Tag: sourdough

Breaking Bread

Is there anything better than eating a slice of warm, buttered sourdough bread? Yes, sharing a loaf of warm sourdough bread with the people you love.

This is the easiest sourdough recipe I have made. Baking sourdough bread takes a bit of trial and error. How wet/dry should the dough be, how long should I let it rest, how long should it bake? The recipe below is the easiest recipe I have used to make sourdough bread.

Your first few loaves may be flops. But delicious flops. Your bread may be a little burned, it didn’t rise enough, too sour, not sour enough. It will still be delicious. If it’s not perfect use it for french toast, croutons or bread crumbs. We have never had a loaf we had to throw out.

Just keep trying. You will get a feel for how it should look, smell and even sound. The more you make the more you can share. Break some bread with this easy recipe.

After the first 2 hours, folding 4 times each half an hour. Lightly floured and ready to rest.
After the second 2 hour rest. It has tripled in size. It has been resting under a towel. I have a roast in the oven, so I placed the bowl near the warm stove.

Easy Sourdough Bread

3 cups of unbleached flour

1 1/4 cup warm water ( you might need less if your starter is “wetter”)

3/4 cup active sourdough starter (If you haven’t started your own sourdough mother, go to my blog page titled Mother. Come back in 5 days and make this delicious loaf of bread.

1 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

1. Mix all of your ingredients except the salt. Just until combined. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

2. Using a dough hook, knead for 5 minutes.

3.You can transfer to a new lightly oiled bowl. I hate to dirty dishes. So I just hold the dough in one hand. Lightly oil your bowl, and set it back in. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 2-3 hours. Every 30- 40 minutes turn and fold the dough. (Grab dough from the outside edge and push into the center. I do this about 4 times each half hour.) *At this point, you can cover your dough and place it in the refrigerator. When your ready the next day skip to step 5.

4. Place the dough on a floured surface and fold the dough. Do not incorporate too much dough place dough back in bowl and let rise 2-3 more hours. Make sure there is a good coat of flour on the outside of your dough.

5. Put your Dutch oven in a cold oven. Set oven to 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Place your dough on parchment, cover with a towel and set aside.

6. After 30 minutes slash the top of your bread. Place the dough on parchment in the dutch oven with the lid for 15 minutes.

7. Take the lid off and finish baking for 10-15 minutes.

8. Take your delicious sourdough bread out of the oven and set it on a wire rack for 30 minutes. If you can wait that long. Your patience will be rewarded.

Note: I threw out my first loaf. The mother had not been well fed so the bread didn’t rise. ☹

Mother (Sourdough)

Here’s a riddle for you. She is bubbly, easy to care for and everyone loves her. We are all excited when it’s time to feed her. Who is she? We call her mother.

Two summers ago we started a little experiment. We thought it would be fun to teach the girls about fermentation and bacteria by starting a sourdough mother. We started with an old canning jar, flour and water. Almost three years later, she sits on our counter and helps us make delicious breads, rolls, muffins, tortillas and more.This has been the most delicious science experiment we have ever tried.

Do you want a mother of your own? Here’s what we did:

Day 1- In a clean glass jar, combine 1 cup of flour (we have used rye, all purpose and whole wheat) with 1/2 cup water in the jar. I stir it with a chopstick until it is smooth. We covered ours with a paper towel and a rubber band around the rim to secure it. Set her on your kitchen counter.

Day 2- She’s hungry. Pour out half of your mother then feed her with 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water. Stir until smooth. Cover her like you did yesterday and set her on your counter.

Day 3-Your mother should be looking a little bubbly today. Wild yeast is becoming active and starting to multiply. She may even look a little plumper today. Just like yesterday, pour out half and feed her. Cover her again and set her on your counter.

Days 4 and 5- Repeat her feeding process. She should start smelling sour or yeast like. If she doesn’t, don’t worry, just keep up her feedings.

Day 5 – She may be ready to use. If she looks bubbly and she has grown she may have enough yeasty goodness to bake with her.

Day 6 – forever. You can set her on your counter and feed her every few days. When I leave her on the counter I place a paper towel or cheese cloth over her, held on with a rubber band.

Or you can place her in the fridge and feed her once a week. Just take her out of the fridge, feed her and  leave her on the counter half a day and put a lid on her and put her back in the fridge. When I want to bake with her I feed her the night before and in the morning she is bubbly and ready.

She has quite the personality.

Over time you learn your mothers personality. You can experiment with how much flour and water to feed her. When to remove her from her old container to put her in a fresh new jar. Sometimes she will have a layer of liquid on top. Just pour it off and feed her. She may form a crust or look odd. Don’t worry she is incredibly resilient.

Our sourdough starter has initiated many learning lessons in our home. 1) The simplicity of delicious foods. When we make our bread we only need flour, water and a little salt. It becomes the most delicious meal. 2) The importance of patience and persistence. 3) Most importantly, the importance of feeding mother.