Sour Dough Bread... an adventure.

[BettyR]

Quote:
If you wouldn't mind sharing, what is your favorite SD bread recipe? I'm very experienced with bread but not very experienced with sour dough recipes. The recipe I have is OK but I'm always on the look out for a better one.

 

[halo]

Did you say their starter was 250 years old???

 

[vfem]

Quote:
Yeah they mentioned they bought a share of King Arthur's.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Vfem..
For the new starter you said to use 2 more cups of sugar? Did you mean flour?

 

[vfem]

Thanks redhen... yes, not sugar, but flour!

I'm a dork!

 

[redhen]

Quote:

No biggie.

So..for the new starter.. its the water and flour ..
Do you add the teaspoon of sugar also?

And when you take it out of the fridge..do you have to let it rise?
Sorry to ask so many questions...

 

[vfem]

I am taking this as you add the sugar to the water and yeast, let it sit for 10 minutes... then add the flour, cover loosely with plastic wrap and put in a warm spot.

Then when you use it, you save 1 cup for your new starter. You can save the starter in the fridge (still loosely covered) then bring it to room temp and add the flour & warm water when you are ready to let it begin again. Now it says you can do the second starter and only let it sit over night before you use it again, and it will still be more 'sour' flavored then the first starter you did you let sit for a few days. So that awesome!

 

[flyweed]

here is the recipe I follow for an "extra sour" sourdough bread. It is very very good:

* 1 cup "fed" sourdough starter
* 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
* 5 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon to 5/8 teaspoon sour salt (citric acid), optional, for extra-sour bread


Directions

1) Combine the starter, water, and 3 cups of the flour. Beat vigorously.

2) Cover, and let rest at room temperature for 4 hours. Refrigerate overnight, for about 12 hours.

3) Add the remaining ingredients, kneading to form a smooth dough.

4) Allow the dough to rise in a covered bowl until it's relaxed, smoothed out, and risen. Depending on the vigor of your starter, it may become REALLY puffy, as pictured; or it may just rise a bit. This can take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours. Understand this: sourdough bread (especially sourdough without added yeast) is as much art as science; everyone's timetable will be different. So please allow yourself to go with the flow, and not treat this as an exact, to-the-minute process.

5) Gently divide the dough in half.

6) Gently shape the dough into two oval loaves, and place them on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise until very puffy, about 2 to 4 hours. Don't worry if the loaves spread more than they rise; they'll pick up once they hit the oven's heat. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

7) Spray the loaves with lukewarm water.

8) Make two fairly deep horizontal slashes in each; a serrated bread knife, wielded firmly, works well here.

9) Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, until it's a very deep golden brown. Remove it from the oven, and cool on a rack.

There ya have it.

 

[miss_thenorth]

When you say "fed starter", do you mean, -you just removed 1/2, then fed it, and then you measure out the one cup?

Or do you mean, you fed it this morning, and now it has bubbled and doubled, and then you measure out the one cup?

 

[flyweed]

I take my starter out of the fridge..(usually keep about 1 cup)..but then add some flour and water to it to double it...let it sit until it starts to bubble a bit..and then take a cup of that to start the recipe.

Dan