Merry Christmas from Mister Sourdough

There is a link at the bottom of the page for more info regarding my seven different starters and how to order them. I offer a Super 7 bundle pack at a nice discount and also a single order starter pack that includes any two starters of your choosing. You can also click here for more info as well. 

I have been thinking about what to say for my latest blog entry and seeing as how it is Christmas time once again I want to give thanks to all who have ordered the various starters. Sourdough is fun and I think appropriate for the upcoming Christmas Dinner and what better sourdough starter than our very own Wasatch Willy Sourdough Starter. Order now and your starter will arrive in plenty of time for the Christmas holiday. Canadian orders take about two weeks to arrive and US orders are delivered within a few days. All orders are mailed promptly via First Class mail. It takes about three days to fully activate a starter from dry granules so keep that in mind when you order.

I have recently made several loaves of bread and rolls from Wasatch Willy and I love the flavor it provides. This is my favorite starter and tt's made from wild yeast found in the Greater Salt Lake Valley near Ogden, Utah and I am certain it will become your favorite as well.

Wasatch Willy's Sourdough Starter

When you order Wasatch Willy's Sourdough Starter you will get a packet of starter granules, instructions on how to start it up with three recipes and a jar lid label. When activating always use bottled water* and use a quart canning jar or something similar such as a clean large peanut butter jar. I use a chopstick to stir my starter. When using our starter you do not need to save half when feeding. I typically dump out the entire jar with the sides and bottom covered and then feed by adding a cup of flour and a cup of bottled water*.

* A thought on bottled water. It really depends on your local water supply. If your water is heavily treated then please only use bottled water. When activating your starter for the very first time please use bottled water only which is at room temperature or slightly warmer. After your starter is activated you can experiment with your city water on another jar and see how it reacts. Where I live our city water is ok to use but other cities may vary.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

My Sourdough Starters

In early 2013 I started selling a San Francisco Sourdough Starter, Valentina's, which I obtained while in the US Army stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco in 1978. Since then I have extended my starters to an old family starter from San Francisco which I have named after my Grandmother whom I affectionately called, Babo. I also created a non-sourdough starter (Tara) for use in normal bread recipes and it works fantastically. I have two Alaskan Starters as well, Alaska Sam's and Best Damn Alaskan Sourdough Starter, both of which are good and sour. 

A friend gave me an old Mormon Pioneer Sourdough Starter which came across the plains in the 1800's which I call, Parley's. 

My favorite starter is named after me, Wasatch Willy. It's made from locally obtained wild yeasts and is a real crowd pleaser. Everyone who has tried it really likes it.

All orders include:

• Two packets of dried starter. The one you order and one other at my discretion. Usually Alaska Sams or the other Alaskan starter. Limit one free starter per customer and does not include the Super 7 bundles.
• Activation Instructions with recipes
• Jar Label

Shipping Rates
All Prices include shipping. The US Post Office recently raised rates and so I have had to modify my prices slightly. I ship First Class mail. Orders are shipped in a #10 envelope. 

Where Do I ship to:
I will ship to anywhere in the United States or Canada. 


Questions: Call us at 801-784-8090 Monday - Friday 10am to 4pm Mountain Time.

To Order:

So as to simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.

Making a batch of bread

There is a link at the bottom of the page for more info regarding my seven different starters and how to order them. I offer a Super 7 bundle pack at a nice discount and also a single order starter pack that includes any two starters of your choosing. You can also click here for more info as well. 

So I started a batch of bread today and currently it is stewing in a bowl down here in the basement until sometime tomorrow. I used our newest sourdough starter, Best D%#% Alaskan Sourdough Starter, and here is how I prepared it.

First of all, you need to understand that I do not always measure the amount of starter that I use in my normal bread recipe. I adjust the amount of flour in the mixer and sometimes I add an additional amount of water as needed. Usually it is not very much. Maybe a tablespoon or two at the most.

Preparing the starter:

Two days ago I refreshed my starter by dumping out most of it and adding 1 cup of water and 1 cup of flower. 

Yesterday I stirred it up and added half a cup of flour and a little water, stirred it up and let it sit overnight.

Making the Bread:

Today I pulled the mixer out and started a batch of bread. I added 3 cups room temp filtered water, about a cup of the starter and roughly 8 cups bread flour. I added the flour until the dough came clean from the bowl. The dough was just a little dry so I added a little water and ran the mixer for 6 minutes.

