"Kent" > wrote in message . ..

"linda" > wrote in message ...
>
> "Kent" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "linda" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> What I would like to do is have a yeast plant started from the grain
>>> fermenting naturally, so as to avoid the fast acting yeast which appears
>>> to give me indigestion
>>>
>>> Then in theory when I want some bread I wouls just take some of the plant
>>> and add that to basic ingredients, program the bread machine and have
>>> bread. Is this possible?
>>>
>>> I've looked and just can't seem to find any recipes online for sour dough
>>> using a bread machine. I guess because traditionally it takes days to
>>> rises, hence my idea of using a plant. But I don't really know that
>>> much about it - would a plant not work from natural yeasts? And what
>>> would I feed it to keep it going if it did?
>>>
>>> I plan on using whole grain flour as much as possible but I'll mix it
>>> with plain if I have to, as dh really doesn't like the heavier breads.
>>>
>>> And yes I tried just using baking powder to get it to rise - was more
>>> like soggy cake.
>>>
>>> Any bread experts out there?
>>>
>>>
>> To make a sourdough starter is a long many day ritual. You wouldn't want
>> to do your final rise in a bread machine with it's very short rise time.
>> You can, however, use the bread machine to make a preferment, like poolish
>> or biga, and add that to the dough with enough yeast to rise in the time
>> allowed by the machine.
>> If you're going to go to this much effort, it's really better to use the
>> machine only as a mixer and make the bread manually. Look at Peter
>> Reinhart's "Breadmaker's Apprentice". It's a breadmaker's bible.
>>
>> Kent
>>
> Actually be honest we don't currently have an oven, so my breadmaker is my
> only option. It's a long story and hopefully we'll have one again in a
> couple of months.
> (You'd be surprised how many things you can make in an electric frying pan
> though!!)
>
>
Linda, I haven't done this, but I would try the following. Make a poolish, or preferment with the recipe below. Let it ferment 6-8 hours, or overnight in the frig until it bubbles and falls back on itself.As you see you use a very small amount of yeast for a very slow ferment.

Poolish
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
Then make your final dough with the poolish and enough yeast to give you a fast enough rise to fit the breadmaker cycle. For your final dough use the the above poolish and the following. You may have to change the amounts so this will all fit in your machine. Just keep the flour/water ratio as you want it in the final bread.
1 pound flour
10-12 ounces water
2-3 teaspoon instant yeast; you may have to play with this.
2 teaspoons salt
all of the poolish
You'll find the long slow ferment of the poolish will give flavor to your bread. It's a long way from sourdough, but it tastes good, and it's a good place to start. Good Luck with your baking.
Kent

Thanks Kent, will give it a go

I also found this which I can't use currently as I don't have an oven, but for anyone else who is interested - http://www.sourdoughbreads.com/JoeWa...rchProject.htm