Sourdough Starter Experiment

After a burst of inspiration from watching Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstall as he taught a bunch of mums on how to make bread, I set of to create his sourdough starter recipe. It is very simple - 2 tablespoons wholewheat flour, same amount of white flour, enough warm water to make a thick batter which has the consistency of double cream. The batter is whisked and fingers are crossed such that some wild yeast gets incorporated into the mixture to create the magic. He added a small slice of rhubarb, which is supposed to make it work. I didn't have any rhubarb handy, so I'll just keep my fingers crossed :D

I covered it with clingfilm and left it in the kitchen counter where it could get warm for the most part of the afternoon. Hopefully overnight it would leave some telltale signs of activity (foam, bubbles?). As it will be a living matter, it should be constantly fed with flour and water for a week. In every home there is wild yeast naturally occurring, and I hope that this starter catches a good dose of this wild yeast!

Those bubbles are from whisking though :)
If this succeeds I will have my first sourdough starter :) so wish me luck!

Making sourdough breads would be a great addition to  my usual soda breads, focaccia, pan de sal... I am really looking  forward to it! I'm still reading about starters and how to feed them. After leaving this overnight I'm supposed to discard half and topup lukewarm water and flour. Discarding half of it makes the mixture keeps the acid levels of the mixture on a good level, as it ferments more. It is an interesting chemistry experiment, just like the ones we had in school, except this time I am slightly more keen to enjoy the practical applications.. so watch this space!

Here's one of the episodes about sourdough starter from the River Cottage TV series.

Yes, I am a fan :)