A few weeks before all our lives changed and we went into quarantine, I saw this instant sourdough package while I was shopping. I was intrigued as I love sourdough bread but don’t want to have to manage a sourdough starter. It seemed like more work than it was worth. I also know that it can be dangerous to use a “natural starter” grown from naturally occurring yeasts. The main danger there is that we don’t know what bacteria might grow in the starter alongside the wild yeast.
I bought the starter but didn’t have time or motivation to make the bread until we began working from home and I had a bit more time on my hands. I found a recipe on-line that didn’t look too involved or too difficult.
I was glad that I had the recipe a few weeks before I wanted to bake the bread as that gave me plenty of time to read the recipe and plan for a day that I had time and space necessary.
The recipe is not complex or hard to understand. Mainly, it takes a lot of time. The directions are to mix the bread, cover and let rise for two hours, refrigerate for two more hours and then shape the dough and let raise for one more hour. This can easily fill an entire morning or afternoon. You do have the option to refrigerate overnight (instead of only two hours) and then continue the process the next day. The bread bakes for an additional 30 minutes at the end of the process.
It was hard to wait for the bread to be cool enough to slice, but when I did, I loved the loaf. I will buy some more Instant Sourdough yeast the next time I see some available at the store.
So where is the recipe?
Hi Mary, The recipe can be found on the sour dough mix that Liz found at the supermarket (see paragraph one of blog). I am not familiar with the product that she might have used or where she purchased it. There are various brands of sour dough mixes available and are found in the same aisle where other bread mixes are found. Since that blog was written, Liz has retired from AnswerLine.
Can you site one instance (proven} of “dangerous” starter?
Here is some information on problems that can occur in starters from Colorado State Extension. What to look for is in the troubleshooting section of this article.
https://foodsmartcolorado.colostate.edu/recipes/cooking-and-baking/sourdough-starter-best-practices/