Trying out a new flavor combo of my scone recipe this evening, maple bacon.

Cooked then candied some bacon with maple syrup, added to the sourdough scone dough along with some maple syrup.

Will sprinkle crystallized/ground maple sap on top then bake.

That sounds delicious.

WRT the sourdough, do you roll your own and maintain your own starter, or buy a commercial strain? I have done my own several times, but the results were not ideal, not nearly "sour" enough. Prob. don't have the right strains of wild yeasts here in NoVA.

I have recently gotten back into baking bread after a lapse of several years. A hearty sourdough batard or two is on my list of breads to bake.

I’ve had my own starter for four years.

My mom and aunt had their starter for decades and I missed their sourdough biscuits and bread so I started my own use it often when baking.

How hard is it to keep a starter going? I’ve thought about it, but juggling s9 much as it is?

My wife went through the tribulations of getting her starter, and her dough recipe down.
She's had some really great loaves come out. She just got done with getting tomorrow's baking prepped.

Would be curious to get your scone recipe, sounds like a good on the road commuter breakfast.

My wife and I have been married 41 years; my sourdough predates her.

It took about a year before my starter was really strong. Now I can basically neglect it in the fridge for a few weeks, give it a couple of feeds and watch it come to life.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
It took about a year before my starter was really strong. Now I can basically neglect it in the fridge for a few weeks, give it a couple of feeds and watch it come to life.

It took several months for mine but now, like you, I get it out of the fridge, let warm to room temp then feed, and it is ready the next day.

I will post the scone recipe when time permits. Use the same recipe and change the add-ins to try different flavor combinations.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
It took about a year before my starter was really strong. Now I can basically neglect it in the fridge for a few weeks, give it a couple of feeds and watch it come to life.

Similar with my wife's
She trued her friend's recipe from Bakersfield & it never came out right.
Switched to another friend's in Pensacola & it works much better.

We make sour dough pan cakes once a week.

Starter is decades old. Life without "the sponge" would be similar to life without bacon.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
WRT the sourdough, do you roll your own and maintain your own starter, or buy a commercial strain? I have done my own several times, but the results were not ideal, not nearly "sour" enough. Prob. don't have the right strains of wild yeasts here in NoVA.

I have recently gotten back into baking bread after a lapse of several years. A hearty sourdough batard or two is on my list of breads to bake.

The bacteria you get that cause the sourness comes from the whole grains you use. My starter from the beginning of this year gets fed w/ a mixture of AP, whole wheat, and rye flower.

Higher dough temp,bulk fermentation on the longer side, smaller pre-fermented %,and a more ripened levain (it's fallen back a bit more after peaking) can help get more "sour" into the final loaf.
Basically what I've learned from The Perfect Loaf which I picked up earlier this year. I can highly recommend.

I haven't baked anything all summer but once it cools down I'll be back at it.