The United Steaks

My first sourdough loaf from a homegrown starter that is.

A few years ago when I was baking bread regularly, I had a starter with origins from the Bay Area. Those days are past and I don’t even remember when that starter was sent packing. I recently decided to try my hand at getting my own starter going and I was shocked at how quick it took off.

1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup White Bread Flour
1 Cup warm water.

I mixed the initial batch on a Sunday night. The next night, I discarded half and fed it another 1/2 Cup of White Bread Flour and 1/2 Cup of water. When I got home from work Tuesday night, it was alive.

The above photo is the first loaf. The proofing of my sponge was a bit abbreviated as was my final rise to the loaf. However, it had a good spring in the oven and turned out nicely. The final product had a good flavor, but was a bit lacking in the sourness - which is most likely a result of my shortened proofing stages.

I’ll probably make a few more loafs from this starter and then split it off into a whole wheat starter and a white starter.

Contributing to my success:
The Basics by S. John Ross
The Fresh Loaf