So I've finally jumped on the sourdough bandwagon! This week I started the process of making my sourdough starter, which for those who don't know, is just a mixture of equal amounts of water and flour, mixed and left over for a couple of days until you get some activity. Once you see some activity, you then start the feeding process which goes on for a another few days. Basically, by the end of the week, you should be able to make a loaf with this starter. This is my 2nd time trying out the starter, and so far so good! Currently, I'm in the middle of the feeding process and doing pretty well, if I may say so myself.
There is one thing that I am not a big fan of when it comes to the starter process, and that is that it requires you to discard a hefty chunk of the mix at the feeding process. So, I've decided to try making a few things out of what the pros call, the sourdough discard.
Yesterday, was the start of my feeding process and decided to have a go at making crumpets. They came out so lovely and fluffy! And with enough water in the mix, you can get that nice stretched structure that is often associated with crumpets.
The gist is you make a sourdough starter and the discard from that is what you use too make the crumpets with.
Down below is what I did to make my sourdough starter.
Sourdough Starter:
150g strong white flour
150g strong wholemeal flour
150g warm water
Plus an extra 1tbsp of 50/50 strong white and strong wholemeal flour.
I made my sourdough starter at night, just before going to bed. I mixed all the ingredients until there were no dry bits. I let this sit, covered with a clean tea towel, in a warm area for 2 days, checking every morning for activity. On the second day, this starter showed some activity which meant it was time for feeding. On that 2nd night, I removed 75g of the mixture and put that aside to keep as my sourdough starter for making my sourdough loaves at the end of week. With the remaining mixture, I added 1 tbsp of 50/50 strong white and strong wholemeal flour and 8 tbsps of warm water, and mixed until well incorporated.
Note: Activity in this context means if the mix is showing signs of bubbling or rising. If the dough has a rounded rise or shows a doming rise, this means it's active and ready to fed. When it starts to deflate, it means your starter is running out of food and needs feeding. You want to feed your starter before it's completely deflated.
Down below is a video that shows the structure of the mixture on the 3rd day, just before making the crumpets.
Ok, so now we've got our sourdough discard ready to make sourdough crumpets with. Here's the recipe!
Makes 8
To make the sourdough crumpets:
500g sourdough starter
100ml water
1 1/2 tsps bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps sugar
Butter for frying.
What you'll need:
Metal mould rings
When you have your sourdough starter, mix this with all the other ingredients. The consistency should be thin, similar to crèpe batter. So, if 100ml of water isn't enough, please add more water to the mix. This will bubble up and almost double in size so make sure you have a big enough bowl when doing this.
To a frying pan on low heat, add some butter and place the rings in the pan. Brush the butter around the sides of the rings to stop the batter from sticking to them. This really helps so don't forget this step.
Pour the mixture into the ring moulds about half way up. Let this cook for about 5-8 minutes. When the batter has lots of holes on the top, remove the rings, flip them over and let them cook for another couple of minutes. They should have formed a nice golden crispy crust on the top.
We spread lots of butter on them while they were still hot. And when they were cool, we just placed them in the toaster to warm up.
These will keep in the freezer for around 3 months.
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