Last October I contributed to a Kickstarter for one of my favorite homesteading authors. The other day I received my rewards copy of her newest book.
by Kate Downham
I've dabbled with sourdough a few times in the past, because if I can master sourdough, I'll never have to buy baking yeast again. I had some success with enough failures to finally give it up. I had two basic problems:
- Amounts, including amounts of flour and water to feed and the amount of starter it made. I always seemed to have way too much.
- Room temperature, which is said to be 68°F to 77°F (20°C to 25°C). Without central heating and cooling, my kitchen only maintains this range in spring and autumn. The rest of the year it's either hotter or colder than that.
All of that might have been a reason to ignore the Kickstarter and ignore the book. But Kate's books are exceptional in both the information she presents and the way she presents it. Her A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen was fantastic and her Natural Small Batch Cheesemaking is the best book I've ever read on cheesemaking. So in spite of my past sourdough failures, I had every confidence that with Kate's help, I could succeed.
Sourdough Without Fail is loaded with information I had no idea about. She not only discusses the art of sourdough making, but also the science. The amount of information is almost overwhelming! But Kate's encouraging attitude basically tells the reader, You don't have to actually know all this stuff, it's just here if you ever want it, feel free to jump right in on the recipes.
With that I turned to page 16 and followed the instructions for making a sourdough starter from scratch. Then I sat down to read through the book. I was delighted that she addresses both of my problems.
My first problem had been with amounts. Recipes varied quite a bit with the amounts of flour and water to add. Some included a sprinkling of yeast or a bit of sugar. Many recipes had you throwing away most of the starter and feeding only a little bit of it. From Kate I learned that I don't have to be making and feeding large amounts of starter to begin with. Yes, it increases from feeding, but Kate also includes "discard" recipes, i.e. recipes using the starter before it's fully matured, things like crackers, flatbread or pancakes. No waste!
My second problem was with inconsistent room temperature. Kate herself lives off-grid, so she had the answers. I'm learning how to help my starter thrive even when the room is too hot or too cold. An excellent little chart summarizes everything I need to know and do to keep my starter at its best no matter the season.
More things I'm learning:
- why bakers fail with sourdough
- types of sourdough starters and their feeding ratios
- types of flours and other ingredients
- all about hydration (moisture content) of the dough and how it affects the bread
- stages of sourdough ripeness (and what each is useful for)
- the difference between a starter and a pre-ferment
- tips for mixing, kneading, proofing, baking, and cooling sourdough bread
- baker's percentages
Numerous recipes discuss various types of whole grain flours: rye, wheat, spelt, white, and gluten-free such as buckwheat, oat, rice, quinoa, polenta, and chia. How about scalded flour? That's a new one for me!
What I love about her recipes is that each one presents amounts in a chart for you to select how much you want to make. Since I just cook for two, I don't need 4 loaves, 4 cakes, or 4 dozen muffins very often. Especially not with starter always growing and at the ready. With Kate's charts I can scale down the amounts I bake so that we can have fresh bread and baked goodies whenever we want.
One word of warning. The photos are in color and are guaranteed to make your mouth water! Seriously, I want to try every one of them.
The book is only available on pre-order at present. You can see it at Amazon here. I believe Kate is planning an announcement and giveaway on Permies later this year, so I'll be sure to let you know when that is. She'll be available then to engage with readers and answer questions.
In the meantime, we'll see if I can have success practicing my newly learned skills.
How wonderful that she addresses both of the issues you were having! No doubt that you’ll be making nourishing breads in quick order. The fun is in the learning!
ReplyDeleteDaisy, I'm just hoping it's a success. :)
DeleteI also have tried making sourdough many times, mostly from scratch. Lots of failures as well. The part I dislike the most is how much all the recipes say to 'discard'. I hate waste and find the 'discard' just too, too much to use with just two of us. I really don't want to be tied in the kitchen!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds like something I could use.
Will be looking forward to hearing about your progress.
Rosalea, throwing some of it away is definitely annoying. That's why I was happy to find Kate's discussion about the maturity (ripeness) of the starter and its best uses along the way. The recipe part of the book has an entire section of "discard" recipes that she calls "anytime sourdough." I definitely recommend adding this book to your wish list.
DeleteThe room temperature is a thing with me, too. I have central heating and air but never warm or cool the house to within that range. So information in how to work that way would be good. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteLiz, that's good to know. Not all houses heat or cool evenly! The book gets into a number of ways to deal with that, from the temperature of the feeding water to the times of feeding the starter. I honestly have hope for success this time. I'd say this book is worth it for anyone who is interested in sourdough.
DeleteMy wife had lots of issues too until she found this book by Ken Forkish: https://www.amazon.com/Flour-Water-Salt-Yeast-Fundamentals/dp/160774273X
ReplyDeleteAfter that, we have had an abundance of sour dough starter for the last two or three years and can leave it in the fridge for a couple months at a time before bringing it out and reviving it.
Ed, I'll have to see if my library has it. I do like comparing information and notes from different authors. Nice that you finally had success!
DeleteOh, I think I need this book! I had good success with the commercial sourdough starter I purchased, but when I searched online for whole grain sourdough recipes I didn't get any satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, sourdough seems so simple but apparently it's trickier that we think. This is a very helpful book and I'm very hopeful for success this time!
DeleteLeigh, you make me excited to read it!
ReplyDeleteTB, the amount of technical information is amazing. I don't expect to remember it all, but understanding the principles really helps.
DeleteIt's good to have the info to make perfect loaves. The good thing is that even lop sided loaves, with visible seams on the bottom, loaves which have a different type of crumb, or may be lighter or heavier than expected, are almost always still good to eat. Nothing wrong with perfecting your skills, but also nice to know that those which don't work out perfectly, may still fill our bellies in a satisfying way. It's good when you find a well set out method with good info. That is much more difficult to find. There are some iffy bread books out there for sure!
ReplyDeleteNina, the book has a rather technical discussion of flours, crumb, and hydration. I'm gathering that a tad too sticky is better than too dry. It will be a learning experience for sure. I just hope I don't take too long to catch on. :)
DeleteSounds great! I have tried some sourdough with pretty good success in the past but when it died I just never replaced it I'm in the same boat baking for two. And I have cutaway back on my carbs and increased my protein so, but you got to have bread once in a while! I used to make sourdough apple pancakes with diced apple and cinnamon. You would add those into the batter. Then you made a topping with butter and brown sugar. My kids loved it!
ReplyDeleteNancy, the pancakes sound yummy.
DeleteAt the start, it seems like I'm baking more than usual, because part of the starter has to be used daily. The author gives about two weeks to let it fully mature, and after that I can store it in the refrigerator to use as needed.