On a mission in the Mission: Getting sweet with sourdough!

Ahh.....the continuing joys of Groupon and getting sweet deals to go and learn how to do different stuff  for the sheer hell of it!  Today's adventure was a Sourdough Starter workshop at La Victoria bakery in the Mission District - yey, the promise of fresh sourdough bread on tap!  Whoo-hoo!

The class was from 9am - 11am, so it was a bit of a shock to the system to be up and about at 7.30am on a Sunday morning, especially after our girl's night out the night before!  Fortunately we'd been pretty sensible the previous evening, so didn't have a hangover to contend with, so that was good!  Traffic was pretty light, so we had time to stop in this adorable little coffee shop and bakery on the way and have a kick-ass cup of coffee and bagel - very yummy.

Anyway, we found the bakery where the class was to be held no problem and waited inside the store, just through the kitchen, for the rest of the group to assemble.  I'm not sure if it was just too early or something, but the energy of the rest of the class was distinctly "off" - everyone seemed very grumpy, bored and that they didn't really want to be there!  I wondered if everyone else had been given a Groupon as a gift by a spouse or family member and so had been dragged out against their will - it was very odd.  But, we didn't let that affect our enjoyment of the class so, after everyone had arrived, the teacher - this very charismatic and joyful woman called Cat - led us into the kitchen to begin the class.

She started off by explaining what starter is and how its made and what some of the basic principles are of how to care for it.  Here is just a bit of background information from the post-workshop handout we received, in case you are curious to learn more:

STARTER OVERVIEW

Getting ready for a sourdough
smackdown

Your starter is a living thing (!) that you create and maintain in order to make bread.  Its two fundamental functions are to leaven your bread and to provide flavor.  You can create a starter by simply mixing together flour and water. When combined the microorganisms present in the flour and in the air (bacteria and wild yeast) start to ferment, first contributing to the flavor of the bread and eventually producing gas (CO2) that will cause the bread grow in volume.  Feeding the starter regularly with more water and flour keeps it healthy and active.  A starter is used to "seed" a starter culture or levain, the prefermented dough we use to mix with flour, water and salt to make bread.

Goofing around next to a big mashy-thing

Starters can be a variety of consistencies from very liquid (appearing like pancake batter or thinner) to very stiff (like modeling clay). Time, temperature, hydration (how much water it contains), the ratio of its ingredients and the type of food used will all affect the health and activity of the starter.  Get to know your starter by evaluating it using all your senses -- sight, touch, smell and taste. 

The enthusiastic Cat introducing us to The Starter as
Dull Guy looks on dully

Cat taking us through the basic principles
of sourdough starter care 

So, yes.  Evaluating your starter through all the senses - including taste.  Umm... yeah.  I can confirm that both starter at its peak of readiness, as well as starter that has gone past the peak into more of a "sour" phase taste vile!  The only one that didn't taste completely gag-worthy was the youngest starter, in its more "sweet" phase where it hasn't chomped its way as much through the flour and water.  Again, i was profoundly grateful i wasn't in the least hungover otherwise that could have got a little tricky.  As it was, one girl in the class had to step outside for a few moments, but she looked deathly ill anyway, even pre-starter snacking, which was a little worrying.

Anyway, Cat took us through the various factors that can influence how well your starter does and how quickly it moves through its maturation cycle.  Again, here's the info from the super-duper info handout we received that gives you the basic principles - who knew it was so complicated??

Five Factors Affecting Starter Health & Activity

Time, temperature, hydration, ratios and food all work together to affect one’s starter and in turn one’s bread.  Determine what kind of bread you would like and how bread baking can fit into your schedule; by consider the factors below, and their relationship, adjusting to meet your needs.

TIME: Daily feeding will train your starter to be active and reach its peak stage of fermentation at predictable times.  The feeding schedule can be set on when, and how often, you want to bake.

TEMPERATURE:  As a general rule, the higher the room temperature of the starter, the faster it will ferment and become ready for use. Controlling this temperature and the ingredients in your starter (including the water) will affect both flavor and activity. Warmer fermentation (86-96 degrees) tends to favor more acetic acid production (sour flavor) from the bacteria; yeasts in an acid environment grow better in cooler temperatures (68-78 degrees). Therefore, both starter and rising dough should be kept within this cooler temperature range.

