Hi there its ME...making my Sourdough Starter Wednesday, 12th March 2014

Kitchen trial - sourdough starter 23rd February 2014 - and then.....the story starts from here -

I'd bought a large bag of Allinson Strong White Bread Flour, fully intending to make bread and my special scone recipe, when I discovered the bag carried a recipe for a sourdough start and, not having made one before, thought I'd give their recipe and instructions a go...I do enjoy the whole process of trialling  recipes and ingredients!

I'm also following the sourdough starter recipe from - http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn 

The most wonderfully bubbling mixture has developed in my kitchen over the last week, in two x 1 ltr. Kilner jars, one filled with Allinson Strong White Bread Flour and warm water, and the second with Wessex Mill's Spelt Wholemeal Bread flour.

From Sunday 23rd February to Saturday, 1st March and now, a few days later, one is still going strong and well but ...the other one has died a bit.....the Allinson flour sourdough starter.  Why this happened I'm not sure.....so!

nothing daunted, I've just given it a good stir-up and I'm waiting to see if it will get going again!
Well, it did indeed and that was jolly good.  I also left off the lid of the jar, allowing the mixture to benefit from the air-borne yeasts which are a constant presence in the air about us and which assist the starter to work.  Whether it would have re-activated itself with the lid on, I'm not sure.

So I have two different flours and two sets of instructions, making the whole process rather heady and exciting!

Here my plans to make a sourdough loaf falter, having run out of time, and failing to make time for bread making.  Following instructions from thekitchn I restart my "starters" by discarding half of the resultant mix and begin the feeding process again, using half of the original quantities.  This feeding continues until I have sufficient mix for my needs to make a loaf of bread, when I use the required amount of "starter" and begin the feeding process all over again.  Otherwise storing the left-over mix in a box, in the 'fridge, for future usage (once I've prepared it for storage with a thicker flour and water combination).

And here I am today, Wednesday 12th March - just beginning the second phase of my sourdough starter trial.  My left-over starter has now been fed twice and I plan to keep this feeding going over the next five days, and see what happens then!  Hopefully I shall have the means to make a loaf of sourdough bread.

If I do, I shall use the recipe and instructions of theKitchn  their "Beginner Sourdough Sandwich Loaf".  I can hardly wait for my starter to "cook"!


Daisy