Less Flour Equals a Wetter Dough Equals Better Results

Lately I have been experimenting with making the dough by hand and I have been very please with the results. Here is the recipe:

1 batch starter (Wasatch Willy in this case) (about a cup)
3 Cups water
1 Tablespoon Salt
6 Cups Flour

I use an IKEA cup that holds just over a cup when filled to the lip. 

In a large bowl combine the starter, water and salt. Stir. Feed the starter and continue.

Now add the flour a cup at a time. The flour will be very lumpy and sticky. Be sure and wipe the sides and bottom of the bowl to get all of the flour mixed into the dough.

Cover the bowl and let it sit for 12-16 hours in a cool location. My basement has been around 60-65 degrees F and is perfect for this.

Turn on the oven light and get the oven warmed up to  around 80-90 F.

On a large clean work surface spray water and then dump the dough onto the surface. Keeping your hands wet form the loaf.

Take a baking sheet and lightly spray with oil and sprinkle corn flour or dry creamy wheat cereal. Place the loaf on the baking sheet.

Place the racks in the oven on the bottom two shelves. Place a cast-iron skillet on the bottom rack. Pre-heat the oven to 475 F.

Boil two cups of water and pour into the skillet when the oven is at temperature. Place the baking sheet with the loaf in the oven and set the timer to 45-60 minutes and lower the temperature to 400 F. If the loaf is not too dark go ahead and bake it for the full 60 minutes. 

You can also apply a wash to the dough at the 45 minute mark and bake for another 10 minutes. Prepare the wash before you bake the bread. For the wash boil two cups of water and a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch until it starts to thicken. Then set it aside and cool.

You should get a nice oven bounce. Place the finished loaf on a cooling rack and let it sit for 15 minutes before serving.

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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.

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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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.