Makin' Hooch

Did you know that you can make hooch from sourdough starter? Yep. I'm over here trying to get my sourdough starter to do its thing, and I end up making hooch.

Have any of you made sourdough bread from a starter? I'm going all homesteady and trying my hand at it. (My good friend Marcy, whom I bought my chickens and get my milk from, is helping me.) It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. After messing up the first batch of starter by accidentally putting in too much flour, she helped me fix it and get it going on the right track. Then the liquid that formed on top turned really dark. It had me worried, so I googled it. 

IT'S HOOCH, FOLKS. I've become a homesteadin' bootlegger! However, it's harmless. Whew. Just mix it back in and keep feeding the starter. Okeydokey. 

The other day I tried to make a couple of whole wheat loaves. They turned out heavy as bricks. Tasty, but very, very dense. Once I saw them into cubes, I'll make croutons.

I have managed to make a couple batches of sourdough pancakes. They are delicious! So at least it's not going to waste, though with our having chickens now, nothing goes to waste.

This evening I went round two with the bread. The loaves turned out a teeny bit lighter, so I think the starter is beginning to kick in and do what it's supposed to do. I'm bound and determined to tweak this until I get a good loaf. 

In the meantime...hooch anyone?

It's All Bootleggin' Good!

Brenda