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Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts

How to Make a Sourdough Starter

Love sourdough breads?  Wondering how to make your own sourdough starter?  It’s easy.  While the internet is full of sourdough starter recipes that call for odd ingredients like pineapple juice, orange juice, potato flakes or sugar water, to make a truly good sourdough starter you need just three things: flour, water and time.  It’s easy, but there’s a few things you should keep in mind first.


water for your sourdough starter

With so few ingredients used in sourdough starter, it’s essential that the ingredients that are used be of the highest quality.  If you live in an area where water quality is compromised (most of us do, by the way … ahem), take care to feed your starter with filtered water.  Most municipalities treat water with chlorine to opportunistic microorganisms lurking in the water supply before they pipe it into your home.  The chlorine not only kills opportunistic and pathogenic microorganisms in the water supply, but it also kills other microorganisms as well – the bacteria and yeasts you need to keep a lively starter.  We filter our water with a Berkey filter (find them online) which removes chlorine as well as heavy metals that can also damage the beneficial bacteria and wild yeasts present in a sourdough starter.


flour for your sourdough starter

Any flour, provided it’s a grain-based flour, will work for making a sourdough starter.  Rice flour, rye flour, spelt flour, whole wheat flour, barley flour, sprouted flour, einkorn flour, bread flour  - they all work.  In my home, where we typically only consume whole grains – properly prepared according to traditional principles, I typically use unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour in preparing my sourdough starter.   In a pinch, I’ll stir in well-sifted whole grain flour; however, sourdough starters maintained on whole grain flours can develop off flavors, becoming skunky over time.  In my experience, sourdough starters fed on unbleached, all-purpose flour or bread flours are remarkably resilient, rise exceptionally well and offer a pleasant and mildly sour flavor.


why you should use an established starter

All you need to prepare a sourdough starter at home is flour, water and time.  This wild fermentation of flour and water will yield beautiful results; however, getting a boost in beneficial bacteria and yeasts from an established starter is always helpful – particularly for first-time sourdough bakers whose technique and knowledge are limited by inexperience.  These established sourdough starters – usually sold fresh or dried and powdered – are rich in established bacteria and yeasts, and they give your sourdough starter a much-needed boost, acting as a sort of insurance policy to make sure your starter starts bubbling away reliably.  And it’s that level of insurance and reliability that is so helpful to newcomers of sourdough baking.


where to find an established starter

You can find a sourdough starter to give your own starter a boost through bakeries, sourdough-baking friends or through specialty shops online.  If you’ve found, purchased or been given an established fresh starter, use one-quarter cup to help your starter take off.  Personally, I’ve found the most success using the Parisian-style sourdough starter which is available online (see sources).  In working on Nourished Kitchen over the years, I’ve tried many different starters (including a completely wild starter that made everything I baked taste like goldfish crackers), and the Parisian starter is my favorite: it’s milder in flavor than most sourdoughs and yields a beautiful rise.


helpful tools

your sourdough jar

Your jar should not be kept airtight as sourdough thrives on circulating air; further, the process of fermentation releases carbon dioxide which can build up in a tightly lidded jar; instead, simply set a lid loosely on top of the jar, or cover the lip of the jar with a cheesecloth to keep out debris.  Remember: your starter will expand and rise to twice its volume after a feeding once it’s well-established so the jar you choose should have double the capacity of an un-fed starter.  I like to use wide-mouthed glass canisters (like this) to keep my sourdough.  A wide-mouthed canister as opposed to a mason jar will make it easier for you to feed your sourdough starter, properly aerate your starter and keep the sides of the jar clean (thus preventing potential mold or cross-contamination with other microorganisms).


your whisk

A wooden spoon works fine to mix together water and flour for sourdough starter; however, I prefer a Danish-style dough whisk which helps to aerate the starter more thoroughly. Aeration of the starter is essential to ensure that the bacteria are well-distributed throughout the starter and can, thus, begin to ferment the new flour and water mixture added to the starter at each feeding.  Proper aeration of the sourdough also helps to ensure that the production of hooch – a thin liquid that sometimes rises to the top of sourdough starter – is minimized.


