I am probably dating myself  saying that.  Anyone else remember that term or used it?

On the topic of "sour" this past Spring I decided to try my hand at sourdough.   Something I'd never done before.   Off to the internet I went looking for recipes for starter.  What a rabbit hole that was!   Not only that but finding yeast or even flour during the hording  that was happening was all but impossible.   I tried a number of recipes but finally landed on a starter recipe I thought made sense.   I tried a few with yeast but just didn't have luck with them and it didn't make sense to me that "back in the day" that they would use yeast.   I landed on a recipe that didn't use yeast and that actually did what it was supposed to.   I was true to the recipe for the first few goes at it but now  go more by the look and feel of it.   Here's what I started with and yes it is by weights and takes a week to get your usable  starter.   It doesn't make much (but bread doesn't need much).

STARTER

Each day your discard 1/2 before feeding (but wait keep reading!)

Days 1-3

25 grams whole wheat flour

25 grams all purpose flour

50 grams warm (not hot) water

Mix in a jar, keep in a warm spot (more on that in a bit).    It will be a bit lumpy - if it is smooth you've got too much water)

Days 4-5  (this is also the general amounts for feeding from this point on)

50 grams all purpose flour (this is about 5 tablespoons - I got tired of weighing)

50 grams warm water (this is a scant 4 tablespoons)

What did I learn?

• My house isn't always warm enough to get a good ferment on.   I leave it on the stove (where I have the tea kettle that I use to make coffee) and when it is colder I'll run the microwave EMPTY for about a minute and then sit it in (this works really well at night)
• You don't HAVE to feed this thing every day but you DO have to do it every other day unless you want to stretch that time longer which  you can do every 3-4 days (after the initial  week) in the fridge but let it come to room temp before feeding.
• I no longer measure the water but go by the look of it when I feed.   Little lumpy but the flour has to be absorbed.
• If it isn't "cooking" like I think it should - replace part of the all purpose flour with whole wheat - that whole wheat flour has the "good stuff" in it to ferment.
• I don't always use the full 5/4 tablespoons feeding, it depends on how much  I've tossed out/used as I don't want it fermenting over the top.

I have had success doing bread but am still working on it as I really want it to be less dense than I am getting,  I have a current recipe that is a 2 day bread, I bake it on my very old Pampered Chef baking stone and to get the crust I flip my big metal mixing bowl over it for the first 1/2 of the baking time.   But I digress and if I ever get one I like I'll share.

What I DO want to share is an amazing recipe a friend shared with me for Crumpets.   This is my go to for not having to toss out so much starter all the time.   Bonus - they are YUMMY, easy and don't need added flour and I can/do make 1/2  for just me (P.S. they are a great breakfast for camping  too).

Crumpets (you'll need to have some english muffin  rings or similar to make these) - the pictures below are my 1/2 recipe but the list of ingredients is for 4+ crumpets.   If you use the starter recipe above though a full recipe of this will take virtually all the starter - so reduce the discards so you have enough to refeed.

1 cup starter

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon (I don't use that much) salt

3/8 teaspoon baking soda

Mix up the ingredients (and let them puff up) before you heat up your pan.  See how the 1/2 cup starter puffed up below?

My tip is to cook these in your  cast iron pan but it works equally well in a non-stick pan.   

3-4 minutes on side one

2-3 minutes on side two

Pre-heat your pan (med high) with a little bit of oil and butter (you don't need much or they will be greasy).   The butter is more for flavor but isn't required either.  

Butter or spray your muffin rings before you put  them in the pan, drop them in then fill them.  Now my rings aren't super tall so to keep it from cooking over the top I do 3 for my 1/2 recipe.  Play with it and see how it works.

I cook mine on medium high but you gotta watch em (too low of heat and they won't rise and cook in the middle).   Remove the rings before flipping them over - again 3-4 minutes on side 1, 2-3 on side two depending on your stove (my propane in the camper is way hotter so I have to adjust).  You'll see them start to bubble much like pancakes as they cook.   I also found using two forks or a fork and knife is easiest to get the rings off.

You'll want them a little darker than the above on side one.  These ended up a big doughy in the middle.

Don't forget to get those utensils in the sink in water, sourdough is also known as CONCRETE if it dries!  LOL

I like mine with butter and syrup but ALSO love them with peanut butter.   They don't really split like English  muffins but you CAN use  them in that manner.  Honey butter would be yummy and some savory options might also be good.

That's  my share for you all, now that I'm off Facebook I hope it will get my butt back to blogging more (even if it is boring).   Good to have goals!