Next I prepared a large bowl and lid by spraying oil in the bowl and the underside of the bowl. Then I placed the dough into the bowl and brought it downstairs into the basement where it is the coolest to sit overnight.

Tomorrow afternoon I will separate the dough into loaves and bake. My first batch of bread with this starter was good but I made the mistake of covering in plastic and the surface was very interesting to say the least. Tomorrow when I bake it I will not cover it and will instead just score the loaves and let them rise.

If you want to try this, be sure and pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees for 10 minutes and then 375 for about 30 more minutes until golden brown. Place a cast iron frying pan on the bottom rack. I set my racks to the two lowest, frying pan on the lowest. When the bread is ready to go in the hot oven I add the bread and then pour boiling water into the cast iron pan and close the door. Set the timer for 45 minutes. 

-

Order your own Best Damn Alaskan Sourdough Starter today or try one of our other starters. 

My Sourdough Starters

In early 2013 I started selling a San Francisco Sourdough Starter, Valentina's, which I obtained while in the US Army stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco in 1978. Since then I have extended my starters to an old family starter from San Francisco which I have named after my Grandmother whom I affectionately called, Babo. I also created a non-sourdough starter (Tara) for use in normal bread recipes and it works fantastically. I have two Alaskan Starters as well, Alaska Sam's and Best Damn Alaskan Sourdough Starter, both of which are good and sour. 

A friend gave me an old Mormon Pioneer Sourdough Starter which came across the plains in the 1800's which I call, Parley's. 

My favorite starter is named after me, Wasatch Willy. It's made from locally obtained wild yeasts and is a real crowd pleaser. Everyone who has tried it really likes it.

All orders include:

• Two packets of dried starter. The one you order and one other at my discretion. Usually Alaska Sams or the other Alaskan starter. Limit one free starter per customer and does not include the Super 7 bundles.
• Activation Instructions with recipes
• Jar Label

Shipping Rates
All Prices include shipping. The US Post Office recently raised rates and so I have had to modify my prices slightly. I ship First Class mail. Orders are shipped in a #10 envelope. 

Where Do I ship to:
I will ship to anywhere in the United States or Canada. 


Questions: Call us at 801-784-8090 Monday - Friday 10am to 4pm Mountain Time.

To Order:

So as to simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.

A New Alaskan Starter is Here!

A friend who used to live in Alaska in the 70's came by yesterday and gave me a jar of his starter he picked up there. According to him it was old when it was given to him and there is no way to estimate how old it really is but it is one of the most active starters I have seen in awhile. 

He abuses the heck out of it and it survives year after year. In fact, it sits in his fridge and gets used once or twice a year and only gets fed when he uses it. So what happens is the little voracious sourdough beasties go dormant. To activate, he pulls it out of the fridge and stirs the liquid hooch back in and feeds it. He even uses, get this, tap water! Who'da thought?

I activated some and tried it out with my San Francisco Bread recipe and it was nice and sour. I made the mistake of covering it while letting it rise so the surface looked the moon with pockmarks everywhere.

Praise from a Canadian Customer
"Just FYI, I started the Best Darn Old Alaskan starter on sat or sun and I can hardly contain it :). It is doing very well.

Just wanted to let you know. I will bake with it on Saturday and really looking forward to it!"

James G. Victoria BC Canada

To simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.

Valentina’s Sourdough Raised Donuts

Try these Sourdough Donuts using the sourdough starter of your choice. In my case I used Valentina’s San Francisco Sourdough Starter. Prepare the starter in advance. If your starter is in the fridge, pull it out the morning before you make these and feed it. When the starter is nice and active (bubbly and doubled in size) you can begin. I decided to make donut holes instead and they were the yummiest!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Valentina’s San Francisco Sourdough Starter

2 Cups Room Temp bottled or filtered water

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

½ teaspoon Salt

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

5-6 Cups White Flour

Combine all the ingredients in a mixer. Add flour until the sides of the bowl wipe clean.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and let it sit for several hours covered while it develops a sour flavor. Typically this takes anywhere from 12-24 hours.

The next day remove the dough from the bowl and stretch-roll it out to about a half inch thick. Using a donut cutter make your donuts and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and let them rise until double in size. 

