Sourdough Starter 老酵、麵種
OK, this is not my first attempt at raising these yeast babies. I tried my hand at keeping a sourdough starter about two or three years ago. But not being an enthusiastic baker of breads, I kept forgetting to feed the tub of sourdough starter in my refrigerator and ended up killing the whole tub I had only managed to keep for a couple of months.
Now having spent the last few weeks immerging myself in the dim sum cookbook I bought recently, ‘中國點心製作圖解 Chinese Dim Sum in Pictures’, my hands are getting itchy again and want to keep another tub of sourdough starter for making Chinese steamed buns.
Making sourdough starter is quite easy, all you really need is equal amount of, for example 1 cup each of, plain flour and tepid water. Put the mixture in a glass or plastic bowl in a warm place around 25°C (any temperature hotter than 38°C will kill the yeast). It is best not to have anything metal, eg. metal bowl or spoon, to be in contact with the mixture as it will inhibit the growth of yeast. The mixture will start to pick up wild ‘yeast’ from the air in the atmosphere. Then all you need to do is to feed the mixture every 24 hours by removing half of the mixture (throw it away) and add say, 1/2 cup each of flour and water to the remaining mixture. Try to stir the mixture every 12 hours or so during the interval. After about four to five days, maybe even a week depending on your room temperature, the mixture will be very bubbly with a sour aroma and ready for use. Every time you need the sourdough starter, all you need to do is remove the required amount for use and feed the remaining sourdough starter with equal amount of flour and water. This way you can keep your sourdough starter forever, literally, by not using it all but leaving at least a cup of sourdough starter (remember to feed it) to keep it going. Store the sourdough starter in a glass or plastic container with a loose lid (or punch a couple of nail holes on the lid) in the refrigerator and feed it once every week, or every fortnight if you are lazy, if you don’t use it often. The way to feed the sourdough starter is by throwing away about 1 cup of it and replacing it with equal amount of flour and water, then leave in room temperature for about 6 to 12 hours before storing it back in the refrigerator. The sourdough starter will also accumulate a layer of dark-coloured liquid, called hooch, which contains alcohol. Don’t worry too much about it, just stir it back into the sourdough starter or if you really want to, just pour it away. This method takes about 1 week before you can start to use the sourdough starter. A quicker method is to use dry yeast to start your sourdough starter which is what I am experimenting with. This quicker method will produce a useable sourdough starter within two to three days.
To use the sourdough starter (老酵 or 麵種), you need to make a sponge (also called a proofed starter or 酵麵 or 包種) by adding flour and water to the sourdough starter and leave it to proof for 8 to 12 hours. By then it should have developed a lot of bubbles and has a honeycomb texture inside. Use a wooden or plastic spoon to cut through the sponge to check – it should give easily and when lifted with the spoon, the sponge should break away easily. If the sponge is bubbly on the surface but the inside is still smooth and do not have a honeycomb texture, you need to proof it further. Once the sponge is ready, it can then be used to make the bread or bun dough (發酵麵糰 or 發麵). A general rule of thumb is to use one cup of sourdough starter in place of 30g (1 ounce) fresh yeast, and remember to reduce the amount of flour and water called for in the ingredients by about one cup each.
[Ingredients]
300g (2 cups) plain flour
1 x 7g-sachet instant dry yeast
3 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
500ml (2 cups) tepid water
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
Mix everything together in a glass or plastic mixing bowl and cover with a loose lid or cling-film poked with a few small holes. Leave in a warm and draught-free location for about 48 hours, or until it is bubbly and have a sour aroma. Stir the mixture at least once every 12 hours. Once sourdough starter is ready, you can store it in a glass or plastic container with a loose lid, or drill a couple of holes in the lid, and put it in the refrigerator. Remember to feed it once every week if you are not using it in the meantime.
[Observations]
Starter after 24 hours
Day 1 (after 24 hours): This photo above was taken after 24 hours, but before I stirred it – there were already a lot of bubbles being produced after just a few hours. The starter batter was not smooth yet and there were a lot of big bubbles. Hooch could be seen already.
Day 1 (after 24 hours): This photo above was taken after 24 hours, but after I gave it a stir and changed to its permanent tub. See all the big bubbles. The starter smelt pleasant, like the smell of a freshly baked bread.
