Its Sunday.
Wonderful, sleep in till noon, do whatever you want Sunday.
I'm not a church goer as you can tell.
I know, I know. Cue the finger wagging.
Anyways,
In the colder months, on my days off, I try to find something fun to do around the house.
When I'm not making orders for etsy, or doing some laundry, I LOVE to bake sourdough bread.
Today was very cold and boring, and I hate doing laundry, so sourdough time!
I'm still quite a newbie, however there is one recipe that I've got down pat.
So I decided I would share to my fellow novices how to make a simple, yet favorite sourdough recipe. (Now, since originally making this post I have learned that this is not traditional sourdough. I will soon be adding a post about natural yeast and what I have learned thus far.)
I found it on allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/san-francisco-sourdough-bread/detail.aspx)
I just don't use the onion egg wash on mine. I like it simple. Thanks to my sister-in-law for showing me this one.
You can also find several sourdough starter recipes on there too. Just browse around.
You also want to feed your starter every now and then too.
There are lots of opinions on how to feed your starter, but this is how I've done it:
Pour out (or use) half of your starter. Add 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water.
If your starter has a lot of liquid formed on top, only add about 1/2 cup of water.
After a few times your starter will be less watery and you can go back to equal parts.
Let it sit 2-3 hours covered, but not air-tight, then stick it in the fridge.
All right, back to the bread making!
So, to begin, make sure you have your starter at room temp before using.
Also be aware that bread takes Patience. So you if want your bread to be ready at dinner time, start no later than 11:30 a.m. or 12 p.m.
Mix together 1 cup of flour, the sugar, salt, and active dry yeast. (Traditional sourdough does not use any other yeast than your starter.) Next add the warm milk, softened butter and starter. Now, gradually start adding in the rest of your flour. About half way through mixing, it will become very thick and too hard to mix with a spoon. This is where the messy part begins.
Make sure you set out the rest of your flour needed. Flour up your hands and start mushing that dough around. Keep adding flour gradually to the mixture. Your hands will be very very sticky but once the dough stops sticking to your hands, your probably done. The dough will still be a little sticky, but you want it to be one big soft ball of dough that's just slightly gooey.
Now for the fun part!
Clean off a big section of your table very well. Sprinkle flour in a circle about twice as wide as your dough. Plop that baby down. Sprinkle even more flour on top and begin kneading your dough.
To do this, fold your dough in half and then push downwards with both
hands. (I'm using one because I cannot photograph and knead correctly at
the same time.) Use your palms to really push down on it.
You're going to knead for 8 to 10 mins. I always do 10. As you knead, it will get thicker and thicker. As it does, you'll want to push down harder. I like to slide my palms back and forth a couple times while pushing down more and more. You can find your own way of doing it though. Have fun with it! Its a great way to take out your frustrations.
Once its a good and thick, elastic feeling ball of dough, you're done with this. Make sure not to add too much flour at a time. The wetter the dough is, the more moist your finished bread is because the oven will bake off some of the moisture in it.
Grab a bowl and grease it with butter. Butter makes everything better! It also keeps the dough from cracking or sticking to your bowl. Put your dough in and roll it around in the butter once or twice over.
Cover with a cloth and let it sit until it has doubled in size.
Now is the time for patience. It will take 1-2 hours to double. The colder it is, the longer it takes. Mine took 2 hours because it is so cold today. If its not perfectly doubled its ok, but don't let it go too much more than double because what goes up, must fall down and it will not turn out right if this happens.
Once it has doubled, punch down on the dough a few times until its been flattened a tiny bit like so.
Then wait 15 mins. While waiting, get out your bread pan or cookie sheet and grease with butter like we did earlier. If you get as bored as me, you can take a few photos of your elf with the dough. Yeah, I know, very creative.
Now, divide your dough in half, or as much as you like, and form your loaves. My husband requested a long, skinny tube of bread so I also did that. Yeah, don't ask me. I just did what I was asked.
Wait until it has doubled again. It will take about the same amount of time as before. Preheat your oven, then put them in for about 30 mins. The smaller you make your loaves, the quicker it will will bake.
You can tell that the bread is done by tapping on the bread with your finger. As long as it sounds hollow when you tap, it's done. It's good to check the bottom too, as that is going to be the softest part. This skill takes a few times to get down pat, but if you under cook it, you can always stick in the oven on 300 degrees for 10-15 mins. It will be just as good.
Now, wait till its cooled down, if you can, and enjoy! Isn't it a beauty? I just love seeing the transformation of bread as you make it.
I like to make my own butter for this bread because it goes really well with it. Just take some whipping cream in a jar and shake for about 20 mins until its a really solid mass of butter. Add some salt if you want before shaking. Pour out the buttermilk on top and its ready.
Just don't store your butter in a glass jar in the fridge. Otherwise you will hand a slice of bread to your husband who will then bite into glass and make you throw away your bread because you didn't realize the glass was in the butter, not the bread... just sayin'...that would really suck..
To see the full recipe go to:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/san-francisco-sourdough-bread/detail.aspx
Happy Baking!
