I know most of you are probably mainly interested in growing plants, but I occasionally grow yeast and bacteria to make my own sourdough bread! Sourdough bread contains symbiotic yeasts (which make the bread rise) and bacteria (which produce lactic acid, thereby making the bread "sour"). To make the bread you first need to cultivate these microorganisms, in what is known as a "starter" dough. If anyone is interested I'd be happy to send you some of my starter. I'll try to post some pictures of the whole process soon, but here's how to get started making delicious, natural bread:
- 1. Take a tablespoon of flour and mix it with enough water to make a thick, runny dough. It should have a consistency somewhere between porridge/grits and honey or cream. You could probably use any flour, but the less refined it is the better. You could try adding some rye flour or wholegrain flour if you are using bleached, white bread flour, as this will likely contain some microorganisms to help kick-start your culture.
2. Put the mixture in a clean container, but make sure that it is not airtight. I like to use a sterilised Mason jar with a bit of nylon stocking over the top.
3. Every day, add another tablespoon of flour and a little water, and keep the mixture at room temperature.
4. After a few days, you should see bubbles forming in the mixture, and notice a tangy smell. There might also be some liquid accumulating at the surface.
5. Once you have enough starter (1/3 - 1/2 of the total amount of bread you want to make), you are ready to bake your bread. Pour out your starter and begin again in the same jar - the remains of your original starter will ensure that you get the same culture of microorganisms and that they will grow more quickly this time. If you don't want to bake again for a while, you can store your starter. You can keep it in the fridge for a few weeks, or in the freezer for a few months. If you don't have much, you can spread it out to dry on baking paper (keeps indefinitely).