Artisan Sourdough Bread ~ No-Knead Method

This is a simple method for making delicious sourdough bread without kneading. It requires very little effort, but it does require a little pre-planning to have the bread ready when you want it.

The day before you want to bake, remove the starter from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. Then feed it with ½ cup of flour and 1/3 cup of water and let it sit at room temperature for several hours. If you have an active starter, it should double or triple in size. Do not put the lid on too tight, the gases need room to expand. I usually take the starter out of the refrigerator around 7 AM, and then feed it about 10 AM.

In the evening I mix the dough and let it proof overnight.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (5 oz. by weight) whole wheat flour and 2½ cups (11 oz. by weight) white bread flour, or
• 3 ½ cups of white bread flour, or
• (3 ½ cups of all purpose flour with 1/3 cup of vital wheat gluten, or)
• (1 ¾ cups of bread flour + 1 ¾ cups of whole wheat)
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1½ cups purified water
• ¼ cup sourdough starter (The starter will have risen considerably, so stir it down before measuring. 

Directions:

• Mix together the dry ingredients.
• Dissolve 1/4 cup starter into the purified water
• Add water / starter to dry ingredients and stir until the water is incorporated.
• Cover with plastic and let sit 12-16 hours.
• Gently dump the dough out onto a floured board or counter top.
• Gently stretch the dough out into a rectangle about 12” by 9” in size. Fold 1/3 of the dough in on itself, and then fold the other 1/3 on top. Then fold it in half.

• Cover loosely with plastic and rest for 15 minutes.
• Gently transfer the dough to well floured towel or proofing basket or bowl. (I use parchment paper in the bowl to make it easy to transfer to La Cloche, or Dutch Oven.)
• Cover with towel and let rise about 1½ - 2 hours. NOTE: If you prefer to bake in a loaf pan, skip the proofing basket or bowl, and gently transfer the dough to the loaf pan, cover with a towel and let it rise 1½ - 2 hours
• Preheat the oven to 500°F about 30 minutes before baking. (If you use a loaf pan, place a small oven safe pan or crock in the oven and add water for steam just before you bake.
• Bake in covered La Cloche or Dutch Oven preheated to 500 degrees for 20 minutes.
• Remove cover; REDUCE heat to 450 degrees and bake an additional 25 minutes.
• Let cool completely on rack.

Eat bread, be happy!

Don’t forget to return the starter to the refrigerator with a loose lid. Starter needs to be feed every 2 weeks if not baking regularly.

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Sourdough Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

INGREDIENTS
2 ½ cups sourdough starter sponge
(See this post for info on starter: Sourdough Bread)
1 Tbsp. raw cane sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 tsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. vital wheat gluten
1 cup bread flour (more or less) + extra for kneading
1 egg, whisked + 1 Tbsp. water, for egg wash
dried rosemary, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sourdough sponge, salt, rosemary, seasonings, olive oil, vital wheat gluten and whole wheat flour. Using the paddle attachment, mix the dough on low until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 to 90 minutes.

2. Add the white flour and stir with the dough hook for about 5 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Knead, by hand, on a lightly floured surface for about 2 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to prevent sticking, until the dough is smooth.

3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl; cover; and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

4. Punch down the dough and form it into a round loaf by gently rounding the dough on your board. This is done by slowly rotating the dough in a circle, while stretching the dough from side to side, so that it forms a smooth surface all the way around. Place the dough on a cornmeal dusted pizza peel or parchment paper; cover; and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 to 90 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, preheat oven (and pizza stone) to 400 F. Once the dough has risen, gently slash the top diagonally in a couple of places, about ¼” deep, taking care to not disinflate the dough, brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with dried rosemary.

6. Bake on preheated stone for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped. The internal temperature should reach 195° F. to 205° F. Let it rest for 30 minutes before slicing.

Makes 1 large round loaf.

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Sourdough Pizza Dough *WP*

Ingredients:
2 cups of sourdough starter
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Add starter to mixer set with dough hook. Gradually add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and 2 cups of flour. Knead with the mixer for about 5 minutes until the dough is a cohesive mass. Allow dough to rest in an oiled bowl for an hour or two. Do not expect this dough to rise much.

Preheat oven to 500.

Divide dough in half and roll out two pizza shells. Bake on a pizza stone for 8 minutes. Remove from oven. At this point the pizza shells can be frozen, when cooled, for later use, or they can be topped as desired and baked in the oven until browned and cheese is melted.

Number of Servings: 8

Nutritional Info:
Fat: 5.8g
Carbohydrates: 39.1g
Calories: 207.8
Protein: 5.7g

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Sourdough Drop Biscuits

Ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons of butter
2 cups of whole wheat flour or half white, half wheat
2 cups of sourdough starter
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
Melted butter for brushing tops

Direction:
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Melt butter. Combine remaining ingredients with the butter and stir together in mixing bowl. With floured hands, pinch off walnut-size balls of dough and place in 9-10 inch skillet. Let rise in warm place for 15 minutes. Bake 25-30 minutes. Brush with melted butter. Watch to make sure they don't burn. Variation: Add chopped apples, mashed cooked sweet potatoes, raisins or minced onion to the dough. Makes 1 1/2-2 dozen.

