Community members have contributed some great information about baking naturally leavened breads. SourdoLady's pieces (who, as the name implies, knows a thing or two about sourdough) Wild Yeast Sourdough Starter and her Deluxe Sourdough Bread are among the most popular articles on the topic. JMonkey posted a great lesson on getting a sourer sourdough. Gaarp has also posted a wonderful sourdough tutorial. Other folks contributed some excellent recipes for sourdough pancakes and sourdough banana bread.
When I had my first starter going, I was able to write a couple of introductory articles on sourdough: When Yeasts Attack: A First Experience with Naturally Leavened Bread and More about Sourdough. These two articles contain enough information for an amateur baker to learn how to bake with a starter.
More recent forum posts, blog entries, and articles have included information on sourdough as well (and new information gets posted all of the time), so use the site search and look for terms like "sourdough" and "starter" to find the very latest.
Sourdough Lessons
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I'd like to try making sourdough waffles, I have the King Arthur Baking Book with the recipe. I don't have a waffle iron and was thinking of picking one up. Anyone have suggestions as to whether a Belgian waffle maker would be preferrable for sourdough waffles, or would a cheaper plain old waffle iron that makes the thinner, crisper waffles work just as well? I have it narrowed down between a $59 Waring Belgian waffle maker or a $29 Cuisinart round waffle iron, both if which have good consumer ratings.
Mountaindog,
I just purchased a Belgian waffle iron from Amazon for $49....it is easy to use and to clean up. My wife and I prefer the thicker waffle. Anyhow, it has performed well so far. Just be sure to spray the iron with Pam, etc. after it gets ready for the first waffle. Don't need to do it after the first one.
Wayne
Hi Wayne - I agree - since posting that question a few weeks ago I went ahead and got a less expensive but larger Krups 4-slice square Belgian waffle maker and I am very happy with it. I think the bigger, deeper squares work better with the light, puffy yet crispy sourdough waffles. I made them according to the King Arthur recipe quite a few times now for weekend guests and they always come out great (I even make a dairy-free version using soy milk and soy margarine in place of the buttermilk and butter - you'd never know the difference).
Considering that the difference between Belgian and regular waffles is Belgians are made from a yeast batter, I wonder how many restaurants use yeast in their batter. Every box mix ingredients I've read only say baking poweder/soda.
I often make belgian waffles with baking powder when I haven't planned ahead. I always take pleasure in making the yeast version, but I have not been dissapointed when using baking powder.
I also seperate the eggs and fold the egg whites in last just before making the waffles. Does everyone do this?
i have a question. so if you use one cup of your starter, then how do you feed it again after that. is this how its normally done? as soon as u use some, you mix in some flour and water and leave outside the fridge till happy again? need to buy a waffle machine now lol what would you serve it with, ice cream and choc/fudge sauce....? yum :)
i made this belgian walffle recipe last nite. thank you for sharing. i don't actually have a waffle machine, so will try as pancakes :)
I had a cup left over after refreshing my starter and was happy to find this recipe! The kids in my family are very suspicious of whole grains so I used KAF White Whole Wheat with great success. It cooks up crispy so it would be great for a Belgian waffler. Unlike jbutton150, I ended up with 12 six inch waffles... plenty in the fridge for school breakfasts for weeks to come.
Got a question for anyone that wants to give an answer... I recently created my starter and it appeared to look and smell like what was described. Mixed my dough, formed into a nice boule, let rise again for the required time and baked the loaf. It looked just how I had pictured it and it smelled wonderful. When I cut into the bread it had a crumb like a white bread, not an open crumb like I thought it should. What would have caused this to happen, over kneading, not enough rest time etc.?
Thanks for your time.
Steve (sevans3@tampabay.rr.com)