This recipe for sour starter is original and cannot be found in any book. Follow the recipe step by step and allow yourself to make this unique recipe to a tasty end.
My husband loves sourdough bread. And he loved this recipe. Thank-you Judy Saxby - 24 Jan 2001 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
Excellent Bread! I used my own rye starter and used dark brown sugar for the malt. The process is simple, but long; however, you will be rewarded with chewy texture and complex taste of the artisans' breads from Europe. I played with various flours~unbleached flour, wheat, rye, wheat, toasted wheat germ; turned the dough once after an hour of fermenting; slashed the bread for full expansion; baked on baking stone. Fabulous! Thanks Chef Filip! - 22 Jan 2012 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
Way confusing directions compared to how to really get the starter going. Don't go and cover tightly -- I leave it uncovered for hours, stirring every hour or two as I just remember. Covering hides the good yeasts from growing in the bread starter! Also, go ahead and use just 1/2 c flour etc to start from. You know, scale it down. I did that as this is a huge starter!! And, covering is for at night -- I lay a piece of plastic wrap, not sealed, on top.Keeps it from drying out or pets getting into it :-) Mine is uncovered during the days until it naturally gets foamy (sign of good yeasts in it). Then I cover it lightly. Once it gets nice and foamy, you are ready to make bread. If you refrigerate once it gets bubbly, you need to feed every 5 days or so unless you like it very, very sour. Keep it covered at that point, too. The recipe for the bread is pretty good, I just found it rather salty. oh, and for those struggling to find the malt -- you really can skip it and just use the honey ( in just the first mix -- not needed after it). I used this recipe to experiment and have made regular starter from just room temp (boiled) water and wheat flour. You can even really start with just a tbsp of water and a slightly heaped tbsp of flour -- that is it. In the old days/pioneer days, they just used what they had. Relax and make this fun instead of filling your fridge with starter!! Once you get the starter, you can make pancakes based on the starter, waffles,....The fun just begins - 03 Dec 2014 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)