Something to Do . . .
This is what I've been working on: Sourdough Starter
I figured that since I'm staying at home, now would be the time for me to see if I can figure out sourdough. I've been following the directions in the Paul Hollywood Bread book. Here it is how I started, with the flour, water and cut up grapes all mixed together.
And here it is in the jar I bought just for it! It's a 2-liter jar. I didn't have anything that large so I got one on Amazon.
First I closed it, but then I decided I should open the top in case it exploded . . . It didn't do much the first couple of days, and a friend suggested that it might need to be a little warmer. It had been sitting in my kitchen on the granite counter top, which is inherently cool.
So, I put it on one of the empty top shelves (the warmest of the shelves) of one of the plant stands. That way it's little bum got warm from the light below, and it's top got warm from the light above. Fluorescent lights do throw off a little heat - just enough to make the atmosphere a bit warmer than the rest of whatever room they're in.
This was a smart move! This was at the end of day 2:
Here's a view from the top!
By the third day, it had definitely gone to town!
There was liquid at the bottom - but some online friends advised that this was normal.
I following the directions, removed the bits of cut up grape, stirred everything back together, took half out and discarded it, fed it, and put it back on the shelf.
Within hours it was growing again!
Yesterday morning it was back up near the top! I thought it would last until this morning . . .
I was wrong.
It has started to fall, which, according to the book means it needs to be fed again. So, I'll do that this afternoon and see how it goes in the morning tomorrow.
It's certainly been an interesting experiment, that's for sure! The recipe calls for 250 grams of the starter - I think I take it out when it's tallest, but I'm not sure - I don't know if I stir it up again and then take it out. The book doesn't specify. I'll let you know how it goes :-D
This song has been in my head today . . .
I figured that since I'm staying at home, now would be the time for me to see if I can figure out sourdough. I've been following the directions in the Paul Hollywood Bread book. Here it is how I started, with the flour, water and cut up grapes all mixed together.
And here it is in the jar I bought just for it! It's a 2-liter jar. I didn't have anything that large so I got one on Amazon.
First I closed it, but then I decided I should open the top in case it exploded . . . It didn't do much the first couple of days, and a friend suggested that it might need to be a little warmer. It had been sitting in my kitchen on the granite counter top, which is inherently cool.
So, I put it on one of the empty top shelves (the warmest of the shelves) of one of the plant stands. That way it's little bum got warm from the light below, and it's top got warm from the light above. Fluorescent lights do throw off a little heat - just enough to make the atmosphere a bit warmer than the rest of whatever room they're in.
This was a smart move! This was at the end of day 2:
Here's a view from the top!
By the third day, it had definitely gone to town!
There was liquid at the bottom - but some online friends advised that this was normal.
I following the directions, removed the bits of cut up grape, stirred everything back together, took half out and discarded it, fed it, and put it back on the shelf.
Within hours it was growing again!
Yesterday morning it was back up near the top! I thought it would last until this morning . . .
I was wrong.
It has started to fall, which, according to the book means it needs to be fed again. So, I'll do that this afternoon and see how it goes in the morning tomorrow.
It's certainly been an interesting experiment, that's for sure! The recipe calls for 250 grams of the starter - I think I take it out when it's tallest, but I'm not sure - I don't know if I stir it up again and then take it out. The book doesn't specify. I'll let you know how it goes :-D
This song has been in my head today . . .
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