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Sourdough English Muffins

Another recipe found online and modified. I found the original recipe on the Sourdough Home web site and then I modified it somewhat to use whole wheat. If you don't have whole wheat, you can just use all bread flour, and they will still be delicious. John says they are the best he has ever tasted, even better than store bought Bays or Thomas!

Sponge Ingredients:
3/4 cup sourdough starter
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups milk, skim
2 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour

Dough:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup bread flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons cornmeal

The Night Before:
Prepare the sponge. Mix sour starter, honey and milk in mixing bowl until smooth. Mix the dry flours together. Add the 4 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time, and mix in until all the flour thoroughly wet. Cover with clean towel and leave at room temperature in a draft free place overnight. I let the sponge develop in the oven with the light turned on. Just be sure the oven is at room temperature when you put it in the oven. I put a dish towel in the door to prop it open because the light bulb alone can raise the temperature to close to 90° degrees and this will kill the natural bacteria sourdough needs to grow.

The Next Morning:
Make the dough. Stir down the sponge (it will have risen considerably). If it has risen too high and fallen, no problem, just stir down the rest of the way. Sprinkle a scant teaspoon of baking soda and 2 teaspoons of sea salt over the surface of the dough and work it in. Mix the 3/4 cup of white & 3/4 cup of wheat flours together. Flour your board with half of this flour mixture or more (up to 2 cups), until dough is medium stiff - enough to roll out. Once you have enough flour in (I go by feel-never too dry and always moist) and the dough longer sticks to your hands, give it a 5 minute kneading.

Get 2 baking sheets or jelly roll pans and line with waxed paper-sprinkle corn meal over both.

Flour board again and lightly roll dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Take a 3 inch round cutter (a bit larger diameter, different shapes, OK) and cut as many rounds as you can-rolling the left over dough out and cutting more until all the dough is used. Try to keep them very uniform in thickness and diameter. As you cut each round, place on cornmeal wax paper-don't allow raw muffins to touch--they will stick. When all rounds are cut, sprinkle corn meal over tops
of muffins.

Allow to rise in warm place, covered, for about an hour or until risen again (I have left them to rise for as much as 3 hours. The time really depends on your environment). Again, I let them rise in a cool oven, with the light turned on and a dish towel wedged in the door to prop it open and prevent anyone from closing it. Remember, just the light bulb can raise the temperature to close to 90° degrees, much too warm for the final rise.

Now the FUN part!
Preheat a griddle (I used a non stick electric griddle, or skillet, with the temperature set to just under 300° with a TINY bit of butter, until butter sizzles. Use a low flame or heat setting so the inside of the muffin bakes and outside does not burn. Pan bake one side for about 4-5 minutes and turn. Squish down a bit with spatula and pan bake other side for about 4-5 minutes. Turn only once so be sure the one side is cooked before turning. While you can skip the butter if you have a non-stick skillet, they won't taste as good without it! If you want bigger holes and crevices in the muffins, let them rise a bit longer (2 or 3 hours).

Yield: 24 Muffins
1 Muffin Per Serving: 131 Calories; 1g Fat (4.3% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; trace Cholesterol; 221mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Non-Fat Milk; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

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Sourdough Cinnamon Pecan Rolls

Ingredients:

Dough
2 cups sourdough starter
1 small 5 ounce can of evaporated milk
1 large egg slightly beaten at room temperature
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups of all purpose flour

Cinnamon Sugar Topping
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup pecan pieces

Directions:

Making Dough
Scald evaporated milk, remove from heat and stir in the butter until melted. Mix the milk and butter mixture with the sourdough starter and gradually add the egg, sugar, salt and half of the all purpose flour (2 cups). Mix well with electric mixer using the paddle attachment for a few minutes, then let it stand for 30 minutes so that all the flour is absorbed. Exchange the paddle attachment for the dough hook and knead in the remaining 2 cups of flour. Knead for at least 5 minutes. The dough will be moist, this is normal.

Place the dough into a well-oiled bowl and oil the top. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and put it somewhere that it’s not drafty, between 65° and 85° F. and let it rise. Check it every 30 minutes and until it is about 1½ to 2 times its original size. Test the rise by pushing your finger into the dough about one-half to three-quarters of an inch. If the dough springs back and fills the hole within a minute or so, then it isn't finished with its first rise. If most of the indentation remains, you're ready to proceed to the next step.

Shaping and Baking
Push your closed fist gently into the middle of the dough all the way to the bottom of the container, then gently push the outside parts of the dough into hole you created in the middle. This is called ‘punching down’ the dough and serves to rearrange the gluten strands to encourage a proper second rise. Now dump the dough out of the bowl and on to the counter. Gently knead and stretch the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangular shape approximately 10"x 16". Brush the dough with the melted butter, and sprinkle with 2/3 of the cinnamon sugar. Top with pecans. Now gently roll the dough lengthwise into a cylindrical shape. Slice the dough with a dough cutter into rounds about 1¼ inch thick. Arrange the rounds so they are almost touching in a well-oiled baking pan.