Ingredients:
·         flour
·         established sourdough starter (available here), optional
·         filtered water

Instructions:
1.    Starting the sourdough: Whisk 1/4 cup flour with sourdough starter (if using) and 3 tablespsoons filtered water in a small bowl. Pour this into a jar, and let it sit for twelve hours. Twelve hours later, whisk in 1/2 cup flour with 1/3 cup filtered water and continue adding 1/2 cup flour and 1/3 cup water every twelve hours for one week until your starter is brisk and bubbling. As you feed your starter, take care to whisk in the flour and water thoroughly into the established starter – aerating the starter will help to yield the best and most reliable results.

2.    To accomodate for expansion of the sourdough when it’s fed, make sure that your jar is only half full after each feeding. If you’ve made too much sourdough starter for the capacity of your jar, pour some off and use it in sourdough biscuits, sourdough pancakes or sourdough crackers

3.    Maintaining the sourdough: After a week, your sourdough should be sturdy enough to withstand storage. If you bake infrequently (that is: if you bake less than once a week), you can store your sourdough in the refrigerator, bring it to room temperature and feed it well about twelve hours before you plan to bake. If you bake more frequently – every day or a few times a week – you can store your sourdough at room temperature and feed it with 1/2 cup flour and 1/3 cup filtered water once a day.

4.    Special considerations: If a brown liquid appears floating on top of your sourdough starter, simply pour it off. Sourdough bakers call this liquid “hooch,” and it is harmless; however, it often signifies that you’ve fed your starter too much water in relation to flour or have let your starter go too long between feedings. Sourdough starters are relatively resilient, and bounce back quickly once you resume proper care of them.

Making Homemade Yogurt: Easy Picture Tutorial



If someone tried to explain the shoe-tying process in spoken word only, you’d have an awfully hard time figuring it out.

But as long as a kind person shows you how to tie your shoes, and then you get some practice in, by the time you’re an adult, it’s brain-dead easy.


Such is homemade yogurt.


It sounds intimidating and scary, a real challenge, if you just talk about it with someone, or perhaps try to skim the easy homemade yogurt post. I had a couple friends in real life tell me so this year, that they were overwhelmed by my post and couldn’t imagine completing the task.

One of them also said that “If you show someone once and they can repeat it, it’s a task worth doing.”

That’s my hope for homemade yogurt, that after I show you once, you’ll be brave enough and feel confident enough in the method to accomplish yogurt all by yourself.

To prove how easy it is, I visited one of these friends who couldn’t get it online. We made yogurt together while our kiddos played, and she is now a regular yogurt maker extraordinaire.

She decided that making homemade yogurt is like baking bread – you don’t need that much time and it’s not that hard once you figure it out, you just have to time it right to get all the little parts into your day.

A few readers/fellow bloggers have let me know that it turned out easier than they thought, too:


“from DynoMom, who has 10 children: “I have had a horribly hectic month and still made yogurt, Katie has the hook ups to a stupid easy method!”

from Meg at Everyday Miracles: I’ll join the “OMG Katie’s yogurt method is AMAZING” chorus if you’d like. Your original instructions were what finally got me over the fear of trying it & once I did, I don’t know what took me so long. I’ve recommended it to a number of people since then, and I’d be happy to share with your readers how much I love it. :-)”


And you get paid quite handsomely for your time, too — about $35/hour. I save well over $1000 on the food budget every year just by making this ONE food from scratch. Here’s the math. What are we waiting for? Let’s make yogurt!


Basic Homemade Yogurt Instructions


1.      Heat to sterilize the milk.  (160-180 degrees F)

2.    Cool milk to proper incubation temperature.  (90-110 degrees F)

3.    Add starter yogurt. (2 Tbs. per quart)

4.    Incubate at warm temperature 4-24 hours.
It really is that simple. Now let’s look at what that comes out to be in reality…


Photo Tutorial of Making Homemade Yogurt
Supplies necessary:

·         ·      Glass jars (quart wide mouth canning jars or empty spaghetti sauce jars work great) – make sure they are clean and were completely dry before capping.

·         Whole Milk (skim milk will create thinner  yogurt, every time – click for more on what milk to use to make homemade yogurt)


·         Candy or meat thermometer, but I can show you how to do it without one too

·         Pot large enough to hold your glass jars

·         2 Tbs of plain yogurt per quart of milk (Buy the freshest yogurt possible at a store and make sure it has “live and active cultures”.  I have used Dannon, Stonyfield, and Fage. Your previous batch of homemade yogurt will work for the next time.)

