Most people think of Sourdough as a Sour dough French Bread and yes, it can be.  Sourdough can be traced back time many thousands of years and  and as with many discoveries and innovations, it was most likely by accident that our ancestors figured out what to do with it.

Sourdough is a bread made from a fermented yeast mixture.  Sourdough can be saved from one bread making day to the next.  Those bakers who have a special sourdough starter, baby it and take good of it, feeding it almost every day to keep it ‘alive’.  The Goldminer’s during Gold Rush Days kept their sourdough in special packets and used it on a daily basis to make their breadstuffs.

You can make your own Sourdough by combining Flour and Warm Water and leaving it out in a warm place uncovered so that it can catch the wild yeast in the air.  And yes, there is yeast in the air, although if you leave your starter near an open window, it will ferment faster.

You can purchase a Sourdough Starter from on-line sources along with directions on how to use it and preserve it.

If you don’t wish to make your own sourdough and breadstuffs, you can just go down to the market and purchase a loaf of sourdough.  Or go to San Francisco and buy some of their famous Sourdough Bread.

In addition to bread, Sourdough can be used for pancakes and waffles and biscuits and muffins.  Since April is National Sourdough Day,  you may want to think of ways that you can use Sourdough in your family’s meal.  Many restaurants serve Clam Chowder or Chili in small Sourdough Bowls which you can purchase at some bakeries or markets.

Try the recipe below for Sourdough Starter.  It can be used for Pancakes or Bread.  You actually don’t need a recipe for bread;  you just have to get the right proportion of ingredients (yeast/liquid) to achieve a nice soft and elastic dough.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ cups Warm Water

1 cup Flour

1 tsp. Yeast  (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

• Combine the all the Ingredients in a glass bowl;  cover with cheese cloth and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 3 days.
• Place in a sterile jar.  (dishwasher clean is okay)
• Refrigerate until ready to use.

     USING YOUR SOURDOUGH STARTER

• Remove the starter from the refrigerator and measure out the amount of starter called for in the recipe.  Set this in a warm 85 degree spot for 1 hour.
• Add enough warm water and All-Purpose Flour in equal parts to the remaining starter to bring it back up to its original level in its storage container.  Stir it well and return it to the refrigerator.
• If the recipe calls for more than half of your starter and you desire to use the starter within the next week, it is recommended that the replenished starter be placed in a warm 85 degree spot for 8 to 12 hours before returning it to the refrigerator in order to restore its strength.

For a recipe for Sourdough Pancakes please go to the recipe section of this blog.  breads/sourdough-pancakes/