Then deep fry them. Coat in granulated sugar immediately or ley cool and cover in your favorite sugar glaze.

For a stronger sour taste try Alaska Sam’s Sourdough Starter.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

To simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.

Water Quality and Activating A Starter

Somebody asked me about using tap water to activate your Mister Sourdough starter. He wanted to know if it was really that bad. My answer is yes and no. It depends and where you live and the time of the year. When the weather is warm, cities tend to over treat. If you use tap water it may hinder or stymie the growth altogether. This is why I always suggest using either bottled or filtered water. If you use tap water, let it sit out for a few hours.

My son lives in San Jose, CA and he ignored my warning and killed his starter using tap water. Currently I am performing an experiment using Valentina's San Francisco Sourdough Starter by activating it with tap water. I have two containers, one is using straight tap water and the other filtered. Both seem to be doing fairly well after a day and a half. My tap water is from Northern Utah.

Bottom-line? Err on the side of caution.  Use bottled water if you can, filtered if you cannot and straight tap water if there are no other options.

To simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

I finally got the time to make a batch of Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls as I mentioned I would in my last posting. They are well worth the wait. I used Valentina's San Francisco Sourdough Starter and a little dry active yeast which is a departure for me. Normally, I would shy away from active yeast in a sourdough recipe but in this case I believe it was well warranted.

Let's get started. Makes 12.

Ingredients for the dough:

1 Cup fresh Sourdough Starter (Fed 5-8 hours ago)
3/4 Cup Warm Milk
1 Large egg
3 Tablespoons softened butter
1 Teaspoon Salt (optional)
1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
3 and a half Cups sifted white flour (about)

Mix the above ingredients until the dough forms a ball. Knead for about ten minutes. Set the dough aside and give it a rest for 20 minutes.

Roll and stretch the dough evenly into a 12 x 24 inch rectangle. Spread the melted butter over the dough and sprinkle the Cinnamon Filling evenly. Next, roll the dough on the 24 inch side. Using dental floss, cut the roll into 12, 2 inch rolls and place in a greased 9x14 pan. Let rise for at least an hour until double. Pre-heat the oven to 350. Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Dribble the icing on top of the slightly cooled rolls and serve. I opted to make a giant cinnamon roll instead of cutting up the dough.

Cinnamon Filling
6 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
6 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon ground Cinnamon

4 Tablepoons Melted Butter to spread on the flattened dough.

Blend dry ingredients together. 

Icing:
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Tablespoon Real Vanilla extract
3-6 Tablespoons water

Mix on high speed until smooth.

- 

To simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.

Introducing Tara - Our Natural Dough Starter

Are you interested in the health benefits of bread made with natural yeast? Maybe you do not like the sour taste of sourdough? You should try our Tara Natural Starter which is perfect for more traditional breads other than sourdough. Tara was made from Organic Dark Rye Flour and is a hearty natural starter. For feeding we recommend using Bob's Red Mill Organic Dark Rye Flour. If you have trouble finding it like I do you can use the link to order directly from Amazon.

Whole Wheat Bread made with Tara Natural Starter.

ORDER TARA NOW

See Below

Here is a fantastic recipe for making your own Whole Wheat Bread with Tara.

Ingredients:

3/4	Cup	Tara Starter (Fresh)
3-3/4	Cups	Room Temp Bottled Water
1/2	Cup	Honey
3	Tsp	Salt*
8-10	Cups	Whole Wheat Flour

In a large mixer combine all the ingredients except the flour and run the mixer for a few minutes (with the dough hook). Begin to add flour slowly until the dough cleans the side of the bowl and is not sticky to the touch. If it is sticky add a half to a whole cup more flour.

Run the mixer for 10 minutes to knead the flour. After 10 minutes, remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place into a plastic bowl which has been sprayed with vegetable oil. Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed as well and let it sit until double (about 6-10 hours).

When the dough has doubled, remove from the bowl and place on a wet surface. Using a dough knife cut the dough in half. I use a digital scale as well to help divide my loaves.

Form the loaves by spreading the out on the counter in the shape of a large rectangle and then fold the long sides in thirds to make a long piece of dough. Now take each end and fold in thirds. Now roll the dough back and forth until you fit the length of your pans. This recipe is made for two long Norpro loaf pans.

