Sour dough

Winter is usually a catch up time for me. The Motels aren’t so busy and there isn’t much to do in the garden, but it doesn’t seem to have been that way this year. With the kids getting older and Zak at boarding school, I seem to have been busier than ever.

However, last week as the whole country shivered through a “polar blast” and unheard of snow fall throughout the county I was just happy that my oven has finally been fixed and I can bake once more.

This photo is taken from the Coronet ski field. The Remarkables are on the left and we are looking down the Lake towards Kingston. They got about 10 inches of snow in Queenstown. It is still on the ground and piled up on the road sides. Just up the Lake, Glenorchy had barely an inch, quickly melting. Our school didn’t even shut, while Queenstown kids missed out on three whole days. Do the kids feel ripped off? You bet!

And I’m baking sour dough.

Over at the down to earth forum there was a challenge to make your own sour dough starter…..

Not much point in me doing that I thought since my oven wasn’t working at the time…..but as so often happens when I’m thinking about something, lo and behold along comes someone else and offers me the exact thing I’m thinking about. In this case a sour dough starter.

Would you like a 100 year old Alaskan sour dough starter? asked a friend of mine and of course I said yes. (while taking the 100 year old Alaskan bit with a large grain of salt)

It lived in the fridge for a while, and I tried a loaf in the breadmaker without much success. I tried the pancakes and the kids said they preferred my usual recipe, but the bread is divine.

The sour dough is funny stuff. Once mixed and left overnight it becomes like a thick snotty gloop. ( Ew!  Mum it looks like gorilla snot!)

I’m thinking that sour dough might be the answer to a nice gluten free bread, without relying on gums the keep the bread from crumbling apart. If I can work out how to make a gluten free starter that is.

If you look up sour dough on the internet there seems to be as many different ways to make and keep the stuff as there are cook with it.

My instructions say…mix up 2 cups of plain flour with 2 cups of warm water. Add the sour dough starter, mix and leave over night.

First thing in the morning take out one cup of the mix for your new starter and put it back in the fridge. – don’t forget this bit, or you won’t have any starter for next time.

With what is left add, 1 tsp salt, one tsp soda (dissolved in a little warm water) an egg if you have one, and 3 tbsp sugar.

Mix well. You can use this mix as a pancake mix.

Add some oil and about 3 cups of flour and knead to a soft dough. This makes enough for 2 small loaves or one large loaf. (depending on if you use any of the mix for pancakes first I guess)

Let rise and bake in a hot oven.