How to make sourdough bread - simple recipe

[Kitchen Witch]

How to make sourdough bread


Sourdough bread is bread that is made without adding yeast.

Making a starter (enabling wild yeast to grow), your bread will rise naturally. This is how it was done for thousands of years before yeast cakes and yeast packets came into being.

The Amish Friendship Bread as well as other live-yeast breads are also sourdough.




THE BASICS FOR SOURDOUGH

As far as "equipment needed", all you need is a mixing bowl, an oven and your baking sheet.



Now you begin your STARTER:
Your starter is that bubbly batter that you keep in your fridge - and that is what will allow your bread to rise.

By refrigerating, you are keeping your starter "alive". It's your refrigerator "pet" which you keep and you feed so that you can have all the bread you want.

This batter of flour and water is filled with living yeast and bacteria. The yeast and bacteria "marry", and (as long as you keep your starter fed) can live for centuries - a thriving colony of microorganisms. To make your sourdough bread, you blend the starter with some flour and make dough. The yeast propogates and leavens your bread.


FIRST

You need a container for your "pet" to live in. I find that using a wide-mouthed glass jar is best.

You can use a plastic container to combine - but always store in a glass container. Try a mayo jar, a pickle jar, applesauce jar - whatever suits you. I do not suggest using any metallic-type comtainers because many of them are reactive and that will definitely ruin your starter.

Into your glass jar, place a cup of flour and a cup of warm water. THAT'S IT!

You can use unbleached, all-purpose or even whole-wheat - it's your choice.

If you want, you can add a little commercial yeast to a starter to "boost" it. For true sourdough fans - that is a no-no. But depending on where you live, a little yeast boost may not be necessary. If you find you are having trouble - then cheat and use a bit of commercial yeast. The final result will be a loaf of bread with less distinctive sour flavoring than the real thing.


FEED YOUR "PET" - EVERY 24 HOURS.
To begin with, your starter sould be kept in a warm place with a temperature between 70 and 80* F. This will allow the yeast that is present in the flour (and in the air) to grow rapidly. Temperatures over 100* F. will kill it.


HOW TO FEED YOUR "PET"
The way to feed your starter is to toss half of it away and then add a half-cup of flour and a half-cup of water. Do this every 24 hours. Anywhere from 3 to 4 days or as long as a week or more, you should start getting lots of bubbles throughout, and it should have a pleasantly sour or beery smell. It may also start to puff up.

Once your starter develops a bubbly froth, it is done. Ta-daaaa! Success at last!

Place your starter in the refrigerator, be sure to keep a lid on it. Allow a bit of "breathing space" by punching a hole in the lid with a nail.

Once your starter is chilled, it needs to be fed once a week. You can get by feeding it less frequently. It's a living thing, a colony of life-forms that are almost impossible to kill - except for extreme heat. Even starving your pet is difficult.


WHAT ABOUT HOOCH?
One other thing you need to know about is HOOCH - that layer of watery liquid (often dark in color) that contains alcohol. It smells a bit like beer because it is a bit like beer - JUST DON'T DRINK IT! Hooch will build up your starter, especially in the fridge. You can pour it off or stir it in. It won't hurt a thing.

It's quite simple - if your starter looks dry, stir it in.
If your starter looks wet, pour it off.
And don't even worry about it.




SOURDOUGH BAKING

Begin by proofing your sponge
Several hours before you plan to make your dough, you need to make a "sponge". The term sponge is used to name a bowl of warm fermented batter.



TO MAKE YOUR SPONGE
Remove your starter from the fridge and pour into a large glass or plastic bowl. WASH AND DRY YOUR JAR. And it sure wouldn't hert to pour hot boiling water over it. You don't want anything that should not be in that jar growing with your pet!

Add a cup of warm water and a cup of flour to the bowl; stirring well. Set in a warm place for several hours. This is known as "proofing" (fermenting).

Watch for the froth. When your sponge is bubbly and has a white froth and smells a little sour - it is ready. The longer your sponge sits the more sour flavor you will get. Your proofing time can vary - it can take 1 to 2 hours or 6 to 8 hours or more. You will need to experiment to see how long it takes. If you are going to bake in the morning, set your sponge to proof overnight.



NOTE: You should have LEFTOVER SPONGE
The leftover sponge is your starter for next time: Put it into the jar, and give it a fresh feed of a half-cup each of flour and warm water. Keep it in the fridge as above; you'll have starter again next time.



JUST ANOTHER SOURDOUGH RECIPE
There are many sourdough recipes out there - here's one - plain and simple:


2 cups sponge (proofed starter)
3 cups unbleached flour
2 tablespoons olive oil or softened margarine
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt


To the sponge, add sugar, salt, and oil (oil is optional - you can use softened butter instead, or no oil at all). Mix well, then knead in the flour - one half-cup at a time. Knead in enough flour to make a good, flexible bread dough. You can do this with an electric mixer, a bread machine on "dough cycle," or a food processor. You can also do it with a big bowl and your bare hands.

Keep in mind that flour amounts are approximate; flour varies in absorbency, and your sponge can vary in wetness. Use your judgement; treat it like ordinary white or french bread dough. Trust your hands and eyes more than the recipe, always.

Let the dough rise in a warm place, in a bowl covered loosely with a towel (if you're using a bread machine's dough cycle, let it rise in the machine). Note that sourdough rises more slowly than yeast bread; my starter takes about an hour or so, but some starters take much longer. Let the dough double in bulk, just like yeast-bread dough. When a finger poked into the top of the dough creates a pit that doesn't "heal" (spring back), you've got a risen dough.

Punch the dough down and knead it a little more. Make a loaf and place it on a baking sheet (lightly greased or sprinkled with cornmeal). Slit the top if you like, and cover the loaf with a paper towel and place it in a warm place to rise again, until doubled in bulk.

Place the pan with the loaf in your oven, and then turn your oven to 350o Farenheit and bake the bread for 30-45 minutes. Do not preheat the oven. The loaf is done when the crust is brown and the bottom sounds hollow when thumped with a wooden spoon. Turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack or a towel and let it cool for an hour before slicing.



Other uses for your starter:
There are also recipes for sourdough rolls, sourdough pancakes, sourdough pretzels, sourdough bagels, etc.