I live near San Francisco and I am in love with the local sourdough bread. It is very expensive and I'd like to bake my own bread. I am wondering though, is it possible to make sourdough starter from regular breadmachine yeast?
Dough – Sourdough starter from regular yeast
sourdough
Related Topic
- Dough – Making sourdough starter with bread flour
- Baking – How does sourdough (wild yeast) starter differ from location to location
- Dough – Is there such thing as “active dry sourdough-variety yeast”
- Baking – the difference between a wild yeast starter and a sourdough starter
- Dough – How to have a weekly baking sourdough starter plan
- Dough – Sourdough starter without whole grain flour
- Bread – From regular fresh yeast to sourdough
- Bread – One time sourdough starter
Best Answer
Yes you can create sourdough from regular yeast, but it's not necessary. Ordinary flour comes with a trace of yeast. In the San Francisco area, that yeast is famed. Just mix flour and water 50/50 to make a batter-like mixture and leave it in a jar on the counter. Put a lightly fitting lid on the jar.
Add more flour and water every 12h (give or take). You should be doubling the initial amount each time, so 1 teaspoon, 2 teaspoons, 4...
After a couple of days you'll see bubbles developing in the sourdough. Once you're at that stage, you can reduce the amount of care. 'Refresh' the sourdough once a week: mix, take out 1/2 of the sourdough, add the same amount back (50/50 flour/water as before), mix. According to the Wikipedia, this can be kept at room temperature.
Sourdough is a mixture of flour, water, yeast and bacteria. When unattended for some time, 'water' forms at the surface. This liquid contains some alcohol that adds to the flavor of the dough. It's part of the sourdough and should be mixed in when refreshing the dough.