·         picnic cooler

·         bath/beach towel

·         timer


Let's Begin!

1. Put a washcloth in the bottom of your pot to cushion the jars.

2. Fill jars with milk.


3. Place jars in pot; fill with tap water (I use hot because I’m impatient, but a wise reader pointed out that COLD water and cold milk reduces the chance of breaking jars).


4.) Lid the pot for faster cooking time.


5.) Turn the burner to high.

6.) Set a timer so you don't forget. My pot takes 10 minutes to get to 110F.


7.) Heat milk to 160-180F for pasteurized milk or raw milk you want to pasteurize (raw milk yogurt is tough to get smooth and creamy without heating the milk to at least 160F).

OR


For truly raw yogurt, heat to between 100-110F. If it gets higher than 118F, you’ve killed your enzymes and may as well go up to 160F. The photo above was pushing the limit, but still okay!


If you don’t have a thermometer, 160ish looks like this with a “skin” on top. The water in the pot will be boiling.

8. Remove jars from pot. I usually lid them and use an oven mitt so I don’t spill – they’re very hot!

Q: “Ack! One of my jars broke! What did I do wrong???”
A: Nothing. Sometimes jars just break, unfortunately. Low quality glass jars break more often than canning jars, but it just happens sometimes. 

9. Put a lid on the pot of boiling water and nestle it into a picnic cooler like this:


Close the lid of the cooler so it gets toasty for when you’re ready. (If making raw yogurt, bring the water TO a boil while you’re mixing yogurt into the jars, since it won’t have boiled yet.)

10. Allow milk to cool down to about 100-110F. (Skip this step if making raw yogurt. If your raw milk heats to above 110F, allow it to cool back to 100F.) I think the best yogurt is made at about 100 degrees.


You can let the milk cool in a number of ways:

- On the counter (will take 1.5-2 hours, depending on room temperature)
- In the fridge (but that will add heat to the fridge, compromising the food you have stored – I no longer recommend this, but it takes about 45 minutes)


·  Outside in the cold
·  If you’re in a real hurry, put the jars in an empty sink, then add cold water slowly to about halfway up the jars, then ice packs or ice. They’ll cool in 15-20 minutes (watch closely), but you risk jar breakage.


11. When the milk is at temp (feel on your wrist for “just warm, not hot” if you don’t have a thermometer), stir in 2 Tbs. plain yogurt (2.5-3 for raw yogurt). I just use 2 heaping scoops with a regular flatware Tablespoon. You can also get dehydrated yogurt starters at your local health foods store or Cultures for Health.


12.) Stir well.


13.) Place jars in the cooler next to the hot pot.


14.) Wrap the towel over the jars and tuck it between the jars and pot if you can - you don't want the hot pot getting the jars TOO hot, especially if you're making raw yogurt and the pot has just boiled.


15. Take the lid off the pot to let steam out (I just leave it in the cooler out of my way; yours may or may not fit.) If you had just boiling water, let some steam out for about 5 seconds; if it’s been in the cooler for a while, slam the cooler lid right down to trap all the heat.


16. Allow the cooler to sit and incubate your yogurt for you for 4-12 hours.
Could you incubate elsewhere? Sure! Anywhere you can keep the jars at about 100-110F, including your oven with the light on, perhaps resting in the pot of warm water, wrapped up in towels with a heating pad plugged in, in a hot car, or in an Excalibur dehydrator set to 100 or 110F. I like the cooler because then it’s not in my way if I need the oven and doesn’t use any energy like the dehydrator.

17. Take out the jars and put them in the refrigerator. Done!

Just pour the water out of the pot and flip it upside down to dry.

Notice: no dishes. How cool is that?
Be sure to save a half cup of this batch to be a starter for the next batch. I like to put some in a little container right away after the yogurt has cooled fully and set, so then I don’t have to worry about someone finishing the last jar and eating my starter! This practice also avoids contamination problems if someone dips into your serving jar with a dirty spoon…

24-Hour Yogurt
If you’re on the SCD Diet or similar, you may need to incubate your yogurt for 24 hours. After 8-12 hours, just boil a few cups of water and pour it, steaming hot, into the pot. That should add plenty of heat to keep at incubation temperature for the next 8-12 hours. Depending on your room temperature, you might need to add boiling water once or twice.

