Well, the starter finally doubled. Probably should have followed the directions more carefully the first time. I would not be on Day 8 if that were the case. Actually, I would prefer that directions are written with the simple-minded in mind...people just like me. That is probably a discussion for another time though.
Back to the recipe. It says to break the starter into 6 equal pieces. The verb "break" is an interesting term for this, since it is very gummy and sticky. I chose to flop it on to a cutting board and, using a wet knife, cut the blob into six pieces of random size. (You have to keep wetting the knife, or you will wish that you had not used it.)
I transferred the six cutlets into a bowl. Then, I added 1 pound of high gluten flour. I had to look up how many ounces were in a pound since I could not remember and I use a digital scale. Then, once I Googled it, and proceeded to weigh my flour. Just as I hit the 16 oz measurement, the scale went to pounds. Ahh. Now I remember...
Then, I added 2 cups of room temperature water...which was supposed to be 70 degrees. However, room temperature in my home is more like 80 degrees, which surprised me how cold the water felt at 70.
My Kitchen Aid mixer then went to town for a few minutes working the taffy into an interesting, sticky blend called a "thick sponge". Then, I transferred this mess into the fridge for a 3-day hibernation. Now, at this point, the starter can be used in dough. It has to be reactivated just before it is used, though. Basically, you add the flour/water mixture and the bacteria starts eating the sugars out and turning it into CO2...i.e. fluffiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment