Submitted by Belle Auld on behalf of the Education Committee
Better late than never… For those of you baking (or thinking of trying to bake) with sourdough, here is some information about sourdough and links to some recipes.
Sourdough can be made with many different flours. Injera bread, traditional in Ethiopia, is made with gluten-free teff flour, though it is difficult to breed a successful starter with only teff flour. Most injera recipes call for the addition of either wheat or rye flour – which then makes it not gluten-free. Some injera recipes suggest substituting millet flour for teff. There are also basic sourdough starters made with gluten-free flours (see recipes below).
The starter can also vary – some recipes call for water to be added to the flour; some call for milk. You would think that adding milk and keeping it for years or decades might not be a good idea, but it seems to work without poisoning those who eat the products made with it. I used milk in my sourdough in my pre-gluten-free days when I lived in the country and never poisoned anyone (that I know of).
A side advantage of having sourdough around is that it is then easier to make wine without having to add yeast. The sourdough produces yeast spores that hang around ready to turn zinfandel grape juice into wine. (I also did that successfully when living in the country – also without poisoning anyone – that I know of…).
Recipes:
Sourdough starters:
With regular flour and water – Here is one recipe, complete with video - https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8392/sourdough-starter/
With regular flour and milk - https://www.robinhood.ca/En/Recipes/Sherwood-Sourdough-Starter
With gluten-free flour and milk (which I haven’t tried yet) - http://stage.robinhood.ca/En/Recipes/Sherwood-Starter-Made-With-Gluten-Free-Flour
Sourdough recipes:
Bread – there are many recipes out there. Here is just one, also including another starter recipe https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-make-sourdough-bread/
Injera bread, includes recipe for teff sourdough starter - https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/injera-ethiopian-flatbread-3364733
Cinnamon rolls - https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2017/12/how-to-make-sourdough-cinnamon-rolls-step-by-step-guide/print/20758/
Banana bread, cheese biscuits, challah, pancakes, tuna quiche, chocolate cake and sweet dough – go to www.robinhood.ca and search sourdough
Gluten-free muffins and pancakes - www.robinhood.ca and search gluten-free sourdough
Anyone have a favourite sourdough recipe (or sourdough starter) they would like to share?