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.

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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.