So far, so good.  I put together my sourdough starter on Monday, January 4.  On Wednesday, January 7 I followed the instructions for the first feeding.  Then I went out of town until Sunday, January 10 and the first thing I did when I got home was start my first loaf of sourdough bread.  Then I fed the starter and the process begins again! 

Sourdough Starter Replenishment
Ingredients
1-1 1/3 cups any flour (Flour type will depend on what you used in the original starter.)
1-1 1/3 cups water
1 heaping tablespoon plain yogurt or a pinch of sugar, optional

Instructions
1. Let the refrigerated starter come to room temperature.  Stir well.  Discard half of the starter if you haven’t used any and you don’t want to accumulate too much.  Pour the remaining starter into a bowl.  Add equal amounts of flour and water.  Add yogurt or sugar if you want to increase starter activity.  Mix well. 

2. Wash out the original starter container using soap and hot water, or by running it through the dishwasher, to get rid of any remaining bacteria.  Then return the starter to the original container and cover it with several thicknesses of cheesecloth held in place with a rubber band.  Let the starter stand at room temperature, stirring several times a day, until bubbly, overnight to 2 days depending on how sour you want it.  It will continue to bubble and expand.  If the starter turns colour, has an unpleasant aroma, or grows any type of mold, the starter is out of balance and must be completely discarded.  Do not leave the starter at room temperature longer than 5 days without feeding it. 

3. After the starter has been allowed to stand at room temperature to ferment, cover it with a layer of plastic wrap help in place with a rubber band, or transfer it to a freezer-quality self-sealing bag, and refrigerate it.  The best starters are those used and replenished at least weekly. 

I love sourdough bread and have, in the past, attempted to get a starter going and keep it going in order to have fresh homemade sourdough bread at whim.  And every time I have failed for various reasons. 

I had the brilliant idea that I could make this easier by using a Pampered Chef pitcher that my parents gave me years ago, so I pulled that out of the cabinet, washed it really well, and was all set to go.  I found the following recipe in The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook and selected it because I have all of the ingredients on hand. 

French Buttermilk Starter
Ingredients
3/4 cup flour
Large pinch of yeast
1-1 1/4 cups buttermilk

For the first feeding
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons water

Instructions
1. Whisk together the 3/4 cup flour, yeast, and buttermilk in a medium bowl; the mixture should be thick like a pancake batter.  Add a bit more flour to adjust the consistency, if necessary.  Transfer to a plastic container or crock.  Cover with a few layers of cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band; then cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Let stand at warm room temperature 24 hours.  It will be bubbly, begin to ferment, and smell delightful.  There will be tiny yellow dots of butter from the buttermilk on the top.

2. After 36 hours when the starter begins to smell sour, feed it with the 2 tablespoons of flour and the water; whisk to combine.  Let stand for 1 to 2 more days, until the desired degree of sourness is achieved.  This started can be used 3 or 4 days after it is initially mixed.  The longer you let it sit, the more sour it will be; you can judge how sour the starter has become by the way it smells.  If you are not ready to use it after 3 or 4 days, let it stand a few more days to continue to sour, or store it in the refrigerator, covered loosely, until you are ready to use it. 

All of this seems easy enough, right? 

I looked at this self stirring pitcher, looked at the ingredients, and thought “I should double the ingredients because this pitcher is huge!”  So I did.  I dumped them all into the pitcher and realized, quickly, that the stirring mechanism doesn’t work very well when you’ve only got 1-2 inches of stuff in the bottom. 

So I decided to move the starter to a 4 cup screw-top container instead and just hope that a cat doesn’t knock it over in the night.  Then I went online and decided I really needed a stoneware crock, so I ordered that.  Here’s hoping the plastic container suffices for the next 5 to 7 business days. 

I suppose the better course of action would have been to remake the starter for the new container, after the flub in the Pampered Chef pitcher, but I’m out of buttermilk now so that’s not an option.  I’ll know in a few days if it’s working or not.  Right?  I hope?

Last week my family finally settled the gas vs. charcoal debate and we got a Big Green Egg grill.  Since I had already planned meals for the end of the week, I had to wait until Sunday to be able to grill anything.  Tonight dinner was grilled burgers and corn but I also grilled eggplant, yellow zucchini, a red bell pepper, and baby portobello mushrooms for use with sandwiches and pizzas later in the week.  


Here is the beautiful egg!  It’s the large size which we felt would be perfect for the three of us plus any guests we might want to feed.  The shelves on either side collapse and lay flat against the grill.