Let's find out how to make dried sourdough, which can be used, with the right procedure, in the same way as fresh sourdough.
Dried sourdough: what it is
Il yeast serves in the kitchen to prepare bread, focaccia, sweet and savory pies; allows the flour to absorb carbon dioxide and gives the dough the classic honeycomb appearance and enhances softness and fragrance.
Fresh yeast present in loaves is substantially composed of mushrooms that, a contact with raw materials (water and frina) activates and produces gas which make the dough alveolate and soft.
The mother yeast It consists of lactic microorganisms which by fermenting produce carbon dioxide which allows the dough to rise.
Mother yeast is made up of flour, water and an activator sugar, usually honey or fruit.
The sourdough can be produced from scratch, or it can be inherited from those who have already produced it. It is a live food, so it needs frequent care and refreshments. The more “old” a sourdough is, the greater the leavening power will be.
The mother yeast, once produced, it can also be dried and you can start from your own sourdough or buy it, paying attention, however, that some mother yeasts in bags are added with dry brewer's yeast, so it is not really a real dried sourdough.
Dried sourdough: how to prepare it
It starts from the sourdough, or sourdough, fresh and refreshed. Greaseproof paper is prepared on a fairly large surface; spread the freshly cooled sourdough on the horizontal plane with a wooden spatula.
Lo thickness it must be a few millimeters; it is then left to dry at room temperature for about half an hour, or in any case until it can be crumbled.
Once dry, crumble with your hands or with a spatula: they will form dry flakes that will come tenute in a closed glass jar from a lid.
Sourdough: how to refresh the dough
Dried sourdough: how to use it
To revive the dried mother yeast it takes three days:
- the first day the dried yeast is rehydrated;
- the second day the dough is refreshed;
- the third, after the new refreshment, you can use the mother yeast to make bread.
The dried mother yeast does rehydrates adding 80 ml of sparkling water to 50 g of dry yeast. It mixes well, always using a spatula or a wooden spoon. It is then left to rest covered with a linen cloth or other unbleached natural fiber at room temperature for 8 hours or, if it is winter, for the whole night.
The rehydrated dried yeast is ready to be used when he developed the classic bubbles and the characteristic sourdough scent.
The next day you can recreate the fresh mother yeast: add 80 ml of sparkling water and 80 ml of flour to the dough, which should have a thick but not liquid consistency. It is kneaded and left to rest again for a day.
On the third day we will proceed to refreshments as we are used to with sourdough.
From here on it will be It is possible to make bread as if the mother yeast had always been fresh.
Note: if the dried mother yeast struggles to reactivate, you can add some sugary fruit or honey to give it a little more strength and speed up the fermentation process.
Gluten-free sourdough: how to do it
