Sourdough Starter with potato flakes and memories of Little Grandma Thompson

When I was much younger I was quilting one day with my husbands Grandma Thompson. Little Grandma we called her because she was all of 4' 10" tall. She was darling. She told me she had used a potato water start as yeast for bread making and that it stayed on the back of her wood burning stove. 

She was born in 1891 and of course lived the old fashioned way.

Potato Flake Sour Dough Starter Recipe:  

Starter (first time):

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup sugar

1 package (2-1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast

3 level Tablespoons instant potato flakes

Starter Feeder (subsequent times):

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons potato flakes

You can use it in pancakes too. (yummmmm) This is a potato bread recipe that I have used

for years and I love it and I may add a myriad of things to it but this is the recipe. 

Ingredients:

4 cups flour 

(I like Gold Medal Unbleached)

 4 cups water

2 Tbls. yeast 

(if using frozen yeast use cold water or you will kill your yeast)

1/4 cup sugar

4 Tbls. potato flakes

2 Tbls. salt

Mix;

This is the sponge.   Let rest for awhile and then add:

4 more cups flour a cup at a time. Sometimes it takes more and it may take less so keep it a little sticky (not goopy).  

Put some oil in a large bowl and put the dough in it. Flip it over to coat with the oil.

Put in a warm oven, not hot. Just prewarmed a bit because the dough will love being out of a draft in a warm spot. 

Let rise for about 45 minutes or until your finger mark stays down when you poke it.

Toss onto a dusted counter with a little flour and form into loaves.

Put in bread pans coated with Pam.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes for nice crusty bread. 

Take out of pan and put on a big wooden bread board. 

Slather the top with butter and let cool. 

Take to your friends warm in a brown lunch bag so it won't get squishy or if it is all cooled you can put it in plastic bags. 

You can use part whole wheat flour, oats, corn meal, sunflower seeds, millet, flax seed and whatever you want in the recipe.  It's fun to experiment. but remember the sticky or soft part when mixing not stiff. :)