HYDRATION: The more water in a starter, the faster it will ferment because the water gives the yeast and bacteria easier access to nutrients. The hydration percent refers to the amount of water relative to the amount of flour: 100% means equal parts flour to water, 50% means half the amount of water to the amount of flour, creating a stiff starter, which grows more slowly and requires less attention (feeding).

RATIO: The ratio of starter: flour: water represents your starter formula or feeding schedule, ie 1:5:5. Experiment with different ratios to find the best one for your environment, knowing it may change with the weather, season, and location.  Weighing ingredients is an effective way to train oneself to consistently apply a desired ratio.

FOOD: Food refers to the type of flour used to maintain your starter.  The flour used in class —Central Milling Artisan Type 85— has a higher level of gluten protein, similar to bread flour, at approximately 12% gluten protein. We like to feed our bakery starter with the same flour we bake with, but feel free to use your starter confidently with any other type of flour to make bread:  rye, spelt, whole wheat.  You can use a mix of 60/40 all-purpose or bread flour (60%) and whole wheat flour (40%) to achieve a similar protein profile, or you can use straight bread flour, which is high in strong gluten proteins. Bread flour produces the lightest, highest, and chewiest bread. Pastry and cake flours are inappropriate for bread because of their weak gluten proteins and chemical processing. Do not use bleached or bromated flours: this "sterile" flour will not repopulate the wild yeast and bacteria.

So after all the education and learning, it was time to get stuck in and get our hands dirty (or floury, I suppose) and make our own little flatbreads.  It was actually very easy indeed - i've made a few loaves of bread in my time (most recently during KSCC) so felt suitably proficient in the dough kneading and shaping department.  Our flatbreads turned out completely yummy, especially brushed with a light coating of olive oil, to complement the sprinkling of dried rosemary or sea salt or sesame seeds that we'd chosen to adorn our carbotastic confections.  So, all in all, a great little class and a fun way to spend a Sunday morning - and, I'm pleased to report, the starters are still alive and kicking as I write....

How to make sourdough flatbreads: your step-by-step recipe and picture guide....

BAKING WITH YOUR STARTER

Successful bread baking requires attention to detail.  One way achieve consistent baking results is to measure ingredients by weight (using a scale) rather than by volume (using measuring spoons and cups). Many cookbooks and on-line recipes now list weighted measures in ounces or grams.  The following formula will allow you to create flatbread similar to the one you made in class. This recipe makes 525 grams of dough: a little over one pound and enough for 6-8 flatbreads or 2 small (individual size) pizzas.

Ingredient        Bakers %        Weight (grams)^*    Weight (ounces)    Volume*                       Notes  

Flour                100%               250 g.                          9 oz.                2 cups             your choice of flour

Water              70%                 175 g.                          6 oz.                ¾+ cup                       

Starter             40%                 100 g.                          4 oz.                ½ cup              liquid starter

Salt                  2.5%                5 g.                              0.18 oz.           1 teas.             kosher salt

1. Mix ingredients by hand until well incorporated.
2. Let dough rest, covered for 15-20 minutes (at room temperature).
3. Stretch and fold dough (stretch dough out and bring ends together in the middle. Turn over and tighten into a ball by repeated "tucking" of dough underneath.)
4. Let dough rest, covered, for 15-20 minutes.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4:  two more times for a total of three stretch and folds (total time = 1 1/2 hours)
6. Give dough a final rest, covered, in a warm location, 20-30 minutes (1 hr+ for pizza).
7. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. If using baking stone insert in oven before preheating.
8. Shape dough into desired shapes and sprinkle with seeds, herbs, salt as desired.
9. Transfer dough to oven.
10. Bake approximately 7-15 minutes until desired color.  Cool slightly and enjoy! 

*Volume measurements are approximations. f you unfamiliar with metric measures, 1 ounce equals 28 grams. This recipe’s measurements have been adjusted for ease of use, not strictly converted.  The baker’s percentage holds true regardless of measurement method.

Spread out your flour in a big ring on your worktop, then
line the inside of the ring with the salt

Add your water to the inside of your flour & salt ring 

Then add your starter into the centre of the ring 

And, using your fingertips, start to work the
water, flour, salt and starter together 

Many hands make light work!

The outcome of the group's fingertip massage
 - a lovely ball of dough! 

The float test - how to check if your
sourdough starter is at its peak! 

The class hard at work forming little dough-balls
.... Giants-style!! 

It is VERY important to name your starter.....

Constructing our flatbreads....

The carboliscious fruits of our labors!!  Delicious!!!