Food Glorious Food: Don't worry if your 'Dylan' has an alarming pong and looks strange...

A friend of mine came over for a socially-distanced coffee and we got talking about sourdough starters.

She had missed my last article about how to make it, so I gave her the recipe (250g bread flour and tepid water) and instructions to get going.

Be warned – I brought ‘Dylan’ (my starter) out of the fridge so she could give him a sniff and she was rather alarmed at the pong and how he looked!

There was a film of water on top, which I stirred in, but the bubbles popping away inside told me that Dylan was still well and truly alive.

So, please do have confidence if your starter looks like this... it’s fit and well and ready for use.

You may be surprised to know that a sourdough starter doesn’t have to just be used to make bread. It can be used to make waffles, pancakes, scones, pretzels, bagels and even biscuits, creating a unique, sour taste that really adds a deeper flavour to these bakes.

Using it for other products also removes the need to ever throw away the 200g “discard” that was noted in the previous recipe... and I hate waste!

To make an easy loaf of sourdough, you will need to place 200g of your starter in a bowl with 1 tbsp honey. Leave it to reach room temperature and then add 450g of whatever bread flour you want to use.

Add 1/2 tsp salt (keep it away from the starter directly) and mix with a spoon or bread-kneading attachment on a whisk. Add up to 200ml of tepid water or until the dough comes together to create a soft dough ball. Don’t make this too wet as it will get looser as it rests. Knead for 4-5 minutes.

Use oiled hands to place the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave in a warm place for 4-5 hours.

This may sound like a long time, but I get my bread mixed when I make my first coffee at breakfast and I can get it made and cooked in time for tea. You could do this the night before and leave in the fridge overnight if you want bread before that.

When you have a bread dough risen to double the size, form into a ball (with oiled hands again) and dust a baking tray with lots of flour.

Place the dough on the tray and make a few slashes with a sharp knife and sprinkle with lots of extra flour. Leave covered with a tea towel for 2-3 hours until risen.

Place in the oven at 180C for 45-50 minutes until a dark crust has formed and the bottom sounds hollow when knocked. Cool and slice.

If you aren’t cooking bread, you will still have to discard 200g of your starter and feed it once a week with fresh flour, so your starter doesn’t die. But you can use your 200g discard in less time-consuming ways.

Sourdough waffles:

Mix 120g discard starter with 240ml milk, 3tbps melted butter, 1 egg, 120g plain flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.

Give it a good whisk to form a smooth batter.

Heat the waffle maker and cook as per instructions.

You could use this recipe and make pancakes from the same mix (you may need to adjust the milk quantity to produce a thicker batter).

Serve with whatever delicious toppings and extras you may have.

This process may seem long and complicated, but it really is an easy routine to get in to that allows you to make some fantastic bakes. If you are someone who loves food, you will experience a huge amount of satisfaction from creating your own active starter and you may find you have a new friend for life.

After all this bread – next time I will be discussing healthy desserts and, yes, there is such a thing!