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 BBS: The GWE BBS [ASV/CIN]
Date: 03-29-93 (15:31)             Number: 382
From: CHEFFIE #53 @7171*1          Refer#: NONE
  To: ALL                           Recvd: YES 
Subj: Sourdough                      Conf: (37) Home Cooki
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Sourdough, Care of the mother and a few sample recipes.

 Some care and use instructions are in order for the "mother" or starter.
 DON'T ever use metal utensils or bowels with the starter, as they can
 poison it and change the flavor of whatever you use it in.

Your Sourdough Batter:
        Sourdough batter is the basic ingredient in all sourdough recipes.
        It must be made 8 to 12 hours before you intend to use it. To make
        the batter:
        1)remove the starter from the refrigerator and allow it to reach
        room temperature naturally (don't use a microwave)
        2)measure out 1-1/2 cups of the starter into a warm 2 quart bowel
        3)add 2 cups of flour and approximately 1¾ cups of warm (85 degree)
        water (boiled cooled water is best) to the starter. Mix well. Since
        all flours are different, what you want to end up with is a batter
        with the thickness of a pancake batter.
        4)cover the bowel and let proof for 8 to 12 hours making sure the
        bowel is lightly covered. (I use saran wrap, but I don't secure it
        tightly to the bowel as it tends to blow off)
        5)the batter is done when it is bubbly all through and exudes a
        pungent sour odor.
        6) most important to preserve your starter, when it's done the first
        thing you do is put 1-1/2 cups of the batter back into your clean
        starter pot and return it to the refrigerator.

Recipes (down and dirty, feel free to experiment)

Quick Sourdough Bisquits
Ingredients:
2 cups proofed sourdough batter
2-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
The evening before prepare the batter as noted above. After the 8 to 12 hours
mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowel. Cut the butter into the dry
ingredients until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir in the milk and
Sourdough batter and mix well forming a ball. Knead gently on floured surface
about 30 seconds. roll dough about a 1/2 inch thick and cut into circles with
a cutter. Place apart on an ungreased baking sheet and let rest for 30 minutes.
Brush tops lightly with butter and bake at 400  for 15 minutes or until
bisquits are puffed and golden brown.




Quick Sourdough Bread
Ingredients:
2 cups proofed batter
1 package of dry yeast
1 cup of warm water (85 degrees)
3 teaspoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
5 - 6 cups of flour

        The evening before prepare the sourdough batter. After 12 hrs in a
large bowel mix together the sugar, salt and about 5 cups of flour. Dissolve
yeast in the warm water. Add sourdough batter to the dissolved yeast and mix
well. mix wet and dry ingredients together and mix well. After mixing allow
the dough to rest about 20 minutes, then turn onto a floured board and begin
to knead, pushing and folding dough and adding about one cup more of the
flour or until the dough no longer clings to the board. Knead until smooth
and elastic. (If you have a mixer with a dough hook it'll take about 15
minutes, if you do it by hand plain on about 30 minutes at least) Put dough
in an oiled bowel, roll the ball of dough so all surfaces of the dough are
covered with the oil. Cover and let rise about 2 hours or until it's doubled
in volume. After rising, cut dough into two equal pieces, punch down and and
knead slightly and shape into loaves. Place in oiled pans, cover and allow
to rise til the loaves fill the pans.
    Brush tops with plain water and bake at 350  for about 40 minutes,
brushing tops with water once during the baking. The bread is done when you
get a hollow sound when you tap the pan and the top is golden brown.
    Always remember, unless you plain on feeding an army don't make more than
two loaves at a time, the shelf life of this bread is about 24 hours, after
that if you have any left use it for bread crumbs, the sourdough bread crumbs ca
n
add a delicate flavor to your breading as long as the meat is not highly
seasoned.
As to a recipe for the actual starter, I've seen a lot of them all different,
We're one of the lucky one's that got our starter directly from San Francisco.
It's about eight years old now and still going strong.