Heat the oven to 375° and bake 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the pans and place on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.

* For low sodium cooking substitute the salt with 1/2 teaspoon ascorbic acid, or six 500 mg Vitamin C tablets crushed. For more no sodium cooking tips and tricks visit Megaheart.com.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

To simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.

Simple - Easy to Make Sourdough Hamburger Buns

A Simple - Easy to Make Sourdough Hamburger Buns

Last night I baked a ginormous loaf of bread using Valentina's San Francisco Sourdough Starter. I have been doing that a lot lately, making different things all with the same Starter. A change of pace is in order and I decided to make something with our latest starter, Alaska Sam's Sourdough Starter. Got it from a friend up in Alaska, of all places. Imagine that.

A friend of mine, Donald Gazzaniga of Megaheart.com, had made hamburger buns using Valentina's and his turned out really nice. Click on the link to see his recipe.

Don's Valentina Buns

NOTE: If you are coming here from Megaheart.com, please note: Chef Don used our Valentina San Francisco Sourdough Starter. The above link has the recipe for Don's bun recipe and should be followed for no sodium cooking. 

Sourdough bread rises faster when salt is omitted. Salt is usually added to sourdough as an inhibitor to slow down the process.  Lack of salt may reduce the sour taste somewhat due less time fermenting.

The following is my recipe.

Our Sourdough Hamburger Buns


Ingredients:

2 Cups Sourdough Starter (bottom of page)
1 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
5-6 Cups Flour

In a mixer bowl combine all ingredients except the flour and mix well. Slowly add the flour until the dough cleans off the side of the bowl. Knead the dough for ten minutes.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover loosely until doubled. Remove the dough from the bowl after doubling and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 18 pieces or flatten to about 1/2 inch and cut out as many buns as you can. 

Place the buns on a greased cookie sheet and let them rise until double again.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes until light golden brown on top.

Optional: Egg wash last 5 minutes and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

And here are the results of our buns. Formed by hand.

Here's a recent recipe posted on Mother Earth News.

Buns! Fresh from the oven!

Owen! Grampa made hamburger buns! We're having hamburgers for dinner!

Grampa's Burger (Mine)

Dad's

To simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.

The Twenty Cent Bread Lame, Scorer

Before I made my own Lame, for scoring sourdough, I used a sharp knife and a box knife. Neither was nearly sharp enough. Browsing the web I saw Lames that used double-edged razor blades so I got to thinking on how I could make my own.

A pack of ten blades at Walmart costs less than $2. That’s less than twenty cents per blade! In order to hold the blade I picked up two small paint stirrers from Walmart and they are free. A little glue, some clamps and you have yourself a lame for less than twenty cents! 

I glued my blade sandwiched between two sticks with the blade coming out the bottom at an angle. The blade does not get exposed anywhere else.

A note on sticks. Walmarts sticks are made of poor quality wood which is warped. For better quality sticks go to Home Depot, Lowes or your trusty local hardware store.

My first Lame was made with the Walmart sticks and it is not pretty but it works. My next Lame will be made with sticks from Home Depot and the blade will be removable using a small brass bolt with a wing nut. The rest of the Lame will be glued. This way the one blade can be flipped four times giving you the most use out of a single blade. You may not ever need another blade.

The Walmart Lame
What you need:

• A pack of Wilkinson razor blades 
• Two paint stir sticks
• Wood blue
• Extra pieces of wood
• Clamps (2 or 3)

Glue one side of one of the stir sticks. Lay a single blade at an angle so that one corner is visible.  Place the other stick on top and using the other wood strips, clamp it together. Wipe away excess glue with a damp rag.

Allow 24 hours to dry before releasing the clamps.

You now have a Twenty Cent Lame.

If you don't want the hassle of going to the store to purchase a pack of blades I will happily sell you one. $1.25 covers first class postage and PayPal fees.

And check out my Sourdough Starters.

How to Order My Starters

The best and fastest method is to click on a Pay Now button. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  My Sourdough Starters

In early 2013 I started selling a San Francisco Sourdough Starter, Valentina's, which I obtained while in the US Army stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco in 1978. Since then I have extended my starters to an old family starter from San Francisco which I have named after my Grandmother whom I affectionately called, Babo. I also created a non-sourdough starter (Tara) for use in normal bread recipes and it works fantastically. I have two Alaskan Starters as well, Alaska Sam's and Best Damn Alaskan Sourdough Starter, both of which are good and sour. 

