The Rise and Fall of the Wheat Empire

 

Photo by Marina Mlynczyk

My daughter, Marina has begun a new adventure in the art of sourdough bread making. Not only has she crafted beautiful loaves, but she follows it all up with pizza crust, cinnamon rolls, and the like. If that's not enough, she is also fermenting various drinks such as kombucha, ciders, wines and coolers. It all looks so good that it made me want to try again. 

I had been a mom who made homemade root beer, jerky, and doughnuts, cakes were decorated and shared, and lovely desserts of all kinds were attempted in my kitchen. I loved it. As life goes, my kids grew, have kids of their own now and I'm even a great grandmother. Remarrying was a good thing for me, as I have that old feeling of comfort, love, and a kitchen to call mine again and a good man to share the results coming from that kitchen. He loves to eat, and I love to bake. 

Marina and my granddaughter, Kaylie Rose came to visit a couple of weeks ago. It was a good visit, one that produced lots of wonderful memories and awesome things. We visited the vineyards (Reustling and Melrose). Jubilation over that post since the visit was so amazing. That was a great memory to put in the recollection coffer. During that visit, she also brought me an offshoot of her starter. That's how my adventure began. 

After several days I felt the starter just wasn't doing anything. I assumed it was "dead." I figured I had killed Seymour. The name comes from The Little Shop of Horrors about a man-eating murderous plant that was actually a comedy for those who may have missed out on the cult classic. Seymour would get hungry and ask his human counterpart for help. "Feed me, Seymour," is the famous line from the film. Although Rick Moranis played the human character of Seymour, most people still claim Seymour as names when in need as a reminder of the musical. 

Anyway, I did name it Seymour. But I figured I had killed Seymour. I threw it out, which was a shame. Marina told me later it probably did not "die" as I thought if it still had "hooch" appearing on the top of the mixture. Hooch is used to describe the liquid that forms on the surface while in the fermentation mode. It signifies the starter needs to be fed or as the story goes, the gooey dough mixture is screaming, "Feed me, Seymour!" 

I had no clue. Grabbing some flour, I mixed it with water to create a new starter, naming that one Seymour II. Hey, I was on a roll now. Determined to have a starter, well, start for me, I also chose to grab a second jar and combine ingredients for another attempt at having something give me a base for some good sourdough bread. The second mixture was made with bread flour and water as was the first. I had been reading it will boost the life force into the process. Now I have two live beasts growing in the kitchen. One is Seymour II and the other is Audrey, which is the actual name of the plant from the Little Shop of Horrors. 

Audrey, the Little Shop of Horrors cult classic film character. She is a mix between a Venus fly trap and a man-eating plant. When hungry, she would call out to her human caretaker with, "Feed me, Seymour!"

Day three and look at the bubbles on Seymour II! This is a great sign that things are working, he is breathing. It's alive! My Frankensteinian design has come to fruition. Now all I need is a bra on my head, a car battery, and jumper cables connected to the jars. Oh, and I cannot forget the loaf of bread to give it an image to aspire to. Weird Science, to say the least, well, with a bread loaf instead of a Barbie. 

The bubbling, the hooch, and the next step is to watch it rise and fall. The rise and fall will take a few days to develop enough yeast to make that happen. But it is definitely looking good!

I added the bread flour instead of the wheat or organic unbleached to see what would happen. It's working well! I can change it up later and add wheat flour or other flours to actually create the bread when it comes time to bake. The bread flour is making it come to life in the meantime. But who doesn't rely on the fat little boy made of dough? Dough Boy is always there to help, with his smile and annoying giggle. 

This one is Audrey. Audrey has bubbles forming each day, but Seymour has many more air pockets to brag about. He's making the process happen and I am so excited!

To feed these science projects, I use 1/4 cup of the starter, 1/4 cup of flour, and then 1/4 cup of water. Stirring is an important part too. Mixing in plenty of oxygen is a must to give the starter a great chance at success. 

I add spring water to the starter. 

And then the flour. 

I blend it for a few minutes, not only to get it smooth, but to get those air bubbles in the mixture. 

When all is mixed well, it should be the consistency of a thick pancake batter. 

To create a Seymour or Audrey of your own, use 1/4 cup of the flour of your choice. It is said that wheat, bread flour, and rye will boost life into your starter a little faster than regular flour, but that has not been proven by any means. There are so many variations and instructions on how to make and maintain a starter that it is very confusing. Don't overthink any of it. It's simple. 

Add 1/4 cup of spring water or water that does not have chlorine. It's healthier for you. It's not that it will kill the starter. I used to use chlorinated water all the time back in the day to make my original sourdough starters. 

