Sourdough starter tutorial for festive recipes

There is yeast and yeast: brewer's yeast vs sourdough

Having made a comeback in recent years, thanks to the lockdown and the need to fill time by spending - and staying - in the kitchen, sourdough has made it possible to solve various courses and rediscover the right level of attention.

All things considered, it is a simple mixture of flour and water which creates a chemical reaction capable of causing yeasts and lactic bacteria to proliferate and proceed with the natural fermentation of the mixture. Compared to its "beer" relative which has little to do with the drink, it is much more digestible and offers a better level of leavening as well as extending storage times. It all seems very simple, but we need to delve deeper to eliminate all barriers.

The easy sourdough recipe

The recipe for preparing sourdough is the simplest it can be, in fact you only need 3 ingredients.

200 g of type 0 flour and 100 ml of warm water, a spoonful of honey (sugar or malt).

Sift the flour into a bowl, add the honey and water slowly, continuing to knead until the mixture is soft.

Move the dough into a previously floured glass jar and let it rest for 48 hours, after covering it with a damp cloth - alternatively you can use cling film - and scoring the surface with an X.

Choose a warm place where the temperature can reach 25°C. At the end, refresh the dough by adding the two main ingredients - flour and water - with a 1:1 ratio - 100 g of flour, 100 ml of warm water - and leave to rest for a further 24 hours.

This phase must be repeated for at least 3 days, at the end you can proceed with delicious recipes keeping in mind that the preparation could be weak, few chemical bonds are still young, where a more structured dough is necessary it is necessary to continue with the refreshments to another two or three days.

If necessary, you can add a pinch of brewer's yeast which gives structure to the preparation.

Mother yeast and pitfalls

There is an element that can make you change your mind and prefer the ready-made dough on the market to prepare mouth-watering festive recipes. The first and perhaps the most dangerous in terms of health is the appearance of mold.

Altering the temperature, even by a few degrees, can compromise the bacterial load of the compound and contribute to the creation of mould. Where they appear, you need to throw away the dough and start from scratch.

However, there is a solution, choosing to prepare the dough using an acid base, such as yogurt, which could become a valid deterrent to slow the appearance of mold.

Mother yeast, how much do I use?

Festive recipes include a table laden with delicacies and appetizers which very often become a moment of gorging during the course of the appetizers.

To accompany the platter of cured meats and cheeses, perhaps carefully selected, you can choose small squares of bread created with sourdough. The local salami, for example, chooses to be accompanied by pieces of tasty and thin focaccia, so as to best make the most of the "chubbiness" contained in a simple slice.

Use requires an easy ratio, 50g of sourdough with 500g of flour, in addition to the other ingredients. Be careful with the water, you will need to reduce the quantity foreseen in the recipe if you want to create a dish similar to the Roman focaccia which requires little water and an irresistible crunchiness.

How do I store sourdough starter?

If refreshments are necessary to increase the quantity and bring noteworthy recipes to the table, the same attention is needed for conservation and use after a few days.

The refreshment concept is based on the type of yeast you want to obtain: weak or strong? It all depends on the festive recipes you make. Preservation revolves around the desire to bring crumbly and always fresh dishes to the table, so the jar, the film and the damp cloth become perfect allies that allow you to preserve the product.

Be careful, to keep the sourdough intact you need to take care of it and proceed with refreshing it once a day. Challenging but satisfying!

Sourdough storage: refrigerator solution

The alternative to sporadic and non-daily use is to keep the sourdough starter in the refrigerator so that it is ready when needed and can proceed with the refreshment phase at least once a week. You need to remove the jar from the fridge, wait four hours for it to take shape again, refresh it and off you go with tasty recipes!

A sweet and a savory one with sourdough

If the tasty and spicy focaccia is now outdated, you can upgrade and create festive recipes capable of tickling the palate and leaving the gaze dazed, dazed and dazed.

The recipe for the dessert veers towards a great classic of the northern table: panettone. There are many Christmas recipe tutorials online that allow you to acquire mischief and undertake this path to make the confectionery protagonist at home.

If, however, the diners' preference is focused on savory solutions, it is necessary to sharpen one's ingenuity and propose simple and tasty dishes: savory croissants enriched with cereals could be a very valid idea.

The filling question becomes an excellent ally to resolve any debacles due to the demanding preparation. If for the savory version you can think of adding a respectable Italian cured meat, such as Bresaola Bovì which perfectly balances sweetness and flavor. Or, in the Christmas mood, a nice beagle with smoked salmon and spreadable cheese is also perfect.

For the sweet version you can dare a combination typical of the Venetian lands: panettone, mascarpone and Christmas cream .

Happy Holidays! Maybe it's time to say it, to you and your family! A rich table, laden and full of delicacies, it's time to get to the stove!