Cover the rolls with a tea towel or plastic wrap that has been sprayed with Pam. Place the baking pan in a warm (65°-80° F) non-drafty place again for the second rise. This rising could take from 1½ to 3 hours depending on the room temperature and the dough. Expect sourdoughs to rise much more slowly than breads made with commercial yeasts.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. When the unbaked rolls are about two times their original size, it’s time to bake. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar over the top of the rolls and place them in the oven, on the center rack, to back for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Rolls can be frosted with a powdered sugar glaze if desired.

Yield: 12 rolls

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Sourdough Blueberry Muffins

This recipe will make 6 small muffins (2-inch diameter)

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sourdough starter
(See this post for info on starter: Sourdough Bread)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour (whole wheat or all-purpose white)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar or Splenda sweetner
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425F. Generously grease muffin pan with vegetable oil or PAM spray, butter. You can use also use cupcake/muffin paper cup inserts if you prefer.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside. Mix the sourdough starter with all the wet ingredients in a larger bowl. Fold in the dry ingredients and the blueberries. Mix the batter quickly and spoon it into 6 muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes. Let them rest for a couple of minutes before removing them from the muffin pan or they will stick.

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Sourdough Waffles & Pancakes

~
Now that I have my never ending supply of sourdough starter, I decided to see what else I could make, besides bread. After scouting around for different recipes I developed the following recipe for waffles and pancakes. This morning I made a dozen of the lightest 4 inch waffles I have every tasted.

Sponge Ingredients:
2 cups of refrigerated sourdough starter
2 cups of flour
2 cups of water

Sponge Directions:
The night before, feed the 2 cups of starter with the flour and water in a large bowl. Mix well and leave it covered at room temperature (65 F. - 80 F. degrees) overnight. You should have a very active sponge in the morning. Measure out 3 cups for the waffle/pancake batter. (Place the remainder in your sourdough starter jar, give it a feeding with about 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup flour, let it rest 30 minutes to an hour, and return it to the refrigerator.)

Batter Ingredients:
3 cups of active sponge
2 eggs
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
4 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Batter Directions:
Add the eggs, oil, honey and salt to the sponge and mix well. Let the batter rest for about 30 minutes. You can cook the bacon or sausage, set the table, and heat the waffle iron or pancake griddle while the batter rests. The waffle iron or griddle should be set to 400 F. degrees, or moderately hot. Just before you are ready to cook, add the baking soda and mix well. If you add the baking soda too soon the batter may go flat and the waffles/pancakes won't rise well when cooked.
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Sourdough Bread

My all time favorite bread has always been sourdough, preferably San Francisco Sourdough. I became curious recently about sourdough and the whole bread making process, so I started to research on the internet and found the basic sourdough is a simple process of allowing equal parts of flour and water to ferment. Flour naturally contains wild yeasts and bacteria spores. When mixed with water and left at room temperature the naturally-occurring enzymes break down the starch into complex sugars. The sugars convert into glucose and fructose that yeast can metabolize. The bacteria then feed on the metabolism products from the yeast. This process creates the sourdough starter.

UPDATE: Since living in Costa Rica for several years, I found I needed a fresh sourdough starter. I found this procedure online, and it resulted with the best starter I have every used. Sourdough Starter

I tried creating my own starter and it did turn sour, but the loaf of bread was extremely dense and not at all what I was hoping to achieve. I wound up pitching it in the trash. I really wanted something more along the lines of a true San Francisco sourdough, so I went back to the internet and discovered Linda Wilbourne's web site with a true San Francisco Sourdough Bread Starter.

A little over a week ago, I purchased the San Francisco sour dough starter that is made up of a tiny amount of flour, the live wild yeast organisms, and another live organism called a lactobacillus, which is what creates the sour flavor in sourdough bread.

I followed Linda's instructions to the letter to create my starter and the results are amazing. I spent 72 hours getting the starter to the point it was ready to be used to bake a loaf of bread. I didn't have much experience baking bread, but John does, so this past Monday, after John came home from work, he helped me with the first loaf. I needed to get a feel of how the dough should look and feel and John is a great teacher. Our first loaf came out of the oven about 12:30 AM (Tuesday morning). We let it cool for about 15 minutes before we sliced the first piece and had a taste. Oh my, this is really good stuff!

That same Tuesday, after a little sleep, I went about the process of creating more starter and I made two more loaves, you know, just to get some practice in.

One was a round of white and the other a sandwich loaf using 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flours. Both were absolutely delicious!

I now have a couple of sourdough starters safely stored in the fridge. The starter "stash" needs to be fed about once a month to keep the population of hungry micro organisms alive. It's pretty easy to do and this will give me a never ending supply of sourdough yeast for baking.

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