Sourdough help?

[Eireann]

I like the idea of making sourdough bread. It doesn't use yeast, it's better for you, and so on. I have some starter (homemade) in the kitchen.

I discovered that it doesn't rise. I even left a loaf overnight, and nothing happened. When I gave up and baked it, that's when it rose. It turned out well, but damn! Was it SOUR! I've read that other people have had the same problem, so they add honey to the batter.

So. Today, I made a loaf. I didn't wait for it to rise, because it doesn't rise. I just added honey and flour to some starter, and went for it.

It just came out of the oven looking almost exactly as it did when it went it. No rising.

Is it best, then, to make the "sponge", as they call it, the night before, then make the dough and leave it for a while before baking?

[Kogarashi]

I can't be much help myself, but Hubby loves baking sourdough, and recommends visiting www.thefreshloaf.com. It's a site intended for amateur bakers, though skill level varies widely there, and Hubby says they've got some good articles on sourdough to check out.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

It must use some yeast. I don't know you'd ever make the starter, much less make the bread rise, if you don't use yeast. What's your starter made of?

I used to bake regularly and actually kept a sourdough culture sitting on my counter in a fermentation jug with a bubbler on it. It had yeast in it, all right.

[Eireann]

The raising property comes from wild yeasts, which are very different from the yeast used in regular bread (healthier stuff, for one). My starter is just flour and water. The flour itself contains what is needed to make the bread rise.

[Kogarashi]

That's what my husband said. Instead of adding yeast, you try to cultivate the wild yeast that forms or something like that. ::is bread-baking-clueless::

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I don't know how that works with bread, but I know how it works with wine, and it's essentially Russian Roulette. You may get a good wine out of it, but you're most likely to get undrinkable swill out of it. And winemaking ain't the cheapest hobby out there if you're talking about a five gallon batch. I'd risk it with bread or a one gallon batch of brew.

If you're just going to invite wild yeast, why not start out with a more reliable yeast cultivar?

Hey...wonder what would happen if you tried to make bread with wine yeast? (although I do know what would happen if you tried to do the reverse. It wasn't pretty.)

[telecom_goddess]

It must use some yeast. I don't know you'd ever make the starter, much less make the bread rise, if you don't use yeast. What's your starter made of?

I used to bake regularly and actually kept a sourdough culture sitting on my counter in a fermentation jug with a bubbler on it. It had yeast in it, all right.

I have a crock with starter in it now...I created it about a year ago with flour, water, yeast an sugar. If I don't use it for 10 days I add a little sugar and stir it up. When I go to use it I don't usually sponge it the day before, I just use a cup of it when I make sourdough bread in the machine and then replenish it with a half of cup of flour and water and about a tablespoon of sugar.

Works well and the more sour it is the better. Sourdough starter can be kept for YEARS and YEARS. It just gets more sour with time....again not a bad thing.