I had to renew my sourdough starters yesterday (I have three different strains) so I did the usual routine
1) I stirred in the "hooch", the yellowish liquid that collects on top of the starter, then poured off about half of the starter into a stoneware bowl.
2) I added 1 cup of filtered water and 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour to each mason jar of starter and mixed well.
3) I let the wild yeast develop in the jars for about four hours, then added another 1/4 cup of flour to each.
4) I let the wild yeast develop another two hours, then added another 1/4 cup of flour and put the starter back into the fridge.
Normally I can stop after step 3, but these starters had been neglected for some time, so I really had to rejuvenate the saccharomyces exiguus colonies in the starter. So, what to do with the starter I poured off? Normally, I make sourdough waffles, and that's what I intended. I added more filterd water and flour to the bowl and covered it with plastic wrap to let the yeast develop, then later on added some whole wheat flour. But evidently the population of yeast cells was REALLY low, because although I got some bubbling, it was fairly lackluster.
For those who don't know, the fluffiness of sourdough waffles and pancakes comes from the acid produced by the yeast combining with the baking soda in the dry ingredients. Without sufficient yeast production, I didn't get enough "sour" and therefore got a pretty sad waffle---limp, dense, and a bit eggy. I should have had the patience to let my sponge develop overnight and gotten up early to make waffles in the morning, which sounds really good now but the "up early" part sounded pretty heinous to me yesterday evening.
You don't need sourdough to make really fluffly waffles. As my Grandma Tootsie showed by her excellent example in my youth, what you really need are egg whites. If you separate the eggs in the recipe and only beat the yolks in with the other liquid ingredients, then beat the egg whites to stiff peak stage and fold them gently into the batter, you get a batter that will produce light, crisp, slightly moist, irresistable waffles.
There are few other tips for waffle making which I have found conveniently collected into a single page on Mr. Breakfast's website: click here for 10 Tips to make Perfect Waffles. The best waffle recipe I've ever made is in the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, the one with a plaid cover, but which also appears here on the Serious Eats website.
1) I stirred in the "hooch", the yellowish liquid that collects on top of the starter, then poured off about half of the starter into a stoneware bowl.
2) I added 1 cup of filtered water and 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour to each mason jar of starter and mixed well.
3) I let the wild yeast develop in the jars for about four hours, then added another 1/4 cup of flour to each.
4) I let the wild yeast develop another two hours, then added another 1/4 cup of flour and put the starter back into the fridge.
Normally I can stop after step 3, but these starters had been neglected for some time, so I really had to rejuvenate the saccharomyces exiguus colonies in the starter. So, what to do with the starter I poured off? Normally, I make sourdough waffles, and that's what I intended. I added more filterd water and flour to the bowl and covered it with plastic wrap to let the yeast develop, then later on added some whole wheat flour. But evidently the population of yeast cells was REALLY low, because although I got some bubbling, it was fairly lackluster.
For those who don't know, the fluffiness of sourdough waffles and pancakes comes from the acid produced by the yeast combining with the baking soda in the dry ingredients. Without sufficient yeast production, I didn't get enough "sour" and therefore got a pretty sad waffle---limp, dense, and a bit eggy. I should have had the patience to let my sponge develop overnight and gotten up early to make waffles in the morning, which sounds really good now but the "up early" part sounded pretty heinous to me yesterday evening.
You don't need sourdough to make really fluffly waffles. As my Grandma Tootsie showed by her excellent example in my youth, what you really need are egg whites. If you separate the eggs in the recipe and only beat the yolks in with the other liquid ingredients, then beat the egg whites to stiff peak stage and fold them gently into the batter, you get a batter that will produce light, crisp, slightly moist, irresistable waffles.
There are few other tips for waffle making which I have found conveniently collected into a single page on Mr. Breakfast's website: click here for 10 Tips to make Perfect Waffles. The best waffle recipe I've ever made is in the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, the one with a plaid cover, but which also appears here on the Serious Eats website.
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