I recently listened to the audiobook, "How to Bake a Perfect Life" by Barbara O' Neal and wrote down one of the recipes she shares for starter. The book just makes you want to bake bread like crazy.
I have been watching over this new starter for a week now and today is the day for making some bread.
Ramona's Starter (altered slightly to what I had in the pantry which wasn't the rye flour called for).
2 cups potato water
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup "Better For Bread" white flour
2 teaspoons yeast
Large jar and cheese cloth with a rubber band to keep it in place.
Place starter ingredients into large jar and stir to combine, let sit at room temperature for about 4 days or until it smells nice and sour. Add 1/4 cup each whole wheat flour and tap water every other day and stir. (After the 4th day I kept this in the refrigerator except for when I added the new flour and water, after which I left it on the counter for a few hours.)
Today I had enough to try and make a loaf of sour dough bread. I have used the "No-Knead" bread recipe with great success in the past, but I have never been able to turn it into a whole grain bread that isn't the consistency of a brick. I thought using a real sour dough starter might help—and it did.
My recipe for Sour Dough Bread:
2 cups bread flour ("Better For Bread")
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, plus enough for proper dough consistency
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon sweetener, such as raw sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon flaxseed meal
Toss the dry ingredients together and then add the wet:
1 cup sour dough starter
1 1/2 cups warm water with 2 teaspoons yeast stirred into it
1/4 cup beer
Stir it all together until it forms a nice, sticky ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled. I have found that leaving the dough very wet results in a much better texture and softness to the final loaf.
Place an oiled sheet of parchment into a medium sized skillet and punch dough down, shape into loaf and place it in the paper lined skillet on top of your stove. Let rest until doubled in size, then make a slit in the top of the loaf and dust with flour.
While the bread is rising, place a large iron dutch oven (or iron camping pot with lid) into the oven and heat to a temperature of 500 degrees f. Let the oven and pot get up to this temperature for 30 minutes.
When the loaf looks like it is doubled, open the hot oven, remove the lid and use the paper to transfer the dough to inside the dutch oven. Put the lid back on, shut the oven door. Set the timer for 30 minutes and turn the oven temperature down to 400 degrees f.
When the timer goes off, remove the lid and continue to bake for another 20 minutes.
Cool loaf on wire rack before cutting. Good luck with that.
I have been watching over this new starter for a week now and today is the day for making some bread.
 |
| Sour Dough Bread made with flaxseed meal and whole wheat |
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| This recipe doesn't turn out like a dense brick!!! |
Ramona's Starter (altered slightly to what I had in the pantry which wasn't the rye flour called for).
2 cups potato water
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup "Better For Bread" white flour
2 teaspoons yeast
Large jar and cheese cloth with a rubber band to keep it in place.
Place starter ingredients into large jar and stir to combine, let sit at room temperature for about 4 days or until it smells nice and sour. Add 1/4 cup each whole wheat flour and tap water every other day and stir. (After the 4th day I kept this in the refrigerator except for when I added the new flour and water, after which I left it on the counter for a few hours.)
Today I had enough to try and make a loaf of sour dough bread. I have used the "No-Knead" bread recipe with great success in the past, but I have never been able to turn it into a whole grain bread that isn't the consistency of a brick. I thought using a real sour dough starter might help—and it did.
My recipe for Sour Dough Bread:
2 cups bread flour ("Better For Bread")
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, plus enough for proper dough consistency
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon sweetener, such as raw sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon flaxseed meal
Toss the dry ingredients together and then add the wet:
1 cup sour dough starter
1 1/2 cups warm water with 2 teaspoons yeast stirred into it
1/4 cup beer
Stir it all together until it forms a nice, sticky ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled. I have found that leaving the dough very wet results in a much better texture and softness to the final loaf.
Place an oiled sheet of parchment into a medium sized skillet and punch dough down, shape into loaf and place it in the paper lined skillet on top of your stove. Let rest until doubled in size, then make a slit in the top of the loaf and dust with flour.
While the bread is rising, place a large iron dutch oven (or iron camping pot with lid) into the oven and heat to a temperature of 500 degrees f. Let the oven and pot get up to this temperature for 30 minutes.
When the loaf looks like it is doubled, open the hot oven, remove the lid and use the paper to transfer the dough to inside the dutch oven. Put the lid back on, shut the oven door. Set the timer for 30 minutes and turn the oven temperature down to 400 degrees f.
When the timer goes off, remove the lid and continue to bake for another 20 minutes.
Cool loaf on wire rack before cutting. Good luck with that.
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