Recipe: Sourdough Clam Fritters

You will need to make the sourdough starter a few days before making the fritters and make the sourdough batter the night before making the fritters.

SOURDOUGH CLAM FRITTERS
The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American
Makes 4 dozen fritters

2 cups proofed Sourdough Batter (recipe follows)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 cup cornmeal*
1 cup milk
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup defrosted frozen corn kernels*
1 6 1/2-ounce can chopped clams*
1/4 cup melted butter

Prepare the Sourdough Batter the night before.

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cornmeal together.

Add the milk, eggs, defrosted corn kernels and chopped clams to the sourdough batter. Mix with the dry ingredients.

Gently stir in the melted butter. Allow mixture to sit for 1 hour before cooking.

Heat oil or shortening to 375 degrees F.

Drop balls of batter about the size of a walnut into hot oil or shortening. Cook until they float and are golden brown. Turn each one serveral times. Do not put too many into the hot oil or shortening at once.

SOURDOUGH BATTER:
1 1/2 cups sourdough starter (recipe follows)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup tepid water, (85 degrees F.)

This must be made about 12 hours before you are going to begin the bread, biscuit, pancake or fritter-making process. Juist do it at night before you go to bed. It takes only a minute.

Remove the starter from the refrigeerator and allow it to come to room temperature.

Measure out starter and put it into a 2-quart mixing bowl. Add flour and tepid water. Mix this well, cover and allow to sit overnight, unrefrigerated. This is called proofing, and when the batter is ready, the natural yeast will have spread throuhout the dough and it will be bubbly and offer a strong sourdough odor.

When ready to bake, measure out the amount of batter called for in the recipe and return the remaining batter to your starter bowl in the refrigerator. Remember that you must replenish your starter by adding back what you take out. Return the same amount of water and flour that you have removed. Just whip it up and stir it into the starter bowl.

BASIC SOURDOUGH STARTER:
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 cup flour
4 Tablespoons buttermilk

Mix all ingredients together and place in a glass or stainless-steel bowl. Do not use aluminum. Cover with a towel and allow to stand in a warm place for a few days, or until it has begun to ferment and has a wonderful sour smell. You might keep this on the top of the water heater or in your oven with the light on all the time. The starter should be the consistency of pancake batter and it can be covered and stored in the refrigerator.

*VARIATIONS:

CORN FRITTERS:
If you omit the clams you may use this recipe to make Corn Fritters by dropping balls of mixture about the size of a walnut into oil or shortening heated to 375 degrees F. Again, cook until they float and are golden brown. Turn each one several times and do not put too many into the heated oil or shortening at once.

SOURDOUGH PANCAKES:
If you omit the clams, corn kernels and cornmeal you may use this recipe to make Sourdough Pancakes by letting the mixture rest 15 minutes after combining, then cooking on a greased skillet as for any pancake.