A friend gave me an old Mormon Pioneer Sourdough Starter which came across the plains in the 1800's which I call, Parley's. 

My favorite starter is named after me, Wasatch Willy. It's made from locally obtained wild yeasts and is a real crowd pleaser. Everyone who has tried it really likes it.

All orders include:

• Two packets of dried starter. The one you order and one other at my discretion. Usually Alaska Sams or the other Alaskan starter. Limit one free starter per customer and does not include the Super 7 bundles.
• Activation Instructions with recipes
• Jar Label

Shipping Rates
All Prices include shipping. The US Post Office recently raised rates and so I have had to modify my prices slightly. I ship First Class mail. Orders are shipped in a #10 envelope. 

Where Do I ship to:
I will ship to anywhere in the United States or Canada. 

Questions: Call us at 801-784-8090 Monday - Friday 10am to 4pm Mountain Time.

To Order:

So as to simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.

Cranberry Cutie Sourdough Muffins

Cranberry Cutie Muffins

Pre-Heat your oven to 375°.

The Dry Ingredients

2 ½  Cups White Flour
¾ Cups Sugar
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Saigon Cinnamon
½ Cup dried Cranberries – chopped

The Wet Ingredients

¾ Cup Orange Juice*
2 Cuties quartered and juiced - Combine with orange juice. 
Zest from Cutie skins
½ Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Extra Large Egg
1 Cup Sourdough Starter

Optional: Add ½ cup chopped nuts.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Use Saigon Cinnamon, it is by far the best. Saigon Cinnamon has a stronger flavor that regular cinnamon and is well worth using.

In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.

With a wire whisk, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until blended. Using a spoon, add the cranberries and mix until evenly distributed.

Place in Medium Muffin tin that has been greased. Bake at 375° for about 30 minutes or until done. Remove from the tin immediately. Makes about 18 muffins.

* I like to use the juice from a few Cuties and add enough orange juice to make ¾ Cup. In my batch of muffins I experimented and included the pulp and skin from the Cuties all chopped up as fine as I could get them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

To simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.

I Made Bread Today

A Starter Almost Forgotten

For years I had kept Valentina’s San Francisco Sourdough Starter in dried form and sitting in a sealed container in the freezer. There it sat for years untouched until I decided to bring it back to life. I am so glad I did. I have been using Parley’s for years and it’s a nice mellow flavored starter but I had forgotten how good Valentina’s really is. How to purchase your own Valentina’s is at the bottom of the article after the San Francisco Sourdough Bread recipe I made today.

I was working in Tulsa, Oklahoma until April 2012 for the biggest telecommunications giant based in the Northeast. The company decided to move over seventy-five percent of our jobs to the Philippines because they could pay these people a small fraction of what we were paid. A telecom worker in the Philippines makes $600 a month and receives no benefits. No sick time, no paid time off and no health care. Enough of that, back to my story.

So there we were in April 2012. No job. So we decided to slim down and move in with one of our daughters in Northern Utah. When we were packing I found the nearly forgotten jar of dried Valentina granules in the back of the freezer. It was practically forgotten. So when I got to Syracuse, Utah I decided to revive Valentina and start making really great tasting bread. Parley’s was OK but did not have the sour taste I missed.

In 2011 I flew to California for my mother-in-laws funeral and while there we made a trip to The Presidio where I was stationed in the late 70’s. Afterwards, we went to Pier 39 and had dinner at Boudin’s. White Clam Chowder in a bread bowl. The chowder was OK but the bread bowl was fantastic.

So there I was last April with the freezer cleaned out and about a cups worth of dried flakes of Valentina’s and about the same amount of Parley’s. Getting to Utah was a long process via Columbia, MD before finally settling down last July in Syracuse.

Almost Lost

Busy looking for a job, I forgot about the starters until I opened a box and found the jar with the dried starter. The jar had been in storage from May until last November when I found the jar in a box. You know how old flour can go rancid? My beloved Valentina’s smelled like this. I was sad and depressed but had heard how dried starter can last for thousands of years but I had heard of settlers using sourdough to calk the cracks in their log homes and how over a hundred years later the starter pops right back to life.

