San Francisco Sourdough Starter

Sarah and Jaime brought a pack of dried sour dough starter for Christmas 1984 from California. It had to be mixed with 2 cups flour and 2 cups warm water in a warm bowl, stirred with a wooden or plastic spoon, covered and let stand 48 hours before it was ready to use. I keep covered and stored in refrigerator. If you can’t get a starter, you can make your own by this recipe I found — I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure it is the same thing.

Boil 2 medium size potatoes with jackets on until they fall apart. Remove skins and mash potatoes and water to make 2 cups puree. Cool. Put 2 Tablespoons sugar and 2 cups flour with potato water. Beat until it makes smooth, creamy batter. Cover and put in a warm place to start fermentation. Let ferment at least a week — the longer the better. It will get bubbly and sour, and apparently, will keep for years.

Your Sourdough Batter

Sourdough batter is a basic ingredient in all sourdough recipes. It must be made about 8-12 hours before use. To make the batter, remove your sourdough starter from your refrigerator and allow to reach room temperature. Measure out 1 ½ cups starters into a warm 2 quart bowl. Return remaining starter to refrigerator.

Add 1 ½ cups of flour and approximately one cup of warm water and mix well. Since all flours are different, add only sufficient water to make a batter the consistency of a light pancake batter.

Cover the bowl lightly to prevent drying and let the sourdough batter proof for 8-12 hours at 85-90 degrees. When the batter is properly proofed, its surface will appear bubbly, and it will exhibit a strong, pungent, sour odor.

After proofing, measure out the amount called for in the recipe and return the remaining batter to the starter pot. Stir and refrigerate.

I have made the biscuits, French bread, and pancakes. We like the French bread best — I use sesame seeds on top. It is different. I always start “proofing” the night before I plan to bake.

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