Family baker? Any experience with sour dough? I’ve been attempting to make a loaf for weeks now and it just won’t work. I want to make my own to save money, but my husband jokes that all the mishaps are more expensive than buying our specialty bread. I’m also planning on planting a small plot of hard red winter wheat this fall. We’ll see how that goes.
We tried for over 10 years to develop a market for hard white winter wheat here. At one point we had fellow growers with about 5,000 acres of it. Until they started docking us for bringing it to the elevator (ADM did not want to fool with it.). Milling properties were superior and it had almost no tannin in the bran. (source of bitterness)
We have on site storage for about 20,000 bushels and a cleaning and treating plant.
My daughter bought me some sour dough mix (from CA I think) but I have never used it. It is a powdered starter mix. I don’t think it is very difficult, but you have to use it each week and put some back to keep the starter working.
I simply keep 1 lb. of powdered yeast in my refrig. In a sealed Tupperware container, it will keep at least a year.
The secret with most yeasts is the temperature of the liquids and the temp and humidity where you proof it.
Humidity is also an issue with sour dough. I have heard that San Francisco is where they make the best sour dough in the world. It is the salt water and humidity I have been told that gives it the right crust.