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Tess Pennington
Ready Nutrition
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Where would we be
non-existent, and
ts would cease to
asts are made for
tilling spirits.
Knowing ways of making this essential prep would be beneficial to anyone trying
to live off of the food supply they have. Grains, vegetables and fruits are thr
ee of the easiest ways to find yeast. Some have even used herbs to get their ye
ast.
How Does It Work?
Did you know that yeast is actually alive on plants? As long as it has warmth,
moisture, and food to grow, it will stay alive. Fruits, vegetables, herbs, and
all edible sources have yeast living on it s surface. As a result, using differen
t produce will add to the flavor of the bread you make. Simply by soaking the p
roduce in water, you can separate the yeast and use the water it is floating in.
The water and yeast actually start the fermentation process that when mixed wi
th flours creates that desirable baked good we love so much. This fermented con
coction is also called a bread starter by some.
By using this method, however much water the recipe calls for is how much water
to soak the fruit, vegetable, herb or grain in. Those that have used this metho
d rave about raisins as being one of the best fruits to use for acquiring yeast.
Grains
In the book, The Little House Cookbook, Ma Ingalls explains how she ferments her
bread dough using what she has on hand, You start it by putting some flour and wa
rm water in a jar and letting it stand till it sours Then you use it, always a litt
le. And put in the scraps of biscuit dough and add warm water, and cover it and j
ust set it in a warm place.
Because yeast is already present on grains, when combined with water, the yeast
will separate from the grain. As a result of the soaking process, the combinati
on will begin to ferment.
To create this starter you will need:
in your possessi
experiences. Eve
be made with wil
Think of it as y
morph into and e
. In a wild yeast starter the natural airborne yeast and bacterias get to the po
int of where they populate the starter so they have the upper hand and no other
harmful yeasts or bacterias can establish themselves. This usually takes about 7
or 8 days depending on several environmental factors. The longer your starter i
s going into the 7 or 8 day process of becoming populated, the more resistant it
is to contamination. Note that this behavior is similar to other fermented food
s such as beer, kraut, etc.
In an effort to reliably make wild yeast starters, many various methods have bee
n devised; some that are as complex as making bread itself. These methods includ
e adding berries or plums to the starter (the white powdery substance on the top
of blueberries and plums is yeast bloom which supposedly helps starters get goi
ng), adding sultanas (which also supposedly have beneficial yeasts or sugars), a
dding juices, adding milk, adding small amounts of baker's yeast and even replac
ing large amounts of starter on a daily basis.
Wild yeast starter method variations don't significantly affect the final outcom
e of your bread texture-wise and flavor-wise so it's a good idea to just keep it
simple. I've found that as long as you relax, let the yeast and bacterias do th
e work and attend to your starter as described below, you'll have no need for co
mplex, confusing starter regimens. This will allow you to focus more on the baki
ng aspect of your bread so it turns out as awesome as it can be.
Keep in mind that wild yeast starters don't have a 100% success rate. Sometimes
you'll do everything right and it will get infected with foreign bacteria or it
will never get started by the yeast. Remember, we're doing a wild fermentation s
o we're dependent on what nature gives us.
This is a very easy sourdough starter method that should provide reliable, consi
stent results. You can use any type flour for a sourdough starter but many baker
s report that the best flavor comes from whole wheat flour, rye flour or a combi
nation of the two.
Making Your Starter
Making wild yeast starter
cup bread flour, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour or rye flour
cup + 2 Tablespoons water
Place flour and water in a very clean large bowl or jar and stir until well inco
rporated. It's important to use glass or stainless steel bowls. non-stainless st
eel bowls can react with the lactic and acetic acids present in the mixture. Pla
stic bowls can also produce off flavors due to foods that have been stored in th
em in the past. Cover the bowl with a cheesecloth secured by a rubber band. In t
he morning, mix in about 2 Tablespoons flour and 2 Tablespoons water. In the eve
ning give the mixture another stir. Organic flour is preferred because it has th
e least amount of pesticide residue, which may affect the ability of your starte
r to get going. If your water is heavily treated, use filtered or bottled water
to help promote maximum yeast and bacteria activity. In between stirrings it's n
ormal for the mixture to separate and for a small layer of water to be on the to
p.
The mixture should start to show bubbles within about 4 to 7 days depending on t
emperature, humidity and other environmental factors. During these first several
days, the starter may inhabit certain yeasts and/or bacterias that are not pref
erred. They should only be there for a couple days, as the rising of the yeasts
and bacterias that we want will overpower them and they will diminish. After the
starter shows bubbles for an additional 2 to 3 days it will have generated enou
gh yeast to make it suitable for using. Feel free to taste your mixture after mi
xing each day to get a feel for how it's doing. If the mixture begins to smell p
utrid you can attempt to 'rescue' your starter. Do this by discarding 1 cup of t
he starter and mixing in 1 cup of fresh flour and 1 cup of water, then proceed w
ith the normal feeding schedule.
Using Your Starter
Once the mixture gets to this state it's important to use some of it within a fe
w days and replenish it with the amount of water equal to what you removed, plus
an equal amount of flour. For example, if you removed 1 cup of the mixture, add
1 cup of water, 1 cup of flour and mix until smooth.
Maintaining Your Starter
In wild yeast starter the acids build up twice
y doesn't turn into an issue because the yeast
if you regularly feed the starter. The Boudin
osedly been going for over a hundred years. If
d it will start to smell and taste putrid.
If you bake bread about once a month or so, you also have the option of storing
your starter covered with an air tight lid in the refrigerator. The benefit of t
his is that to maintain your starter you only need to remove it from the refrige
rator once per week, feed it by stirring in 3 Tablespoons of flour and 3 Tablesp
oons water and allow it to wake up for about 4 hours before either using it or p
lacing it back into the refrigerator again. If you use your starter to bake brea
d remember to replenish the 1 cup you removed with 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of w
ater.
Summary of Making a Sourdough Starter and Sponge
Make your starter
Day 1
Mix 1 cup water and 1 cup flour. Cover with cheesecloth.
Day 2
Add 2 Tablespoons flour and 2 Tablespoons water stirring
cheesecloth.
Day 3
Add 2 Tablespoons flour and 2 Tablespoons water stirring
cheesecloth.
Day 4
Add 2 Tablespoons flour and 2 Tablespoons water stirring
cheesecloth.
Day 5
Add 2 Tablespoons flour and 2 Tablespoons water stirring
cheesecloth.
Day 6
Add 2 Tablespoons flour and 2 Tablespoons water stirring
cheesecloth.
Day 7
Add 2 Tablespoons flour and 2 Tablespoons water stirring
cheesecloth.
Day 8
Proceed to making your sponge.
Make your sponge
it increases in size between 50% and 100%. Alternatively, you can place the spon
ge in the refrigerator overnight which will generate a more flavorful loaf. In t
his case, the sponge will need to be removed in the morning so it will be able t
o double from it's original size. The level of rise be checked by using a kitche
n utensil such as a knife as a dipstick, dipping into the mixture once at the be
ginning and taking subsequent measurements until the dough has gotten to it's pr
oper size. I already posted this picture above but this measuring method is show
n below.
Measure the rise of the sponge
The point to making a sponge is to give your starter a large amount of food so i
t gets a running start before it ends up in your final dough. This will allow yo
ur final dough to leaven as effectively as possible. After your starter has reac
hed sufficient size It is now ready to use in your bread recipe's final dough.
Stay tuned for recipes that make use of wild yeast starter.