Sour Dough Starter and Bread

Acouple of months ago I was talking about sour dough starter but was having some trouble getting it happening, the weather was not helping as it was the middle of summer and pretty hot.

 This is the starter after being left for about 6 hours to prove.

Just recently a reader left a comment on my sour dough starter post and left me a recipe for both the starter and the bread, It was so easy it was practically laughable. The outcome, the finished product is just the best bread I've ever made. And all it has in it is flour, water, salt and oil.

This is the dough after being mixed and needed and left overnight then needed and left for about 5 hours in a floured teatowel.

Here is the beautiful loaf after being baked in the over for only 35 mins.

Finally the bread.... so yummy yet so simple. 

Now here thanks to my lovely reader here is the recipe!

Thanks so much Suzy this is the nicest recipe and it was really lovely of you to share it.

Suzy wrote.......

I was given a sourdough starter by a friend recently and had great success with my bread from the very first loaf! It had a wonderful crust and a great aroma.

When I first got her starter (which was in a glass jar containing about 200g of it), I first "fed" it by adding 100g of unbleached flour and about 100ml of lukewarm water, then stirring well until it became a paste. I then covered the jar with a damp tea towel and left it in a warm place for 6hrs. (After 6hrs it will look bubbly and have a milky smell - it shouldn't smell sour or bad.)

To make the dough for the bread, I weighed out 200g of this starter into a separate bowl and mixed it with 240ml of lukewarm water until it was runny (consistency of milk).

In a large bowl I mixed 450g of unbleached flour,50g wholemeal flour with a pinch of salt. Into this went the milky-looking starter mixture and this was made into a dough and kneaded well for 10 mins on a floured board, then placed in an oiled bowl covered with a damp tea towel and left to rise in a warm place for 8hrs. Then I knocked down the dough with my knuckles, shaped it into a round and placed it into a colander lined with a "floured" teatowel. This was then covered with a damp teatowel and left for 6 hrs in a warm spot to rise again. Then it was turned onto an oiled baking sheet, the top slashed with a sharp knife and baked for 35mins. Hope this is helpful.
I "fed" the original starter "mother" again by adding 100g of unbleached flour and 100ml of lukewarm water to the jar, blended to a paste and left,covered with a damp teatowel for 6 hrs after which I put the lid back on the jar and placed it in the fridge until next time.]