Sourdough Starter & Sourdough Bread

Since a few day I was finally successful in keeping my Sourdough Starter puppies alive =).
I tried it in Turin, but there the temperature was simply too low, so I am not the one to blame.
I tried here. My mom is superactive the whole day keeping the house warm and cosy.


How to make a successful Sourdough Starter?

You will need :
a jar (that you can close).
50 g flour (+100 g)
50 ml water (luke warm) (+100ml)

Mix the two ingredients, put in a jar which you will close and store in a warm, dry place.
After 24 hours, add another 50 g of flour and 50 ml water (not cold!, but lukewarm).
Store again and the day after repeat the process another time.
At this time, bubbles will fill your jar.
Don't panic if there aren't many many bubbles, if there're just a few bubbles it means they're alive down there!



Now you can use your starte to make Sourdough Bread
If you don't use the starter in one week you can keep it stored, no problem, but after a week remember to refresh it, the little ones there need to eat, so add 50 g of flour and 50 ml of water.

If you want to keep some Started for the next time, not to have to redo the whole process, just put a ball of dough in the jar (and remember to refresh it if not used to a week).

Directions

Mix the Sourdough starter in a large Bowl with flour and lukewarm water until a dough ball, if you're familiar with bread baking you just fell and know when the proportions are right. You'll have to have a soft and light dough, do not add too much flour because the Stater has to do his work, and carrying all that flour can be heavy for them.
Don't forget to add 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Allow to rest for 1.5 hour or 2 hours if you aren't in a hurry.
Butter or oil a baking pan.
Knead the dough and put in the baking pan, allow to rest another hour.
Preheat the oven at 190 °C (380 F).
Bruch a little of olive oil (easy for me to say, I live in Italy and in a olive oil producing region too) on top of the dough and put in the oven for 20/30 minutes.
Allow to cool on a rack (ok, this is the most difficult step, I never do this) and..eat!


I hope I helped somebody, it's so easy and nice to know you can make bread out of scarcely three ingredients.
I know it seems an impossible mission to do this, and it takes three days to get the starter ready, but you have to do almost nothing if those three days. And it has a delicious taste.

Juliette