When life makes you sour,

make sourdough!*

A friend of mine gave me some sourdough starter the other week and after a false start last weekend I thought I'd complete a fermentation triptych yesterday. read up on what I was supposed to do with it and give it a go. Turns out that there is a lot of information on sourdough out there, and unlike the brewing and cheese making websites & forums (which are generally pretty easy-going) sourdough people seem to have strong views on what it is and how it should be used. You get the impression that if you get it wrong your starter will tweet your failure for the world to know and a collective of eye-rolling San Franciscon arthisans will hold a memorial ceremony for it.

Luckily I also have a copy of 'Wild Fermentation' by Sandor Ellix Katz, a great reference book for all things fermentable. He follows the 'as much as you think and then a bit more' school of recipe construction and was the original guide for my kimchi experiments. He also has a section on sourdough which offered some good advice on how it all works and that, coupled with Liz's previous experiences in breadmaking, helped a lot.

First off make sure that you have at least two cup fulls of good, bubbly sourdough starter

In a large bowl, mix the starter with around 4 cup fulls of breadmaking flour and stir well

 Add some lukewarm water as it thickens up and keep stirring - you're looking to make a stiff batter

Cover & leave it in a warm place for anywhere between 8 and 24 hrs and stir it occasionally. This is called a sponge, and gives the yeast some time to prepare for the trials ahead  

 When the sponge has increased in size and is good and bubbly you can start stage 2

Mix in another 3-4 cups of flour into the bowl until you can't stir it with a spoon. Then take out of the bowl and put on a floured surface for working & kneading. Handy hint - prepare this before you get dough all over your fingers, or have a helpful partner who can assist with the minimum of eye-rolling and "I told you so's"

Keep kneading the dough for a good 10 minutes or so until it becomes smooth and elastic. You'll probably need to add more flour to the board, to replace both the flour that is being absorbed by the dough and the flour that is ending up all over your shirt, trousers, feet, floor, walls etc

Eventually you'll have a nice smooth ball of dough that is elastic and slightly springy.Leave in an oiled bowl under a damp tea towel for a few more hours until it has increased in size from this

 to this

You're almost ready. Next grease a bread pan or a baking tray and shape the dough.

Leave for another couple of hours for the dough to increase in size again (or until you realise that bedtime is fast approaching) and then pop in the over at 200 degrees C for 40 minutes or so

 And voila - 'easy' sourdough

It's nice, especially when it's hot and fresh, but I'm not convinced. I reckon making two loaves of sourdough took almost as long as the brewing part of making 24l of beer......  

*OK, I recognise that I've worn that title joke out....