01-06-2021, 23:07
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#1
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Area Commander
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Cochise Co., AZ
Posts: 6,177
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Dehydrated sourdough starter
A couple of weeks ago friends of ours who live on a sailboat regretted that they could not get my wife's sourdough starter that is about 25 years old. Sending it liquid was a non-starter. So, the last time my wife made bread, she gave me about a cup to test if I could dehydrate it then reconstitute it. I dehydrated it and the first attempt to revive it failed. So, after a little online research, the second effort was a success.
I was about to toss it when I figured I might as well make some bread with it. I'd made no-knead bread for fun in the past and it didn't have much flavor so why not try it with sourdough starter. I did and it came out much more flavorful but also much larger. I should have cut it in half.
The starter and the bread:
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"Hector Lives!"
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"The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen." -- Dennis Prager
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PSM is offline
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01-07-2021, 15:45
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#2
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: 18 yrs upstate NY, 30 yrs South Florida, 20 yrs Conch Republic, now chasing G-Kids in NOVA & UK
Posts: 11,901
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PSM
A couple of weeks ago friends of ours who live on a sailboat regretted that they could not get my wife's sourdough starter that is about 25 years old. Sending it liquid was a non-starter. So, the last time my wife made bread, she gave me about a cup to test if I could dehydrate it then reconstitute it. I dehydrated it and the first attempt to revive it failed. So, after a little online research, the second effort was a success.
I was about to toss it when I figured I might as well make some bread with it. I'd made no-knead bread for fun in the past and it didn't have much flavor so why not try it with sourdough starter. I did and it came out much more flavorful but also much larger. I should have cut it in half.
The starter and the bread:
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Makes sense. When you buy yeast it comes in dehydrated powder packets.
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JJ_BPK is offline
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01-09-2021, 00:41
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#3
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Area Commander
Join Date: Oct 2007
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PSM, I want a hunk of your not dried, 25 year starter. One of my VC Chef friends, pinch a piece of a 100yr+ starter from a very famous Boulanger in Paris, Fr.
Last edited by Penn; 01-09-2021 at 00:43.
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Penn is offline
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01-09-2021, 11:44
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#4
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Area Commander
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Cochise Co., AZ
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Penn
PSM, I want a hunk of your not dried, 25 year starter. One of my VC Chef friends, pinch a piece of a 100yr+ starter from a very famous Boulanger in Paris, Fr.
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"not dried" or dried? Not sure how I can send liquid starter to you. I can send you some dehydrated if you'd like.
__________________
"Hector Lives!"
"The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." -- Frederick Douglass
"The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen." -- Dennis Prager
"The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it." --H.L. Mencken
Last edited by PSM; 01-09-2021 at 11:49.
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PSM is offline
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01-09-2021, 22:19
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#5
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Quiet Professional
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Location: St. Pauls, NC
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I tried for years to duplicate my moms sourdough bread. Never could get it right. It had a lot of sourness to it that I could not duplicate. I finally gave up.
We had a lady that would bring us a loaf once a year and I asked her for some but unfortunately I think she moved away and I never saw her again.
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alelks is offline
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01-09-2021, 22:29
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#6
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Area Commander
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alelks
I tried for years to duplicate my moms sourdough bread. Never could get it right. It had a lot of sourness to it that I could not duplicate. I finally gave up.
We had a lady that would bring us a loaf once a year and I asked her for some but unfortunately I think she moved away and I never saw her again.
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PM me an addy and I'll send you some of my wife's that I dehydrated. I can't judge the sourness since it's what we eat, but it is from the process that Nancy Silverton used for her bread at the La Brea Bakery in L.A. It's free, what do you have to lose?
__________________
"Hector Lives!"
"The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." -- Frederick Douglass
"The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen." -- Dennis Prager
"The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it." --H.L. Mencken
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PSM is offline
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01-09-2021, 22:38
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#7
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Thanks PSM. I'd love to try it. Sending address in PM.
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alelks is offline
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01-09-2021, 23:04
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#8
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By what means did you successfully bring it back to the wet starter state?
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alelks is offline
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01-09-2021, 23:17
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#9
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Area Commander
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alelks
By what means did you successfully bring it back to the wet starter state?
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I'll send instructions. It's pretty much like all dehydrated stuff. Twice the water, warm (I used 105°) to the amount of starter. But, you don't stop there. You have to keep feeding it flour every so often to increase the quantity. You want to make so much that you have to discard some as you grow it. You can use the "discard" to dry and save. It sounds more complicated than it is.
__________________
"Hector Lives!"
"The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." -- Frederick Douglass
"The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen." -- Dennis Prager
"The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it." --H.L. Mencken
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PSM is offline
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01-10-2021, 00:15
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#10
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Thanks! I got the knack of feeding them when I was trying to duplicate moms starter. Gave up when I couldn't get any that had that perfect sourness hers had. Tried several starters to include San Franciso, Oregon Trail and a few others. Had great success with the starters themself.
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alelks is offline
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01-10-2021, 09:15
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#11
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You know, I thought of something this morning that I haven't tried. Mom always used our well water to make her starter. Since I closed our well quite a few years ago I didn't have that to use. I've been meaning to put down a well and I'm wondering if the minerals in the water had something to do with how tangy the bread was. I mean I've tried distilled water and various types of bottled water but not well water with all the natural minerals in it.
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alelks is offline
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01-10-2021, 11:16
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#12
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Area Commander
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Location: Cochise Co., AZ
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We do use untreated well water which is high in alkalinity. My wife suggested that you might just set your starter out on the counter and feed it for a week to build up the yeast and give that a try. Just discard the excess (or dehydrate it for storage). You can also buy alkaline water now so you might try that, too.
__________________
"Hector Lives!"
"The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." -- Frederick Douglass
"The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen." -- Dennis Prager
"The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it." --H.L. Mencken
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PSM is offline
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01-10-2021, 12:44
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#13
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Area Commander
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Address sent
PSM, Thank you for the kindness!
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Penn is offline
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01-11-2021, 08:59
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#14
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Quiet Professional
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PSM
We do use untreated well water which is high in alkalinity. My wife suggested that you might just set your starter out on the counter and feed it for a week to build up the yeast and give that a try. Just discard the excess (or dehydrate it for storage). You can also buy alkaline water now so you might try that, too.
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Pretty sure one or two of my neighbors still have a well so I think I'll try that first. If that doesn't work I'll try the alkaline water for sure. I really need to put the well on my priority list. Never have linked the county water we are on. Many times it's cloudy, especially when they are working on the lines.
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alelks is offline
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01-11-2021, 11:56
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#15
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Area Commander
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Water source is very important to bread making. One of the few qualities that NYC has over the rest of this region is bread quality. The city water is sourced in the Catskills, the water quality is fantastic, resulting in great bread.
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