See it to Believe it
If you’re a very visual person and want to see the whole process on video rather than still photos, I do have a guest lecture in the Seeing in the GNOWFGLINS eCourse on Cultured Dairy and Cheesemaking.

Becoming a member in the eCourses really is invaluable – you spend a little money to save money in the long run. With access to everything all at once with any level of membership, you can sign up for a month, glean what you can, and wait a while before signing up again.

Just as many, many people were encouraged to make water kefir after seeing my 3-minutes-a-day water kefir how-to video, I know that when you see how easy homemade yogurt is, you’ll know you can handle it!

Even if you only take away a confidence with homemade yogurt, the $11-12 you’ll spend for one month’s membership will be offset quickly by the hundreds of dollars you’ll save making it, as long as you would usually buy at least ONE 32-ounce tub of yogurt per week. Just one.

How To Open A Can Without A Can Opener

Today, cans are sealed with a roller. A seaming head pushes the lid from above while a another roller on the side curls the edge of the lid around the edge of the can. You can simply rub the can against the concrete to thin the metal out. The friction cuts through the top, which makes it easier for you to open the can. Below you can see this demonstrated in a video.



The edge of the can will be sharp – so please take caution. -

 

How to Turn a Beer Can Into The Only Camping Stove You'll Ever Need


When we first stumbled upon this we thought it was too good - and too cheap - to be true; but it is for real.


In this day and age, where natural and economic calamity always seems to be knocking at our doors, preparatory and survivalist methods of carrying on the basic functions of living should be imperative for all people to learn. 


Please be sure to watch this video until the end if you are going to attempt to build yourself the stove, it contains all of the necessary tips and trick to safely extinguish and dispose of the materials.

Ingredients for this project include:

- An Aluminum Can
- A Pocket Knife
- Rubbing Alcohol

Apparently We've Been Eating Apples All Wrong


Image: foodbeast.com
Did you know the average person wastes roughly 30% of each apple they eat? Here's how to eat an apple like a boss:



How to grow 100 lb of Potatoes in 4 square feet

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Photo from apartmenttherapy.com

Grow 100 lbs. of Potatoes in 4 sq ft

Grow a few potato plants, each or in their own wooden box, crib, barrel or wire cage. The container should be about 18x18 inches at the base, about 24-30 inches tall, and able to be gradually filled with soft soil or mulch as the vines grow. Set each container atop a well-prepared fertile soil. Plant one strong seed piece and cover lightly with 4 inches of soil. As the vines grow, gradually fill the container with mellow compost, mulch or soil, but always make sure you don't cover more than one-third of the vine's new growth. With some varieties, the underground stolons which produce potato tubers keep on forming new ones for some time. In containers the yield may be increased 200-3000 percent compared with open-field culture. This is a great way to grow a lot of potatoes in a very limited space. We recommend doing this with Yellow Finn, Indian Pit, Red Pontiac, or the fingerling types. Watering requirements will be greater however, so check the cages or containers frequently in warm weather.

You will need:

 
  • 6 - 2"x6"x8' *boards
  • 1 - 2"x2"x10' *board
  • 96 - 2½" wood screws
* - You can use pine, cedar, redwood or pressure treated mud sill that has been treated with copper sulfate, which is not toxic to the soil.
 

Step 1

 
Cut 2"x2"s into 4 - 33" lengths.
Cut 2"x6"s into 12 - 21" lengths and 12 - 24" lengths.
 

Step 2 : Assemble as shown in figure 1.

HINT: Pre-drill screw holes in 2"x6"s.

Over prepared soil you will only build your box one board high. Fill with soft soil or mulch and plant seed potatoes 4" deep. As the vines grow approximately 12" above soil add another board and fill with soil being careful not to cover more than 1/3 of the vine. Keep repeating the process until the box is completed as shown.

 

Step 3 : Harvest Time!

 
As shown in figure 3 remove screws on bottom board and harvest your oldest potatoes first. Replace soil and boards. Your next harvest will be layer #2 and so on until you reach the top board.
Source: http://info.irisheyesgardenseeds.com/index.php/grow-100-lb-of-potatoes-4sqft

Disclaimer:

Before trying anything you find on the internet you should fully investigate your options and get further advice from professionals.

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