Saturday, June 9, 2007

sourdough woes

what am i doing wrong with my sourdough? i've been trying to use just my wild culture, which seems to have some bubbly get-up-and-go to it. should i not put the sponge in the fridge? does slow-rising not apply here? i figure, if you're supposed to let the sponge hang out for 8-24 hours, what harm does it do if part of it is in the fridge? maybe i already have an answer. i just hate to leave things out unattended during bug season. the oven is back in commission after more than two weeks (!), and i was raring to bake. last night, i did the long-awaited seitan of greatness. it was good, but not exactly exuding greatness. a little bland. it may be true that i didn't follow the recipe to the letter, however, and i'll definitely try again. if you can handle gluten, seitan is a great option to have in your back pocket. next time i try making bread, i'll put a few tablespoons of vital wheat in the mix as well. ...speaking of the post punk kitchen, (kind of), i made a completly un-veganized version of their vegan soy ice cream recipe last night. tofu was involved. but instead of soy milk, i used regular milk. organic milk, though, vegan friends! that's better than nothing, right? um, yes. so anyways. tofu, milk, sugar , strawberries, (milk) chocolate, and graham crackers. good in theory. not that good with tofu. sorry. it's just not in the cards. tofutti cuties i absolutely love, though, so maybe there's a secret i need to unlock to make it taste like delicious, not like delicious with a tofu aftertaste. until then, i have other flavor delights to try.

2 comments:

Monkey Wrangler said...

Hello there!
What was the sourdough problem? Not enough rise? Did your sponge not get all poofy? Are you referring to the starter after you feed it as a sponge, because yes, after you feed it leave it out overnight and make sure it is covered. Often, I put a heavy plate over mine, then the following morning I take out what I need for the dough and then put the rest in the fridge until the next time I'm ready to feed it. After mixing up my dough, I try to let it rise in a 70-80 degree environment until it doubles, then I punch it down and let it do this again. After doing this 2-3 times I'll shape my loaf and then let that rise, then bake it damn hot (500)

Drop on by sometime and see if anything helps.
D

Frisky said...

the plate thing is a smart idea. i think if i put a towel AND a plate over a bowl, then wayward ants couldn't get it.
i'll try tonight! thanks!