She Lives!

I was so relieved when I placed a tablespoon of Valentina’s in a jar with a cup of water and flour. The next day there was this wonderful sour smell in the Jar. I stirred it up, dumped out some and re-fed her. The next day I had a wonderfully bubbly starter.

I made a batch of bread and the flavor was so good. I was back at Boudin’s in my mind.

Still Looking for a Job

Since I am still looking for a job I decided to start this blog and sell my starters on the side. I’m not planning on getting rich. Who can make a living selling Sourdough Starter via a blog? But every sale helps and if you decide to purchase one of my starters I would be very grateful.

Today’s Bread Bake

Today started off yesterday, actually. We decided it would be nice to have some nice sourdough bread with our dinner on Sunday and so I decided to make two batches of bread today. In order to make both batches I would need two batches of Valentina’s which is what I did yesterday morning. By last night, just in time to make the dough, both batches had expanded to the neck of their respective jars.

Following is the recipe I use when making San Francisco Sourdough Bread. One batch make three medium bread bowls.

While the bread was rising I made everyone delicious Sourdough Pancakes without eggs using Valentina's San Francisco Sourdough Starter.

Valentina’s San Francisco Sourdough Bread Before starting this recipe be sure your Valentina’s San Francisco Sourdough Starter is good and ready. If it’s in the fridge, pull it out the night before and leave it on the counter. In the morning, before going to work, dump out ninety percent of the starter and add 2/3 cups water and enough flour to make it thicker than pancake batter consistency. Leave it on the counter loosely covered all day. It should double in size. When you get home add enough water to add a heaping tablespoon of flour to the starter. Stir and cover. Start the bread around 9pm The Night Before You Bake Dump the contents of the starter into the mixer bowl. Do not clean out the jar. Set the jar aside. Add 2 and ½ Cups bottled spring water to the mixer bowl and using the dough hook mix up the starter and the water. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt. Add 1 cup white wheat flour while the mixer is running. White flour is acceptable as well. Add about 6 and ½ cups white flour and when mixed ( the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl) leave the mixer running for ten minutes. If you use all wheat flour, be careful to not add too much flour. Stop adding flour just as it is starting to clean the bowl. If the dough is sticking to the hook, add a little more flour. If it is a big solid lump and bouncing around the bowl you have added too much wheat flour. Add ½ a cup of water and reset the timer to 10 minutes. While the mixer is running, get a large bowl and spray it with Veggie Oil spray. I use P*m and the generic from Costco. It does not matter which. If the bowl has a lid, spray the underside of it too. Instead of a lid you can use plastic wrap but spray it before covering the bowl. Rest the Dough about Twelve Hours When the ten minutes are up, place the dough in the prepared bowl and cover. Let it rest overnight. I usually let it rest between ten and twelve hours. Make sure the bowl is in a cool place other than the fridge. I usually use our basement which runs under 70 degrees. Feed Your Starter: Now is a good time to feed your starter. To the starter jar add 2/3 cup water and about 2/3 cup white flour. Stir and loosely cover overnight. The next morning place it in the fridge until you need to use it again. Next Day - Shape Your Bread My favorite shape is the bowl (boules). To form I cut off a section of the dough and flatten it out. Then I pull the dough into the center and pinch it together. I do this until the skin of the dough is nice and tight but does not tear. The pinched side will be the bottom. Take a lightly greased baking sheet and sprinkle with corn meal. Place the bowls onto the cookie sheet. Let the dough rise for about two hours until double. Before turning on the oven, place both racks to the bottom two positions. Place a small cast iron pan or ceramic dish on the bottom-most rack in the cold oven. Pre-heat the oven to 425° F. Boil some water. Place the bread in the oven and add two cups BOILING water to the pan on the bottom rack. Do not add cold water and do not put the water in until the oven is good and hot. Bake 30-40 Minutes. Bread should be a golden brown. Makes 3 Bowls.

The Starters

I have tested this recipe using my two other starters, Parley’s and Tara. Parley gives you a nice mellow sourdough flavor but is not as sour. 

I recently received a starter from a friend in Alaska and cannot wait to try it. I am going to call it Alaska Sam’s Sourdough Starter. It’s been a day and a half since I started reactivation and smells nice.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

To simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.