Wednesday 28 April 2010

Sourdough Starter- Lievito Naturale o Pasta Madre

From the book ‘Crust - Bread to get your teeth into’ by Richard Bertinet .



What a fulfilling experience making your own sourdough!
A few months ago I got a book from a friend of mine. This book has now become a ‘Bread Bible’ for me. I am talking about ‘Crust’ by Richard Bertinet. I recommend this book to anyone who is new to bread making.
I have already tried a number of recipes from the book, and I have to say that I am simply in love with it. For this Sourdough recipe, I have strictly followed the instructions from Richard Bertinet. I now make bread at least twice a week, a bread that cannot be compared to the one I find in the bakery section of supermarkets and shops.

Per leggere la ricetta in Italiano andare al fondo del Post

Method

Step 1

  • Spelt flour, 50g
  • Strong white flour, 150g
  • Organic honey, 20g
  • Warm water, 150g
Mix all the ingredients into a large bowl. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place (around 30ºC) for around 36-48 hours.
After this time bubbles will begin to appear and the dough will have darkened a bit, meaning the fermentation process has started.

Step 2

  • The mixture from Step 1
  • Spelt flour, 30g
  • Strong white flour, 280g
  • Warm water, 150g
Mix all the ingredients together. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place (no less than 24ºC) for 24 hours.
After this time the mixture will have expanded a bit, smelling sweet and lightly fermented.

Step 3
  • 200g of the mixture from Step 1
  • Strong white flour, 400g
  • Warm water, 200g
Mix all the ingredients together until you have a thick dough. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place (no less than 24ºC) for 12 hours.
After this time the mixture will have started to rise.

Step 4

As the dough is now starting to rise, you need to slow the fermentation down. Transfer the dough in the bottom of your fridge for 2 days. The ferment is ready when pulling back the skin it will be buttery coloured and full of bubbles underneath. The dough should also smell slightly acidic.

You should now have 800g of ferment. Take out 400g to make your bread and leave 400g in the bowl. Put the bowl back in the fridge and remember to refresh it every 2-3 days in order to keep it going.

Refreshing the ferment

Sourdough needs to be nourished in order to keep alive. If you don’t, it will start feeding off itself and will turn rotten.
To refresh the ferment you will need to weight it and mix it with an equal quantity of water and double the quantity of strong flour.
Cover with cling film and leave the ferment in the fridge for 2-3 days. Keep on refreshing your ferment every 2-3 days.


Pasta o Lievito Madre

Ricetta tratta dal libro ‘Crust - Bread to get your teeth into’ by Richard Bertinet (http://www.thebertinetkitchen.com/) .



Step 1
  • Farina di farro, 50g
  • Farina bianca forte, 150g
  • Miele biologico, 20g
  • Acqua tiepida, 150g
Lavorare tutti gli ingredienti in una ciotola piuttosto ampia. Il composto risultera’ piuttosto morbido. Ricoprire la ciotola con della pellicola trasparente e lasciar riposare in luogo tiepido (ad una temperatura di circa 30ºC) per 36-48 ore.
Passato questo tempo il composto risutera’ un po’ scurito e sara’ caratterizzato dalla presenza di bolle e odore un po’ pungente. Cio’ significa che il processo di fermentazione e’ iniziato.

Step 2
  • Tutto il composto ottenuto seguendo lo Step 1
  • Farina di farro, 30g
  • Farina bianca forte, 280g
  • Acqua tiepida, 150g
Mescolare bene tutti gli ingredienti di cui sopra. Ricoprire la ciotola con della pellicola trasparente e lasciar riposare in luogo tiepido (ad una temperatura non inferiore a 24ºC) per 24 ore.
Passato questo tempo il composto’ avra’ un odore ancora piu’ pungente e risultera’ gia’ un po’ fermentato.

Step 3
  • 200g del composto ottenuto seguendo lo Step 2
  • Farina bianca forte, 400g
  • Acqua tiepida, 200g
Mescolare bene tutti gli ingredienti di cui sopra fino ad ottenere un composto piuttosto compatto. Ricoprire la ciotola con della pellicola trasparente e lasciar riposare in luogo tiepido (ad una temperatura non inferiore a 24ºC) per 12 ore.

Step 4

Ora il composto iniziera’ a crescere. E’ necessario a questo punto rallentare un po’ la fermentazione. Trasferire quindi il lievito madre nella parte piu’ bassa del frigorifero per 2 giorni. Il lievito e’ pronto quando, alzando la pellicina in superficie, si notera’ un colore simile a quello del burro e presentera’ delle bolle. La pasta a questo punto avra’ un odore ancora piu’ pungente, acidulo.

Se avrete seguito il procedimento di cui sopra, a questo punto avrete 800 grammi di pasta madre. Usatene 400 grammi per fare il pane, e lasciate i rimanenti 400 grammi nella ciotola. Ricoprite e riponete in frigo (sempre nella parte piu’ bassa). La pasta madre andra’ rinfrescata ogni 2-3 giorni.

Il rinfresco

La pasta madre e’, di fatto, viva, ed ha quindi bisogno di essere nutrita e mantenuta in vita. Se non lo farete, ‘mangera’ se stessa’, andra’ a male, ed infine morira’.

Il rinfresco, che va eseguito ogni 2-3 giorni e va effettuato pesando la pasta madre, aggiungendo la stessa quantita’ di acqua ed il doppio di farina forte.

Si lavora qualche minuto, si copre con la pellicola trasparente e si conserva nel frigo fino al rinfresco successivo.

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15 comments:

  1. Ciao, Che spero tu conosca l'Italiano Voglio FARTI i complimenti per Il blog, Mi Piace Tanto!

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  2. Ciao Nitte, certo che si! Grazie mille, faccio subito un giro anche sul tuo xx

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  3. Can't wait to see the finished loaf.

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  4. Thanks Janice, will post one soon :-)

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  5. una pasta madre stupenda,molto ben alveolata!io sto sperimentando diversi modi di fare il lievito naturale e sono molto interessata a questo argomento.Complimenti anche per il tuo blog!un felice weekend dalla Toscana

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  6. Grazie Antonella,
    Faccio un giro anche sul tuo, la cucina toscana mi appassiona molto - poi io sono originaria della provincia di Viterbo, non lontano da te, e comunque la cucina da noi e' piu' simile a quella toscana che a quella romana.
    Buon weekend anche a te x

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  7. Hi Laura! I'm not sure how I "landed" here but sure glad I did. I must return when I have more time:) Bookmarked!!!

    Thanks for sharing...

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  8. What do we have to do with the rest of mixture from step 2?it s request only for 200 gr.mixture in step 3!where goes the rest?

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  9. Help I'm upto step 3 today & now find I have to go away on Monday & will be away till the following Sunday, can I do anything with my sourdough starter?

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    1. Hi, I would suggest to complete step 4 - you have time to do this if you are leaving on Monday.
      At this stage, the only option you have is to leave the sourdough in the fridge until when you are back the following week.
      At that point the dough will be a bit deteriorated I'm afraid. However, you could try to save it, scraping off and throwing away the top - which is probably going to be yellowish and hard. If the dough underneath is not too dark, and you can see that it is still 'alive', try to refresh it (to refresh the ferment you will need to weight it and mix it with an equal quantity of water and double the quantity of strong flour). Leave it at room temperature for a couple of hours, and then transfer to the fridge.
      Repeat the refreshing step after two days. The dough should have a better 'look', and repeat this operation a few times, until when the dough will be lighter, softer, and with a less pungent smell.
      You can try... but it is not guaranteed that it works I'm afraid.
      I hope this helps,
      Laura

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