Starter after 48 hours
Day 2 (after 48 hours): This photo above was taken after 48 hours, but before I stirred it. As can be seen, the starter batter had become smoother and the bubbles were tiny.
Day 2 (after 48 hours): This photo above was taken after 48 hours, but after I gave it a stir. The tiny bubbles could barely be seen and the starter was very smooth. It now had a light sourish aroma. Ready to be stored into the refrigerator and ready to be used.
Making Sponge (Proofed Starter) using the Sourdough Starter
Sponge: The night before making breads or buns, make the sponge. Here I added 1 cup plain flour and 1/2 cup water to 1/4 cup of Sourdough Starter. Photo taken 11pm the night before making bun dough.
Sponge: after proving for 9 hours (overnight). Photo taken 8am the morning of making bun dough.
Sponge: after proving for 9 hours – evidence of honeycomb structure. Ready to mix into bun dough.
Making Bun Dough using the Sponge from the Sourdough Starter
Bun Dough (using Starter) just after kneading. Ready for proving until double in bulk.
Bun Dough (using Starter) after proving for 2 hours. Nicely doubled in bulk.
Steamed Hua Juan Mantous made from Sourdough Starter. I used normal plain flour to make these, so the colour is beige and not white. They had a very fine texture and soft even after cooling down!
[Tip]
If your sourdough starter appears to have a layer of wrinkly and powdery substance with a reddish tinge on the surface, it means your sourdough has died, so you need to throw it away and start a new batch from scratch.
[Note]
Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
[Info]
References:
1. ‘中國點心製作圖解 Chinese Dim Sum in Pictures’ by 江獻珠, published by 萬里機構．飲食天地出版社, 1994 (2003 reprint edition).
2. Gourmand Bleu: Sourdough Baking by S. John Ross
3. Make it and Bake it: Sourdough
4. Mark Shepard’s Home Page – Simple Sourdough: How to Bake the Best Bread in the World
5. How Stuff Works: How Sourdough Bread Works by Pam Nelson
Now having spent the last few weeks immerging myself in the dim sum cookbook I bought recently, ‘中國點心製作圖解 Chinese Dim Sum in Pictures’, my hands are getting itchy again and want to keep another tub of sourdough starter for making Chinese steamed buns.
Making sourdough starter is quite easy, all you really need is equal amount of, for example 1 cup each of, plain flour and tepid water. Put the mixture in a glass or plastic bowl in a warm place around 25°C (any temperature hotter than 38°C will kill the yeast). It is best not to have anything metal, eg. metal bowl or spoon, to be in contact with the mixture as it will inhibit the growth of yeast. The mixture will start to pick up wild ‘yeast’ from the air in the atmosphere. Then all you need to do is to feed the mixture every 24 hours by removing half of the mixture (throw it away) and add say, 1/2 cup each of flour and water to the remaining mixture. Try to stir the mixture every 12 hours or so during the interval. After about four to five days, maybe even a week depending on your room temperature, the mixture will be very bubbly with a sour aroma and ready for use. Every time you need the sourdough starter, all you need to do is remove the required amount for use and feed the remaining sourdough starter with equal amount of flour and water. This way you can keep your sourdough starter forever, literally, by not using it all but leaving at least a cup of sourdough starter (remember to feed it) to keep it going. Store the sourdough starter in a glass or plastic container with a loose lid (or punch a couple of nail holes on the lid) in the refrigerator and feed it once every week, or every fortnight if you are lazy, if you don’t use it often. The way to feed the sourdough starter is by throwing away about 1 cup of it and replacing it with equal amount of flour and water, then leave in room temperature for about 6 to 12 hours before storing it back in the refrigerator. The sourdough starter will also accumulate a layer of dark-coloured liquid, called hooch, which contains alcohol. Don’t worry too much about it, just stir it back into the sourdough starter or if you really want to, just pour it away. This method takes about 1 week before you can start to use the sourdough starter. A quicker method is to use dry yeast to start your sourdough starter which is what I am experimenting with. This quicker method will produce a useable sourdough starter within two to three days.
