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Category Archives: cooking

Chuck and Chuck 2.0

Way back in 2013, I mentioned that I was thinking about getting a new pet, i.e. a sourdough starter. Some time ago (maybe 2015 or the beginning of 2016?), I actually did make a sourdough starter and I fed it regularly for a while but then got busy so I stuck the starter in the back of the fridge. Sourdough starters can hang out for a pretty long time in the fridge even without regular feeding.

I had been meaning to revive the starter, which I named Chuck in case you were wondering, and I finally started the process in late November (2016). And Chuck was doing well. With the discard between feedings, I made a whole bunch of sourdough English muffins. But then I got busy again. And I just let Chuck hang out for a bit, about three days, on the counter by himself without feeding. This…ended up being a problem.

Because I was in the process of reviving Chuck, the starter was not as robust as a more established starter. The yeast and bacteria that normally colonize a sourdough starter hadn’t really settled so there was room for other opportunistic microorganisms to nudge their way in. Like mold. Yup. Chuck started developing little colonies of mold on the surface after a couple of days of no feeding. The yeast and bacteria just didn’t have enough food to multiply all the invaders into submission. Sugh.

So, I ended up tossing Chuck and started Chuck 2.0. Chuck 2.0, which will probably eventually lose the 2.0 part of his name, is a different starter in that, it’s a stiff sourdough starter (50% hydration) as opposed to Chuck, which was a liquid starter (100% hydration). Why a stiff starter this time when I’ve always maintained liquid starters? Because after poking around in sourdough starter information, it seems that starters with a lower hydration ratio tend to produce a more acidic sourdough. I.e. it makes the sourdough more sour. I happen to really like sour sourdoughs, so I’ve decided to give this stiff sourdough starter a try. I’m also feeding Chuck 2.0 with whole wheat flour as opposed to my standard AP flour, which is also supposed to help raise the acidity of the starter. Hopefully, this will go well and I’ll have Chuck 2.0 for a long time and get lots of delicious baked goods.

Oh, I also briefly entertained the idea of maintaining both a stiff and liquid sourdough starter, but since it’s easy to convert one to the other, it probably isn’t worth my kitchen space for two sourdough starters. And I’ve just been converting the liquid/flour ratios in recipes for a 50% starter instead of a 100% anyway (and also adapting non-sourdough recipes for sourdough). Maintaining Chuck 2.0 at 50% makes it pretty easy to do the math.

I make! Inside out pumpkin muffins edition

It’s the KAF bakealong #2: Inside out pumpkin muffins. I am posting this very late, considering that I actually made this (twice) in September, when it was announced.

Anyway, I don’t really see why they’re considered inside out. They’re a stuffed muffin, but it’s not like what you would consider the stuffing on the outside and the muffin part is on the inside. I wonder if I’m going to be confused by the naming of every KAF bakealong. Well, two data points isn’t really enough to trend. Guess I’ll have to wait and see.

Anyway, when making the muffins, I subbed out the whole wheat flour for my normal AP flour. I have a new 25lb bag. Yay! Also, I didn’t have any boiled cider so I just used some honey that I’ve been trying to get rid of. I would really like to try the recipe with boiled cider. It sounds like it’d be really good. Finally, I went with the cinnamon, ginger, cloves route. I slightly upped the amount of each of the spices. I like things a bit spicier.

I managed to make 10 whole muffins and 2 half muffins with the amount of batter I had. I had more than enough of the filling and just the right amount of streusel topping. Actually, I might have preferred more of the streusel topping. I only managed 10 muffins because I used very close to 2 tbsp of batter for each well in the beginning. And then I realized that it said a scant 2 tbsp. So, if I did that, I should have had enough batter for 12 whole muffins. I could probably use another tbsp scoop.

It smelled quite good while it was baking. But spicy stuff often does. I feel it could have been more spicy when I tasted it. I’m also uncertain about the cream cheese filling. It’s not bad but I think it might be too dense for my taste. Of course, I’m not a huge fan of filling anyway.

I’m going to try this again with boiled cider. I’ve been looking at the reviews and most of the same that the boiled cider really improves the taste. I’ll just make some boiled cider, I guess. Which I did, and I did end up making the muffins again with boiled cider. I think the muffin part did taste better. I still really like the streusel. I’m still uncertain about that filling. Maybe I’ll just make it as an unfilled muffin from now on.

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