Alison Holst's recipe

How do I know when the starter is okay to use to make bread?

Thanks

korban - 2019-02-18 15:58:00

I'd give it a few days, being summer. It should bubble & smell sort of 'beery' type sour with a layer of clear liquid on top.
I'm no expert...there are plenty here, so no doubt some one will be along to give their opinion, but in the mean time, I hope that helps.

samanya - 2019-02-18 17:48:00

samanya wrote:

I'd give it a few days, being summer. It should bubble & smell sort of 'beery' type sour with a layer of clear liquid on top.
I'm no expert...there are plenty here, so no doubt some one will be along to give their opinion, but in the mean time, I hope that helps.

You are right about the smell but a layer of liquid on top means your starter is hungry and needs feeding. The liquid, called hooch, can be stirred into the starter or poured off if you like. It's harmless. As you say, there are plenty of sourdough bakers here. I've been baking for only a year or so and there's lots to learn.

jymkrys - 2019-02-25 20:47:00

korban wrote:

Alison Holst's recipe

How do I know when the starter is okay to use to make bread?

Thanks

The starter has to show signs of activity (bubbles perhaps) and have at least doubled in size after you've fed it. Feed your starter (equal quantities of flour and water), mark the top of the starter (pen or rubber band) so that you can tell by how much it's grown. How quickly that happens depends on the warmth of the room. Can be anywhere between 5 and 8 hours or more. You can also do a float test. Take a teaspoon full of starter and drop it into a glass of water. It should float. However, many bakers think it's not a reliable test. However, in my opinion it's worth doing this. Hope this helps a bit.

jymkrys - 2019-02-25 20:52:00

korban wrote:

Alison Holst's recipe

How do I know when the starter is okay to use to make bread?

Thanks

OP if you are still around what exactly is Alison Holst's recipe? I cannot seem to find it on the net.

I steer clear of starters that use commercial yeast (it is designed to eat only sugar not the gluten or glutenin that wild yeast thrives on) and dairy products which leave the door open to rotting and toxic bacteria.

The best recipe is 1 cup of high grade flour mixed with 1 cup of boiled and cooled water. Cover with a clean bit of cloth or a lid that allows air in, and leave on the bench till it starts to bubble.

Or, conversely, you can use less flour and water (it doesn't really matter) but keep the ratios 1:1. Rye flour works faster and is a great way to start a starter off if you use ½ and ½ rye and flour.

When it starts to bubble and 'expand' it needs to be made stronger so throw half away and refresh what is left with ½ of your original mix of flour. and water. Repeat a couple of times.

Don't despair if nothing seems to happen instantly. Sour dough is not a race, it is a slow awakening. It will always happen eventually. Be sure any water you use is below 32dC, or is cold. Yeast is picky about temperature.

buzzy110 - 2019-02-26 10:29:00

I’m a novice rewena bread maker. Just great reading thru the posts. I have a slight variation to my starter bug I use 1 led sized potato diced cooked in 1 cup of water. Blend to a smith paste then mix with 1cup high grade flour and 1tsp sugar.

I make rewena every other day to give away to whanau and friends sometimes to odd gatherings. Mrs T. reckons I should sell them lol.

Anyways thanks for sharing you guys.

mwplt - 2019-02-26 14:13:00

mwplt wrote:

I’m a novice rewena bread maker. Just great reading thru the posts. I have a slight variation to my starter bug I use 1 led sized potato diced cooked in 1 cup of water. Blend to a smith paste then mix with 1cup high grade flour and 1tsp sugar.

I make rewena every other day to give away to whanau and friends sometimes to odd gatherings. Mrs T. reckons I should sell them lol.

Anyways thanks for sharing you guys.

I've often thought about making my own 'Maori bread' (this is what my mother called it) and I do understand that the starter is made from potato. Unfortunately, what my mother made was yum but what I have purchased at the local market is too sweet for my tastes and looks nothing like the (non-sweet) crusty loaf my mother made.

Do you have a good link you could recommend?

And as an aside, another of my mother's specialities were fried scone dough so they resemble doughnuts, served with lashing of whipped cream and jam. I'd love to make some of those one day as I've finally learned how to make a decent scone. I think she called them 'fried bread'.

buzzy110 - 2019-02-26 16:51:00

buzzy110 wrote:

I've often thought about making my own 'Maori bread' (this is what my mother called it) and I do understand that the starter is made from potato. Unfortunately, what my mother made was yum but what I have purchased at the local market is too sweet for my tastes and looks nothing like the (non-sweet) crusty loaf my mother made.

Do you have a good link you could recommend?

And as an aside, another of my mother's specialities were fried scone dough so they resemble doughnuts, served with lashing of whipped cream and jam. I'd love to make some of those one day as I've finally learned how to make a decent scone. I think she called them 'fried bread'.

This is an (up dated) link that got me started on my rewena bread journey.
https://youtu.be/aHFcjvKKamQ
There is a series of tutorials from making your starter bug to ybaking our first loaf.

Have a go and enjoy.
Fried bread making is another crab of mine too.

Edited by mwplt at 6:40 pm, Tue 26 Feb

mwplt - 2019-02-26 18:29:00

Thanks heaps mwplt. I'll certainly give it a whirl next month maybe.

buzzy110 - 2019-02-27 10:21:00