I'm beginning to dip into the mad world of Sourdough.

[alfredo]

It’s a character flaw, but I’m at peace with it.

My question is about converting an existng no knead WW bread recipe to using a sourdough starter. Is this a fool’s errand? I’m also interested in how much starter I need.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

The recipe in question:

No knead WW dutch oven bread
4c WW flour
2 cups water plus more if needed
2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp yeast
2 tsp salt


Mix and cover with plastic film. Set aside for 12 to 18 hours
On a well floured board pour the dough onto the board. , fold dough over itself twice, turning 90 degrees between folds.

Place dough in a well floured towel, cover and let it rise for 1 and 1/2 hours. 30 minutes from the end of the rise, put dutch oven in a 475 degree oven.
Bring the dutch oven out when the 1 and 1/2 hours have passed and put the dough in the pan.

Cook for 30 minutes, then bring the pan out and remove the top and return the pan back in for an additional 12 - 15 minutes. Take the bread out and allow to cool for several hours.

I add some gluten to the dry ingredients. Adjust water accordingly

The longer the first rise, the better it tastes.

[MontanaMama]

1. Been itching to get on the sourdough bandwagon

for a while now... maybe it’s the cabin fever setting in... I can’t answer your question but I’m following along for the fun of it. 😏

[alfredo]

10. I'm going to check around town to see if any bakeries carry a WW sourdough.

[dpibel]

2. I don't claim to be an expert

I've been baking a couple or three loaves of white sourdough bread a week for about three years. I've added various things: fresh-ground wheatberries, brewing malt, oats, and always landed on plain white. But I'm pretty sure your whole wheat will be fine.

As for how much starter, I'd say about as much as you like. I just use half of mine per loaf, so I can feed it at the same time and end up with the same volume.

Just pick an amount and subtract from your recipe the amount by volume of flour and water to equal the flour and water in the starter (half and half, traditionally). This is easy for me, because I do it all by weight. It may require some parsing to figure out the amount of flour and water to subtract from your basic recipe. OTOH, you could probably just add the starter without any adjustment and, at worst, end up with a slightly larger loaf. But if you're using a small amount of starter, you probably won't even notice. And, given the fermenting time in your recipe, I think you'd be fine with just a tiny amount of starter. It's just like store-bought yeast: It reproduces like crazy.

Most sourdough instructions I've read have you discard half your starter, feed the starter, let the starter double in volume, then take half for your bread. I've not seen the point in that. I just take half my starter, plunk it in with the flour, water, and salt, and let it rip. Never had a problem.

[alfredo]

7. I need to find a simple straightforward recipe.

I’m not too smart.

[dweller]

3. what's in the starter?

my mom made white sourdough loaves for years and I never bothered to ask but it was so delicious and we all enjoyed it... after she passed I had to go through her kitchen and clear out so many utensils, and cooking paraphernalia that my dad had no use for (he asked me to pare it down to essentials) and I went through her cookbooks, recipes etc before passing along many of them to my daughters, asking them to look too ... but I never found her starter recipe ?
I seem to recall her saying it had some potato (maybe be instant mashed?) in it?

ty

✌🏼️

[alfredo]

6. I love white artisan breads, but since my illness I can't handle white bread.

Store bought whole wheat bread just don’t do it for me either.

That bread recipe I posted is so good. Be sure to bake it uncovered long enough to remove the moisture. 12 to 15 minutes. Make sure to use a big enough bowl for the first rise.

I’m thinking of adding Caraway seeds next time.

Flour and water and some wild yeast floating in the air makes the starter.

[dweller]

8. thanks for the reply

I'm thinking she used the instant mashed potato in place of flour, or in addition to...
gonna give it a try

✌🏼️

[alfredo]

9. Whn I was into Linux, I remember a saying, "there's more than one way to do it."

[Auggie]

4. My recipes call for a pre-ferment, or levain, which is made from a mother starter

It's a complicated process, but the final result makes for awesome sourdough. It calls for 15 oz, or 425 grams, of the levain, which is added to 4 1/2 cups, or 567 grams, of unbleached bread flour, water and salt -- plus optional additional yeast, if you don't want a "pure" levain rise. Optimally, I give both the levain and the final dough an extra day of cold ferment, though it is not critical.

Recipe from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day

Suggestion: Buy a scale and measure by weight, not volume. Your results will be more consistent.

[alfredo]

5. I have my scale. It came in handy when making mushroom soup.

In my reading they recommend using some whole wheat flour when starting a new starter.

I tried to make starter, but my SO hated the smell and had to dump it.

[trof]

11. I give you Cowboy Kent Rollins' "Quick and Easy Sourdough Starter".

Kent is "The Official Oklahoma Chuck Wagon Cook".
I think he's a hoot.

[alfredo]

12. Thanks