For many years, almost no one knew what it was, while today it is very fashionable: mother yeast , or sourdough.
What distinguishes it from brewer's yeast?
Difference between sourdough and brewer's yeast
Brewer's yeast is made up only of yeasts (used, as the name suggests, for the fermentation of beer), while sourdough contains, in addition to yeast, many different microorganisms, many good bacteria that are beneficial to our health.
Brewer's yeast must be purchased (it can be found in fresh or dried form). Sourdough starter can also be purchased, but you can also make it yourself very easily.
The recipe for homemade sourdough starter
Only warning: strictly respect the preparation times.
Ingredients (to start)
- 40 grams of strong flour (Manitoba or 1 or W 300 approximately)
- 20 grams of mineral or filtered water, without chlorine.
- 1 teaspoon of honey
- 5 – 6 raisins
- 1 large glass jar with a wide mouth
- A sheltered, warm and dimly lit corner where it can grow
Preparation
- If you only have tap water, prepare some in a glass and let it settle for a few hours: the chlorine will dissolve.
- Rinse the raisins and blend them with the indicated amount of water.
- Pour the flour into the glass jar, using a spoon to mix it with the water in which the raisins were blended, add the pinch of honey.
- Cover the jar loosely (with an upturned saucer, or with cling film with holes in it) and leave it to rest quietly for 48 hours.
- Take the yeast, remove the top part that will have dried out, add 20 grams of water and 30 grams of flour, knead gently, and let it rest for another 48 hours.
- After this time, you should notice the yeast starting to ferment: you'll see bubbles on the surface, and through the glass, you'll notice the first bubbles. Remove any dry particles with a teaspoon, then refresh the mixture by adding another 70 grams of flour and 40 grams of water.
- After the first two 48-hour intervals, subsequent refreshments should be done every 24 hours, for another four or five days. Weigh the dough, add equal amounts of flour and half the water. You'll eventually have to throw away some of the dough: fortunately, the ingredients are very simple and inexpensive. In the meantime, it's a good idea to use a new, clean container, always glass, and replace it each time.
- Eight or nine days have passed since we started the sourdough starter, and we can make our first attempt at bread making. The yeast won't be very strong yet, but it's strong enough to produce a well-aired loaf.
- From now on, the yeast should be kept in the refrigerator and refreshed once a week, according to these proportions: weight of yeast + half the weight of water + the same weight of flour.
- The required amount of yeast is equal to 20% of the flour's weight, assuming it's already refreshed. Therefore, for 500 grams of flour, you'll need 100 grams of sourdough starter.
Sourdough is alive, so nothing it does is entirely predictable.
The startup might not go well, and don't be surprised: try again. It will take at least twenty days to get it up to full strength.
How to store the mother yeast
Sourdough starter can be kept for a very long time if properly nourished and stored. It only fears neglect and being forgotten. Regular weekly refreshments ensure success, and if it begins to lose some of its vigor, two or three refreshments more frequently will restore its energy.
Sourdough leavening times
Sourdough starter's leavening time is much longer than that of brewer's yeast— at least 24 hours, depending on the recipe —but this is a non-operational time for us: it works silently and without disturbing us. The advantages of such a long leavening are significant: the resulting product is more digestible, stays fresh for longer, and the gluten content is reduced, thanks to a sort of pre-digestion performed by the yeast itself.
Let's not forget that it is a natural and very ancient product , far from today's frenetic pace!
READ MORE: Pizza, the recipe for making it at home with sourdough. Crispy, light, and easy to digest.
Refreshing the sourdough starter
- Il weekly refreshment This could become a problem during holidays or other absences. The yeast can be transformed into Licoli (liquid culture yeast): with each refreshment, increase the amount of water by 5 grams, until the amount of water is the same as the flour. Licoli can last up to 20 days without refreshment.
What to know about sourdough starter
- Sourdough starter was invented well before the introduction of kitchen scales: after weighing it the first few times, learn to visualize the quantities of flour and water needed, so you don't have to weigh it again: your yeast won't notice.
Once you have your sourdough starter, use it to make bread, pizza, focaccia, and biscuits: here's a collection of simple recipes, perfect for experimenting in the kitchen.
And once the sourdough starter is ready, reuse it to make delicious homemade bread . But be careful: read the recipe through to the end to determine the dough's resting time. Start the day before!
Preparation time: 10-20 minutes
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes
Ingredients
- 250 grams of Manitoba flour
- 250 grams of flour 0 or 1
- 100 grams of refreshed sourdough starter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 350-400 grams of water
Preparation
- Refresh the sourdough starter (if dough, weigh it and use equal amounts of flour and half of water).
- Take 100 gramsand let it rest for a few hours in a covered bowl, out of the fridge.
- Pick up the dough, add the flours, the salt and, little by little, the water needed to obtain a soft, easily manipulated, but compact dough (you can do it by hand or, more quickly, in a mixer).
- Cover with a plate or a silicone lid and store in the refrigerator until the next day.
- In the morning, take the dough out of the refrigerator and leave it for a few hours at room temperature, in a place sheltered from the air.
- Work it a little bit, stretching it and folding it two or three times, let it rest for another couple of hours.
- Give the dough its shape whichever you prefer: a single loaf or a couple of loaves, and let them rise in the oven with the heat off for an hour.
- Bake the bread, at 190° for the first ten minutes, then lower the temperature to 160° until fully cooked.
Read also:
- Panettone, the recipe for making it at home with sourdough starter. Fill the dough with raisins and candied orange peel.
- Plum tart: the perfect recipe with sourdough starter and sunflower oil
- The recipe for making Easter Colomba at home, with sourdough starter
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