Page 5 - The County Guys April Newsletter

Homesteading
These past weeks have brought an awareness that for some of us was lost in our day to day busy'ness. The idea that we can create and grow nutrient rich healthy food at home has been overshadowed with the convenience of fast food and perhaps a lack of skill.
The good news is we've been tinkering around with some really fun and basic homesteading skills that will prove to be quite fruitful and you'll have loads of fun along the way as you dive into each project.
(*Full directions are available as a free printable download by visiting our instagram page @thecountyguys)
ThismonthsprojectiscreatingyourownSourdoughStarter. This project takes some patience as your "starter" typically takes 7 days to proliferate and become active. Your reward is a starter that can live in your fridge for years to come and with a little maintenance it will continue to develop in flavour and provide your family with an unlimited supply of delicious + digestible sourdough bread.
Directions:
Gather the tools you will need: Glass jar or bowl, wooden stir stick or rubber spatula, kitchen scale, and measuring cups.
Day One:
Add 60 grams (1/2 cup) of whole wheat or rye flour to your jar along with 60 gram (1/4 cup) of room temperature water. Stir until smooth and cover with a clean tea towel, or set the lid on. Place in the warmest area of your kitchen, ideall temperature is 70-75 degrees. * Suggestions: The oven is perfect with the oven light on and a tea towel wrapped around the jar to filter out the light...just make sure no one starts the oven on you.
Day Two:
Check that your starter is happy and give it a stir to combine and bubbles that have started. Let it rest for another 24 hours.
Day 3,4,5,6 +7:
Begin with a clean jar and add 50 grams of your starter discarding the rest. Add to this 100 grams of all purpose flour and 100 grams of water.
By day 5 or 6 your starter should be rising like a champ. After a few days of consecutive rise it's time to get baking.
*You can also perform a float test to confirm your starter is active.
Drop a teaspoon of starter into a glass of room temperature water and if it floats it's ready to go. Don't be discouraged if it's still not ready just keep feeding and try again in a few days.
Check out our instagram page for in depth details and printable instructions along with a sourdough bread recipe to get you started.
Sourdough Bread Starter
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