Sourdough Starter and Cakes

As promised, I made a sourdough starter off the dregs of my hard cider, which I fermented using the wild yeast native to the orchard. The cider wasn't all it could've been, but that doesn't mean I can't have fun experimenting with this yeast culture.

The process is quite simple: drink a bottle of hard cider down to the dregs, leaving about an inch left in the bottle and swirl it. Drain it into a mixture of warm water and all-purpose flour. The consistency of the mixture should be watery--I did about 60/40 water to flour. Stir it up and let sit in a warm place. The next day I fed it about a 1/4 cup flour and stirred it again. When the starter starts to froth or bubble, you know you're doing well. Continue feeding every day, making sure to pour off about a 1/2 cup of the starter before feeding if you're not using it that day.

Mine was frothing within four days and I used it in a batch of sourdough Pancakes.

1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup warm water
1 Egg
1 Tbsp cane sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

I substituted the water with club soda, which I had lying around. I find that the carbonation of the soda helps to fluff the cakes a bit.

I would also add that I mixed the ingredients and let them sit overnight. That way, the yeast has a chance to infiltrate the entire mixture, and result in the best sourdough.

They were pretty good for only a week old starter.