A new starter

It's been far too long since I've posted here..lots of changes for the Pig and Duck this year. We've moved house..no longer are we close to the city of Hobart we have moved to the country, a 4 acre block with a new garden and orchard to play in, new bird discoveries to make..have already spotted European Golden Finches and Falcons. Echidna's waddling about, wallabies in the distance and a dog called Ralf that is soon becoming good buddies with our cat Ned.
We are also on tank water something completely new to me and saving water will be an interesting challenge with our gardening, cooking and showers. Fortunately our hot water is free..powered by a solar system...the whole house is solar passive, a cement floor and acts as a thermal mass as the sun moves across the  north facing double glazed windows.

We also have a new kitchen and I'm hoping to get a lot more cooking done than in the old place..the stove there never browned my cakes and muffins I always had to finish them off under the grill...so with a brand new stove and living 35 minutes drive away from Callington flour mill, what better way to start my new life here in the country than to journey into the art of sourdough bread..and to start my voyage three days ago I made my first starter it has just started to ferment.

To make the starter I used 150 grams of wholemeal spelt flour and enough water to make a sloppy pancake batter. Left in a warm place, like a thermal mass concrete floor! Tomorrow I'll probably will need to "feed" it with 1:1 flour and water...I'll need 500gms of starter to make my first sourdough loaf.