As I mentioned previously I am taking part in the BLT from scratch

Day 2 of starter (not looking so good yet)

challenge, and for that I decided to make my own wild yeast bread for the BLT. I am now on the 5th day of my sourdough starter and its looking and smelling great. In the beginning it wasn’t going so well so I played around a bit and think I figured it out. I got the original directions for The Fresh Loaf and have only made some minor changes of the technique.

Making sourdough starter is actually pretty easy and not at all labor intensive the biggest drawback can be getting it started. The right environment plays a key role in developing your first Sourdough starter.

A little history: Sourdough is thought to have been first used by the Ancient Egyptians in the original leavened breads. The sourdough’s flavor can vary widely depending on the water, flour, climate, and even elevation. The use of sourdough is not as common in present day being replaced initially by Borm from beer making, and then cultured yeast. It is still used commonly in specialty bakeries with some starters being continually produced for over 150 years in San Francisco. (you can read more at Wikipedia like I did)

Now onto the recipe:

Day 4 of starter (you can start to see some bubbles, still doesn't smell yeasty yet)

Day 1:

Ingredients:

2 TBL Rye or any whole grain flour

2 TBL unsweetened pineapple juice

In a Pyrex bowl (or any bowl you’d like) mix together the flour and pineapple juice, cover with a clean dish towel and either rest on your counter if it will stay room temperature, or what I did was placed it in my oven and left the light on. Leave it for 24 hours.

Day 2:

Day 5 the starter is beginning to come alive

Repeat day 1.

Day 3:

Repeat day 2..

Day 4:

1/4 cup of your starter

1/4 cup of any unbleached white flour

1/4 cup of spring or filtered water at room temperature.

If there is a skin on top of your starter carefully remove and discard, stir down your starter and scoop out 1/4 cup, then discard the rest.

In a new clean Pyrex bowl or measuring cup add the 1/4 cup of starter, flour, and water.

Stir, cover and either keep on your counter at room temp or place in the oven with the light on.

Now repeat this daily to keep the starter up.

Day 5 side view you can see the bubbles, and it smells deliciously yeasty.

I have to run an experiment I got my starter going but now I have to go away for a week return home for a day then leave for another week. So on my 6th day I will be feeding my starter in a larger bowl, placing a tight lid on it and putting it in the refrigerator. Hopefully when I come back in a week I can just feed the starter then keep it in the fridge for another week.

The story of success or failure will be told in 2 weeks, and of course a little bit after that the bread I make with it will be on display.