Blend the two ingredients and voila! Pour it into a jar. If you have a lid, place it on the jar with a slight twist. Do not tighten it! The yeast development causes many air bubbles, and it could cause the jar and mix to explode. Besides, you want your newly made friend to breathe. 

Now for the maintenance of your bestie. After the first 24 hours, lift the lid and stir plenty of oxygen into the culture. Second day, blend 1/4 cup of the flour, 1/4 cup of your starter, and 1/4 cup of spring water in a bowl. Discard the rest of your starter. Pour the new "feed" into the jar. I wash my jar each time I feed. Some sourdough fanatics don't. Just watch for an orangish-pink streaks or mold. The streaks can be indicative of the mold growth. Continue to feed twice daily (12 hours apart), for about two weeks. Then slow the feeding process down. Feed about every 24 hours. Your new friend will be on its own pretty much. 

Some bakers move the starter into the refrigerator after it is well established. How can you tell it is well established? When it is rising about twice as large as it is and then falling. This is normal and means a healthy life is forming. Seymour is no longer a toddler. He has moved on to teen years. He has developed into a strong ecosystem, able to create his own oxygen. With help in getting fed, he will soon produce some wonderful bread for you. The wait is worth it! 

How long do sourdough starters last? There is one in San Francisco that was started in 1849 and is still going strong! San Francisco is famous for the wonderful sourdough breads they produce, all from this amazing starter that survived the earthquake in 1906. It all started with a gold miner who passed a starter on to Isidore Boudin, founder of the Boudin Bakery. 

A family in Germany passes down a family heirloom of sourdough starter, known as The Bavarian Black Death starter, developed in the 14th century. Now that is a sourdough starter! It just goes to show that sourdough starter can continue the love of baking for as long as you wish to take care in keeping the base going. 

Give the mixture plenty of space and time. It takes typically around a month or so before you get the tanginess of the sourdough flavor that we all know and love. Why sourdough? It's so much better for you. Easily digested and is nutritious. If you use the whole wheat flour to bake breads later, or einkorn flour, an ancient grain flour that my daughter uses, the nutritional value is awesome. Sourdough also does not spike blood sugar levels. This is better for everyone and especially diabetics like Terry and me. 

Terry is supportive of the project I'm working on, yet he laughs at the time and effort I'm putting into it. Being triple Capricorn, I don't tend to give up on things easily. I'm quite stubborn when it's something I want. Not saying that's good, just mentioning that is how I am. 

Well, that's our week thus far. Hubby is off on Thursdays and Fridays as I've mentioned before. We are spending that time together and enjoying it all. Laughter is our biggest asset, along with an undying love for each other and our lives. Getting to know our newest fur baby, Togo, has been an experience. He is a real goof. I am loving him more and more every day. He is beginning to speak a little more, but not as much as I've seen huskies do in videos. For that, we are happy. The last thing I need is a back talking pup that is beautiful yet a rebel.  

Today is Saturday and the plans are to hang the remainder of our family photos, clean house, go to Goodwill to drop items off and to make Cinnabon cinnamon rolls like I used to several years ago. Fall is coming soon, and it is getting me in the mood for baking. God help my husband. I will need to wrap him in cellophane to keep the rolls he grows under control if I bake too much. I'm a believer of the quip, "Bake it and they will come." With blueberry cheesecake and Cinnabon cinnamon rolls in the next few hours, he will have plenty to snack on. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. Holy bakery Gods! No wonder we are diabetic. And the cinnamon rolls always come out so large and sweet that the brown sugar, butter mixture oozes from the sides. Large enough to make at least six snack times. At least that's how I have to eat them. So ooey, gooey, rich, and sweet. Definitely sweet. Gives a whole new meaning to my term for Terry, "sweet man." He does love sweet! Send sweet man healthy vibes, please. 😄🍞🍰🍯🍴

Well, readers. This is our life up until now, Saturday afternoon. Hubby and I are enjoying what we have right here at home. We completed viewing our favorite series, The Mentalist last night. We chose one of my favorite murder mystery series now, Castle. I'm hoping Terry will fall in love with it like I did. He seemed to enjoy the first episode, so there's hope. 

We have more of our weekend left so I am sure there will be another post tomorrow, Sunday. Oregon Ducks will be playing later tonight and that is always a good thing in our lives. Watching the games has become a favorite pastime that we share. Cinnamon rolls and cheesecake, here we come! Hugs to all, sent with good vibes. Sweet man and I do hope you have the very best day possible.