Sourdough Stage 1

Today is the beginning of week 4 as a housewife and I've decided to finally try my hand at real sourdough and I'll be following the method described by Richard Bertinet in his book Crust. And already I'm making alterations to the recipe. Richard calls for one part spelt flour and three parts white flour, but I don't have spelt flour at the moment, so I'm going with only white flour.

Also he adds honey and for the first time in many years, we've run out of honey! But yesterday Lundulph opened a jar of "pine cone elixir". We bought this in Bulgaria thinking it is pine jam/honey, which is a very tasty Bulgarian thing made with the new shoots of a pine. Now it is not really honey as pines are not pollinated by bees, but by wind. Still, it is a very tasty honey-like thing and is often recommended to eat for a sore throat. This thing however, was blander than bland and is just regular sugar syrup, so I used this for my sourdough ferment.

Ingredients

200 g strong white flour
150 g warm water
20 g sugar syrup

Stage 1

I've measured up the ingredients and mixed them well into what looks like thick, but smooth porridge.



I then covered it with cling film and put it in what I believe is the warmest part of the kitchen - in the cupboard above the fridge and freezer. Richard says it should be about 30 degrees C and even in extreme cooking days, the kitchen doesn't reach such temperatures. I guess he's talking about an airing cupboard or such, but I don't have that either. So things will be a bit slower perhaps.

Now the mixture should rest for 36 to 48 h, during which time fermentation should begin. So I'm opting for the 48 h, before moving to the next stage.