create a sourdough starter

I’ve been letting it sit, and today I added 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of warm water.

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD THAT STUFF SMELLS LIKE PURE EVIL.

Like, it’s fine when it’s in the container, and you can’t smell anything, but the combination of a slightly upset stomach, just having had dinner, and smelling the starter when I had to mix it left me dangerously close to vomiting. It’s nothing as bad as dead snail, mind you (dead snail being the most foul thing I have ever smelled in my 21 years of existence), but it’s up there.

OMG.

Next time, I will mess around with my starter WAY after my last meal. I hope my apartment doesn’t smell like this all night. Maybe I should have started this project in the summer…

I started my sourdough starter today! :D

Here it is chilling with my tomato, garlic, paper towels, and my roommate’s cactus. I added some potato pieces in a cheesecloth for food.

My roommate already called dibs on some of the starter when it’s ready, so I don’t have to worry about it making the entire kitchen smell terrible (since he’s getting something out of this, too).

So, I want to do this not to make sourdough, but to make injera. I had no idea you even needed a sourdough starter until I saw this site, but I LOVE Ethiopian food, and I really want to try to make it at home.

I plan on using the instructions from that site, and I’m going to start it after my vacation this month so I can be sure to feed it properly!

More rye meal, more water..

I almost forgot! Just added more rye meal and water.

I started it today with rye meal and water.

baked sourdough biscuits on Sunday, but only my youngest son liked those. Back to the sourdough bread recipe then…

and baked 2 loaves of bread yesterday. Just followed a recipe in a cookbook. Both loaves were devoured by the hosueful of boys within a couple of hours. All the boys gave me high marks for my sour dough bread and hope I’ll make more SOON.

up the flour, water and yeast… it’s resting in a bowl with a towel over it.

Our apartment is full of flies. Well, one small family, but since I’d like to leave it uncovered at first, I’m compromising between warmer weather and fewer insects by waiting for early September, about 5 weeks from now.