I watched a video from Tartine a while back and I was fascinated with the variables involved in making bread. I can assure you that following my recipe will not give you my exact results, and trial, error, patience and learning are needed as baking bread is an art and a science.
I wanted to share with everyone my bread making technique which I think is the best way to start based on my research and experience. There are many sources of information all of which are a little different, so if my technique does not get you the results you want, don't give-up.
The starter is the first thing that you need in order to bake bread. It is the essence of your surroundings, as it is the means of collecting and nourishing a piece of yeast from the air around you.
First I want to comment that for my starter, I have found that using volume measurements is the simplest way, for bread I measure by weight.
In a small glass, breathable container combine the following (with little helping hands if you have them around...)
1/4 c White Flour (I use Trader Joes White All Purpose)
1/4 c Wheat Flour (I use Trader Joes White-Wheat)
1/4 c Water (room temperature)
1/4 c Pineapple Juice
The pineapple juice contains acids which help regulate the bacteria in the starter, and allow the yeast to more quickly come to a healthy balance. You can search this for more of the technical details.
I leave the starter with a loose fitting lid, covered with a towel and on top of the refrigerator while it is growing from the yeast, and then balancing out the bacteria.
For this starter it took about 3 days before I saw any bubbles (more than 10). Upon seeing bubbles form on the surface I give it a quick stir and wait another day. The next day I discard about a third of the starter and add the following.
2 Tbps White Flour
2 Tbps Wheat Flour
4 Tbps Water (room temperature)
I repeat this discard and add process each day until I have a full starter as shown below. (This took a total of 7 day's to get to this point.) You can see the gluten created by the yeast holding to the spoon and the entire consistency is airy and fragrant.
Once you have achieved this starter, I discard about a half of the starter every other day and add the following.
4 Tbps White Flour
4 Tbps Wheat Flour
8 Tbps Water (room temperature)
Adding flour and water to the starter "feeds" and "hydrates" the starter. The starter will feed on the flour for approximately 18-24 hours, after that it no longer produces carbon dioxide and will begin to form "hooch" which is an alcohol on the top of the starter. Some pour this off and start feeding more regularly, but I have found that allowing the "hooch" to form helps manage the bacteria.
Once you have gone through the every day discard and feed 5 times, it is time to bake your first batch of bread which I will discuss in a later post...
Once you have a starter that you like, you can the following in the refrigerator and feed it weekly. The cold temperature in the refrigerator slows down the yeast and it goes through one cycle in about a weeks time.
2 Tsbp Healthy Starter
2 Tbps White Flour
2 Tbps Wheat Flour
4 Tbps Water (room temperature)
