How To make Nancy Silverton's Grape Starter
2 c Bread flour
2 1/2 c Water
1/2 lb Red grapes, stemmed
The grape starter is from Julia Child's new Master Chef book($17.95 Retail). It is a recipe given by Nancy Silverton. It takes 10 days to complete but is then yours for life. Wrap the grapes in well washed cheesecloth, tieing the corners to form a bag; lightly crush them with a rolling pin (to release the sugar to mix with the natural yeast on the skins; just like making wine!) and immerse them in the flour water mix. Cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap secured with a rubber band. Leave at room temperature for 6 days, stirring once or twice a day for the six days. The bag of grapes will eventually appear inflated, and liquid will begin to separate from the flour base. The mixture will begin to taste and smell slightly fruity, and the color will be strange. That is as it should be. By the sixth day the bag of grapes will have deflated, the color will be yellow, and the taste pleasantly sour; the fermentation is complete. The starter is living but weak, and it needs to be fed. Remove the grapes and squeeze their juices back into the starter. Stir it up thouroughly and transfer it to a clean container. (Although you can use it after just one feeding, the starter will be stronger and healthier with the full treatment) You can refrigerate it until you're ready to proceed. Three days before you plan to use it, stir 1 cup flour and 1 cup water into the container, blending well. Let stand uncovered at room temperature until it bubbles up - 3 to 4 hours - then cover and refrigerate. Repeat this for the second and third day. Store the starter tightly covered in the refrigerator where it will keep perfectly for 4 to 6 months.- after which it's a good idea to pour off all but 2 cups and give it another feeding. Before using the stored starter for bread, however, give it the full 3-day feeding schedule once again to restore it and to tone down excess sourness. This is the starter for the Olive Bread recipe which follows. From: Richard Taylor
How To make Nancy Silverton's Grape Starter's Videos
How to Make Quick and Easy Sourdough Starter with Grapes
Sharing my quick and easy method of making sourdough starter with grapes! There are dozens of ways to make sourdough starter - I hope you find mine easy and virtually fail-proof.
Further details:
Sourdough Starter with Grapes
The secret to success is finding organic grapes with yeast dust on it.
This is the white power most people try to wash off.
Pick about a dozen grapes and place in a non metallic container.
Add one cup of whole wheat flower - all purpose flourr will work too.
Mix with grapes to spread yeast through-out the flower.
Add one cup water.
Stir until well mixed.
Cover tightly and set aside for one day.
Next day stir once or twice.
Cover and repeat for three days.
On the third day, remove grapes.
Pour off one cup of your sourdough starter.
Add one cup of all purpose flour and water if needed.
Mix well.
Consistency of pancake batter is good.
Repeat process of a couple of more days.
Your sourdough starter is ready to use!
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Aunt Duddie Makes Nancy Silverton's Sourdough Starter - Day 06
Day 06 and all is well.............
Aunt Duddie Makes Nancy Silverton's Sourdough Starter - Day 14
Today is the last day of building the sourdough starter. By the end of the day I will have gone through more than 3 bags of flour. Stay tuned for the first loaf of bread!
Aunt Duddie Makes Nancy Silverton's Sourdough Starter - Day 09
It looks good, I guess. Tomorrow we start the care and feeding of Henry.
Rustic bread (Sourdough Starter) - Nancy Silverstone 2
Rustic bread (Sourdough Starter) - Nancy Silverstone 2
Aunt Duddie Makes Nancy Silverton's Sourdough Starter Day 01 Starting the Fermentation Process
This is my personal adventure in making Nancy Silverton's sour-dough starter. She is the original owner of La Brea Bakery and is generally recognized as the greatest American Bread Baker. She once made Julia Child weep for joy when Julia tasted Nancy's Brioche Tart with Stone Fruit. That's all I need to know about Nancy Silverton. Seriously.
This will be a labor of love. Today is day 01 and I will play my obnoxious intro but I'll spare you that the rest of the days. Some Days will be long and some days will be mere moments but I will be honest about the process and the results.
Here's a handy conversion chart: