Sourdough Natural Grape Starter and Sourdough Biscuits

Instructions

FOR THE SOURDOUGH STARTER: Stir the 1 1/2 cups flour and 2 cups water together in a large plastic or earthenware bowl. Add the bunch of grapes, pushing it down into the gooey batter. Cover the bowl lightly, with cheesecloth or a dishtowel, so that the starter continues to get air. Leave the bowl in a warm place.

Each day give the bowl another tablespoon of flour and one tablespoon of water, stirring to incorporate the additions. Within a couple of days the mixture should show signs of “starting,” bubbling up a bit as yeasts feed on the starch and sugar. If this doesn’t happen, throw the mixture out and begin again. Continue feeding the starter each day with one tablespoon flour and one tablespoon of water. If the mixture separates, stir it back together. After about 5 days, the starter will begin to smell sour. The smell won’t be unpleasant, and won’t overwhelm your kitchen.

Let the starter ferment another few days, continuing to feed it. You’ll end up with a mass that looks like a thick pancake batter. Remove the grapes with a slotted spoon, and discard them.

Cover the starter, and refrigerate it. Take the starter out of the refrigerator the evening before you plan to use it, or even a couple of days ahead for a more sour taste to the bread or biscuits. Every time you use the starter, replenish it. For each cup of starter you remove, add 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Let it sit on the counter again for about a day before putting it back in the refrigerator. If you don’t want to use the starter at least once every week or two, just feed it that often: Pour off about a half cup of starter, and add 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup water.

Properly tended, the starter can last for years, developing more complexity over time. It can be used for sourdough pancakes, breads, and other dishes in addition to biscuits.

FOR THE SOURDOUGH BISCUITS: Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Sift together the flour, and salt into a medium bowl. Add the starter, and stir with a sturdy spoon until the flour is incorporated in the dough. It will remain sticky.

Flour a pastry board or your counter. Grease or flour your hands to make kneading the dough easier. Turn the dough out, and knead lightly a few times, just until it is smooth. The dough will remain soft. Pinch off pieces of dough about the size of eggs, or, for a more modern look, roll out the dough and cut it with biscuit cutter.

Melt the bacon drippings (for real range flavor) or butter in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. Dip one side of the biscuit in the fat, and then put it in the pan with its other side down. (Or melt the fat in a small dish, dip each biscuit in the fat, then place the biscuit on a baking sheet.) Arrange the biscuits so they just touch one another, which helps them rise.

Bake the biscuits 15 minutes. Serve them immediately. Makes 1 dozen biscuits.

Texas Home Cooking

Author's Comments

Sourdough gets its start from the wild yeast in the air. Many contemporary recipes call for using packaged yeast, but the starter will develop a more interesting flavor without it. Jacqueling Higuera McMahan, a cookbook author who suggests using organic grapes. Their natural sugar helps feed the natural yeast to activate the starter. It takes 7 to 10 days to develop a good starter, but it can last you a lifetime.

A range cook’s measure as a man was the quality of his sourdough biscuits. Many Texans still pride themselves on make these airy and slightly sour treats, though few follow the camp tradition of baking them over an open fire in a Dutch oven covered with glowing coals. If you don’t already have sourdough starter see the recipe.

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