The First Of Many

Wintertime means fresh, home-baked bread at our house.  My DH loves it dearly, and there’s not another more appetite enticing and sense-pleasing aroma to fill a home than bread baking in the oven.  Yesterday I made the first bread of the season…sour dough bread made in flat loaves.  The wonderful thing about sour dough starter (in the pottery pitcher) is the more you use it…the older it gets…the better the bread tastes.

One of our sons-in-law had a birthday yesterday.  Homemade bread is one of his favorites.  He was given the loaf with a ribbon tied around it.  This morning I enjoyed a toasted slice slathered in real butter and generously sprinkled with a mixture of cinnamon-sugar.  Cinnamon toast never tasted so good.  Mmmm, mmm. This may be the first loaves of the season, but this bread is already delicious.

Editing to add recipe per Jen’s request:

This evening I’ll add the starter recipe.  Tomorrow I’ll add the recipe for the bread I made yesterday.

Sour Dough Starter

1 teaspoon regular active dry yeast (not fast rising)

1/4 cup warm water (105F to 115F)

3/4 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour (DO NOT USE SELF-RISING)

1 Tablespoon sugar

In a 3 quart glass bowl or crock, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Stir in milk.  (I warmed the milk just enough to take the chill off.)  Gradually stir in flour and sugar.  Stir until very smooth.  Cover with dish towel or cheesecloth and let stand in a draft-free, warm place (80F to 85F) for about 24 hours or until starter begins to ferment.  Bubbles will appear on the surface of the starter.  (My house is not 80 degrees…but my starter did fine.  As long as your house is not frigid yours should, too.)  If the starter has not begun to ferment after 24 hours, discard it and start over.  If it has bubbles on the surface, stir well; cover tightly with plastic wrap and return to a warm, draft-free place.  Let starter stand for 2 or 3 days or until foamy.

When starter has become foamy, stir well.  Cover tightly and place in refrigerator.

Starter is ready to use when a clear liquid has risen to top.  Stir thoroughly before using.

Use one cup starter in recipe;  reserve remaining starter.  To the remaining starter, add 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup all purpose flour.  Stir until smooth.  Store covered at room temperature for about 12 hours or until bubbles appear.  Refrigerate until next use.

Use the starter regularly (at least once a week).  If the volume of the bread you bake decreases, dissolve 1 teaspoon of yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.   Stir in 1/2 cup milk and 3/4 cup flour and yeast mixture into the starter.

If you have any questions…ask.

Tune in tomorrow for a bread recipe using sourdough starter.

Sour Dough Bread

1 cup Sour Dough Starter
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour or bread flour  (DO NOT USE SELF RISING FLOUR)
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2 cups warm water (105 F to 115F)
3 3/4  to 4 1/4 cups all purpose or bread flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

In a 3 quart glass bowl, mix sour dough starter, 2 1/2 cups flour and warm water with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Cover and let stand in warm, draft-free place for 8 hours.

Add 3 3/4 cups flour, sugar, salt and oil to the mixture in the bowl.  Stir with wooden spoon until dough is smooth and the flour is completely absorbed into mixture.  (Dough should be firm enough to gather into ball.  If it is not, add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until it is firm enough.

On heavily floured surface, knead dough about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and springy.  Grease a large bowl with shortening.  Place dough in the bowl, turning dough to grease all sides.  Cover and let  rise in a warm place for about an hour and a half or until the dough has doubled in size.  Dough is ready when an indentation remains when touched.  (Do not rush it.)

Grease a large cookie sheet with shortening.  Gently push fisht into dough several times to remove air bubbles.  Divide dough in half.  Shape each half into a round, slightly flat loaf.  Do not tear the dough by pulling.  Place loaves on opposite corners of cookie sheet.  Make three 1/4 inch deep slashes in top of each loaf with a sharp knife.  Make slashes on a slight diagonal from side to side…not length-wise.  Cover and let loaves rise about 45 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

Heat over not 375 degrees.  Brush loaves with cold water.  Place in middle of oven.  Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.  Remove from cookie sheet to a wire rack.  Cool completely, about 1 hour.  (Or dive in and eat it while it is warm with melted butter and homemade jam….mmmm  mmmm  mmmm.)

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This recipe is a “pattern”.  Today I am making a couple loaves.  I’ll make one following the recipe, but I will bake it in a bread pan.  The other loaf I am going to turn into a cinnamon raisin loaf and bake it in a bread pan.

Whole wheat flour can be substituted for 2 cups of flour during the step when all the dry ingredients are added.

If you like a sweeter bread you can add more sugar.

I always add an egg when I add the dry ingredients.

Sour Dough Starter can be used in pancake or waffle batter.

Until next time…

Think about this…

The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism. ~ Karl Marx ~

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