourdough is not an exact science unlike baking in general) there is sufficient dried starter for another bash.

Yorkshire Organic Millers

So, the rye flour I was getting really excited about in September I have been using with very pleasing results. The yeasty organic activity is proving to be excellent and very responsive. My starter is quite well established now and within a couple of hours of “feeding” the hubble-bubble is apparent with the starter increasing in volume within a short period of time. The bake is producing complex flavours of sourdough and I am very, very pleased with the results.

 

The flour is sourced from the Yorkshire Organic Millers based on the edge of the North York Moors. Using traditional mill stones from France, Joe Coughlan is producing some very fine flours which are perfect for making artisan and in particular sourdough breads. Rye flour which used to be a staple grain of North Yorkshire is still grown within a short distance of the Mill and it is this flour that I have been using. Emphasis on the use and handling of local grains as well as traditional, basic milling techniques forms the basis of this Mill's existence. For example the wholegrain flour is exactly that; the whole wheat grain is milled in a single pass with no additions or reconstitution from separate millings.

My light rye flour is unbleached, so that all the natural organisms associated with the grain are relatively undisturbed during the process of turning it into flour. This is exactly what we want for our sour dough starter.

The Yorkshire Sourdough Company is pleased to work with Joe and also to stock a range of flours which are available for sale via our website www.yorkshiresourdoughcompany.co.uk

Classic White Sourdough Loaf

Phase 1, Evening time:

Ingredients:

• 300g strong bread flour
• 100g starter (make sure it is bubbling well and ready to do its job)
• 400 ml water
  

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, mix all above ingredients well, ensuring there is no loose pockets of dry flour. You need to be aware that the mixture can potentially double in volume so your bowl needs to be able to accommodate this growth.

Cover with a food grade, clean plastic bag and leave to ferment overnight in a cool place.

Phase 2, Next morning:

 300g strong bread flour

1 x tblsp salt

1 slug of olive oil.

Method:

Add all the above to the previous days mixture and kneed well for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Clean our your bowl and give it a light coating/brush of olive oil. Form the dough into a round ball and return to the bowl, cover with a plastic bag and leave in a cool place until doubled in size (this can take 2 or 3 hours or more – you can not rush this process and better to leave it until the early evening).

Phase 3, Early evening same day

Method:

Scrape the dough out of the bowl and “knock it back” to deflate it. Lightly flour your hands and the work surface, split it into two equal pieces and work it quickly into tight, round balls. You do this by making a rough round and then pull the lower edges up and over, tucking into the top, centre of the dough, turn and repeat until the desired shape is achieved. You will have a little seam at the top of the dough.

Flour your bannetons (I use wholemeal or rice flour) to stop the dough sticking and make it easy to tip out when risen. Put the dough into the banneton seam side uppermost. Cover in plastic bags ensuring that the dough has space to rise without catching the bag (it will stick and ruin the shape and rise of your bread). You need to put these into a wamr place now to prove and rise for the last time before putting in the oven. This can take around an hour if the temperature is nice and warm (not too hot). After this time, the dough will have doubled in size and be a little springy to the touch.

In anticipation of this timing, you need to have your oven turned up high to 250 deg C and if you have a baking stone, put this in the bottom of the oven.

When all is ready, you need to have a water spray to hand and be prepared to move quickly. Carefully tip the loaf out onto the heated baking stone and slash the top of the loaf quickly with a serrated knife or Lame knife if you have one. The slash will allow the loaf to expand in the oven and become light in texture. Give the oven and the top of the loaf a spray with water and quickly put the loaf onto the bottom shelf. Spray again three or four times in the first 5 minutes and then turn the oven down to 200 deg C.

Cook for a further 30 minutes or so and check to see if cooked by tapping the base it should sound hollow. Return to the oven if not cooked and if in doubt, leave in for an extra five mins.

When cooked, turn out onto a baking rack to cool. Resist the temptation for an early dive in and let it cool for the best results.