To use the sourdough starter (老酵 or 麵種), you need to make a sponge (also called a proofed starter or 酵麵 or 包種) by adding flour and water to the sourdough starter and leave it to proof for 8 to 12 hours. By then it should have developed a lot of bubbles and has a honeycomb texture inside. Use a wooden or plastic spoon to cut through the sponge to check – it should give easily and when lifted with the spoon, the sponge should break away easily. If the sponge is bubbly on the surface but the inside is still smooth and do not have a honeycomb texture, you need to proof it further. Once the sponge is ready, it can then be used to make the bread or bun dough (發酵麵糰 or 發麵). A general rule of thumb is to use one cup of sourdough starter in place of 30g (1 ounce) fresh yeast, and remember to reduce the amount of flour and water called for in the ingredients by about one cup each.
[Ingredients]
300g (2 cups) plain flour
1 x 7g-sachet instant dry yeast
3 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
500ml (2 cups) tepid water
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
Mix everything together in a glass or plastic mixing bowl and cover with a loose lid or cling-film poked with a few small holes. Leave in a warm and draught-free location for about 48 hours, or until it is bubbly and have a sour aroma. Stir the mixture at least once every 12 hours. Once sourdough starter is ready, you can store it in a glass or plastic container with a loose lid, or drill a couple of holes in the lid, and put it in the refrigerator. Remember to feed it once every week if you are not using it in the meantime.
[Observations]
Starter after 24 hours
Day 1 (after 24 hours): This photo above was taken after 24 hours, but before I stirred it – there were already a lot of bubbles being produced after just a few hours. The starter batter was not smooth yet and there were a lot of big bubbles. Hooch could be seen already.
Day 1 (after 24 hours): This photo above was taken after 24 hours, but after I gave it a stir and changed to its permanent tub. See all the big bubbles. The starter smelt pleasant, like the smell of a freshly baked bread.
Starter after 48 hours
Day 2 (after 48 hours): This photo above was taken after 48 hours, but before I stirred it. As can be seen, the starter batter had become smoother and the bubbles were tiny.
Day 2 (after 48 hours): This photo above was taken after 48 hours, but after I gave it a stir. The tiny bubbles could barely be seen and the starter was very smooth. It now had a light sourish aroma. Ready to be stored into the refrigerator and ready to be used.
Making Sponge (Proofed Starter) using the Sourdough Starter
Sponge: The night before making breads or buns, make the sponge. Here I added 1 cup plain flour and 1/2 cup water to 1/4 cup of Sourdough Starter. Photo taken 11pm the night before making bun dough.
Sponge: after proving for 9 hours (overnight). Photo taken 8am the morning of making bun dough.
Sponge: after proving for 9 hours – evidence of honeycomb structure. Ready to mix into bun dough.
Making Bun Dough using the Sponge from the Sourdough Starter
Bun Dough (using Starter) just after kneading. Ready for proving until double in bulk.
Bun Dough (using Starter) after proving for 2 hours. Nicely doubled in bulk.
Steamed Hua Juan Mantous made from Sourdough Starter. I used normal plain flour to make these, so the colour is beige and not white. They had a very fine texture and soft even after cooling down!
[Tip]
If your sourdough starter appears to have a layer of wrinkly and powdery substance with a reddish tinge on the surface, it means your sourdough has died, so you need to throw it away and start a new batch from scratch.
[Note]
Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
[Info]
References:
1. ‘中國點心製作圖解 Chinese Dim Sum in Pictures’ by 江獻珠, published by 萬里機構．飲食天地出版社, 1994 (2003 reprint edition).
2. Gourmand Bleu: Sourdough Baking by S. John Ross
3. Make it and Bake it: Sourdough
4. Mark Shepard’s Home Page – Simple Sourdough: How to Bake the Best Bread in the World
5. How Stuff Works: How Sourdough Bread Works by Pam Nelson
posted by SeaDragon @ 21.4.05
3 Comments:
im so glad i found your blog. been looking for sourdough starter recipe for the longest time...do u mind sharing the recipe of the bread you used here? thanks.
Hi marilou,
The steamed buns in the last pic? I made those in 2005, I can only vaguely remember them :)
Basically you take a small piece of the proved dough, roll it out thinly. From one end, you roll it up like a swiss roll until you reach the middle. Start rolling up from the other end until the rolls meet in the middle. So now you have something like two mini swiss rolls connected to each other.
Turn the rolls so that one sits on top of the other. Use a chopstick or a thin stick to press down in the middle of the rolls. Steam for about 10-12 minutes. HTH.
Oh, I forgot, you need to brush the surface of the dough after you roll it out with a rolling pin with a little sesame oil, before you start rolling it up like swiss rolls.
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