The Modern Housewife

Well I have officially given up on making Sour Dough Bread.  No reason or at least not one I wish to discuss. On a side note, if anyone would like to purchase a brick that has a pleasant sour smell to it, then please contact me.  It is very sturdy and I doubt very much that it will ever break.  Alas it is very heavy so if you wish to purchase it, it may pay to bring someone else with you for pick up, to avoid a back injury. As you were.....

Sour Dough kicked my butt once but I will be dammed if it beats me again!  So a few days ago I started small.  Using an old formula scoop I started out, leaving my mixture on the sunny windowsill in my kitchen. Day 1: One scoop flour, one scoop warm water (stir) Day 2: One scoop flour, one scoop warm water (stir) Day 3: Oops Day 4: Two scoops flour, two scoops warm water (stir) Day 5: Half a cup flour, half a cup warm water (stir) Day 6: I drained some of the liquid out that sat on the top then added a cup of flour and a cup of warm water (stir) Day 7: (Today) Since my mixture was bubbly and lovely and ever so slightly stinky (OK quite stinky but I didn't linger to take it all in), I decided to make me some BREAD. Playing it by ear I added 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar and 2 cups of flour and realising it was too dry I added some warm water.  I proceeded to knead it for a bit and was surprised that this time it felt right.  So left it on the bench to ris...

Tomorrow is the day.... One month since I started out on my bread making mission.  I can confirm that I have yet to use brought bread and I have enough bread in the bread container to make it through tomorrow.  I am currently patting myself on the back Whoop Whoop.  Sorry little bit excited here, not often I follow through on something.  Thank you blogging world for pressuring me into finishing, the fear of posting my failure up here helped me make it through those difficult times.  I know I sound like I have conquered a nation or something but no, I just made bread for our family for one month. Although it has been hugely satisfying, at times it hasn't been easy.  There have been a few evenings when I have noticed my husband having unauthorised  bread (aka I didn't realise he was going to have a sami at night time and I only had just enough bread for breakie).  So I have had to start mixing and kneading away, letting the bread rise ov...

Three weeks have passed and still we have not touched the cheap back up bread located in my freezer.  Mew ha ha ha ha (insert evil laugh here).  I feel like some sort of superhuman hero.  I know, I know, its only bread but I think deep down inside my hunter gatherer needs are satisfied by being able to supply my family with something so basic all by myself (insert goofy smiley face here).  If you ever see me in the supermarket  you might think I am a little crazy.  Not only do I talk constantly to my kids, but whenever I go past the bread isle I have a crazy satisfied little smile on my face.  When I go past the nappy isle and don't have to buy any (due to using reusable apart from night time) it is just about too much for me to take lol. So I am on track to make my four weekly target.  It may be a little extra work, but seeing my kids munching down on fresh bread and totally loving it is enough to make it worth it.  Not to mentio...

Well it seems Sour Dough Bread is not fool proof, aka me proof.  I let it rise for 24 hours, ever the hopeful am I.  Yet my Sour Dough is just a hefty solid block of dough.  So hefty I wondered how to dispose of it...................... Didn't want to look all dodgy carrying a big black bag to the car and dumping it in a bin somewhere in an isolated park. I thought of the waste disposer, mmmmm nope it isn't that tough.   One blob of the Sour Dough brick and that disposer would be jammed up big time. "Compost heap", I said to myself, mmm maybe not, it is a growing thing that would mould up and be all smelly and gross.  Plus if some poor bird got hold of that it would loose its ability to fly instantly held back by the Sour Dough weighing down its little intestines. The only other option I had was the rubbish bin.  This worries me, as our bin is black heat seeking oven like contraption, that only gets picked up once every two weeks. ...

Ahhhhh I am not sure I can do this.  Uncle Fester (my pet name for my Sour Dough Starter) well, he STINKS, and not just a little bit but he is RANK. Ew ew ew ew ew suffice to say I think Uncle Fester is alive as they say when he stinks its all go. So I have started to make my first Sour Dough bread.  Have told Hubby that if we don't like it we are staying with yeast.  I have put a bit of starter with a cup of four and a cup of warm water for Unlce Fester to reproduce and make a Sponge (thats what they call the intial part of Sour Dough Bread making. Just went into the kitchen yucky Uncle Fester and his kids are stinking out this house.  So apparently Sour Dough Bread making is not for the faint hearted. To be continued......

Mmmmmm had what could be considered a dubious start to my Sour Dough making experience.  I forgot to feed it, it was only born yesterday and already I forgot to feed it, my bad.  Good thing my kids can tell me they are hungry otherwise there might be trouble.  On the bright side the dough is bubbly and is starting to smell a little nasty.  Just fed it and hope it will forgive me and grow grow grow. In case you are wondering I am using the following website for instructions to grow my little Sour Dough baby. http://www.bakesourdough.com/making_sourdough_starter