Sourdough Starters with Grapes and Apples Part One

Well I have gone ahead and have a couple of starters on the go for having another bash at Sourdough.

I fear that anyone who walks in my kitchen at the moment will see all sorts of bottles on the windowsill and wonder whether they have walked into the Laboratory of a Mad Professor.  Mad as a Box of Frogs I will own up to, quite readily.  They are not all Sourdough though. Although I am predominantly trying to get a few different sourdough starters up and running.

Just messing around really to find what I can and cannot do with sourdough. I have gone back to this recipe by Paul Hollywood which is the most successful home made starter I have tried. (I made this starter some 6 years or so ago; it was doing well and then my mum was taken ill and admitted to hospital) so the poor thing died.  So here we go again.  See if I can get to grips with it this time on.

A starter can be made from just flour and water as well as these two alternative versions. 

I would say from the start that I am working through the starters piecemeal.  I only started today and so am not into the feeding regime yet, but with both recipes there is a copy of the recipe with full directions. The first highlighted  insert is a short video by Paul Hollywood.  The recipe link is a the bottom of the Grape Sourdough Starter.

 Sourdough Starter with Grapes

You will need 5 grapes that have been sliced up.  I have used double the recipe. i.e. 10 grapes.

250g of Strong Plain Bread Flour I used 500g.

You will then need either 250ml or 500ml of plain bottled water with no Flouride in it.

You then mix it all together in a large jar with a lid. It needs to be a standard batter, erring more towards the thinner side.  I had one jar with a lid and the other without so I have used a cotton cover and elastic band for the apple one.

After a couple of hours I checked the mixture and little tiny bubbles are starting to appear.

Later this evening a few more bubbles have appeared.

This one I have called Vino - reflecting the fact that grapes were used for the starter.

Here is a link to the full recipe 

Full Recipe for Grape Sourdough Starter

Whilst mooching around on the Internet, I also found a version using grated apple as well. This is also by Paul Hollywood. So that is also being trialled and I set too this evening and have started it off.  I thought it would be good to trial that as well to see which one I like the best.

Sourdough Starter with Apple

For this version you need 500g of Strong Plain Flour.

500ml of plain water with no Flouride in.

One organic apple I used a Cox's apple grated no need to peel.

You follow more or less the same procedure as for the grape version.  I have marked the bottle off again and this one I have called "Rozy" as in Rosy Apples with a slight spelling change of course.  

The full recipe is here.

Full Instructions Apple Sourdough Starter

I will therefore see how I get on over the next couple of days, hopefully will end up with a good starter for each, and then of course will come to feed it.

It will be good to have access to the starters, as it will enable me to provide food for the table in the form of bread.  Apparently Sourdough is suitable for Diabetics as it does not provide the sugar spike that normal bread does.  I am looking forward to making pancakes, crumpets, bread rolls, bread loaves etc.  Fingers crossed everything goes to plan.

Will update in a few days time.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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