Polish Cottage Rye Sourdough Bread

Nov 082010
 

I have a confession to make. The primary reason for building a rye sourdough this year was purely and entirely selfish.

I wanted a sandwich.

A good one. A good pastrami sandwich with some homemade sauerkraut and spicy mustard.

My dad cures his own pastrami. Makes his own spice rub, allows it to season/dry-age for several days in the rub, then smokes it for several hours. Oh, and did I mention? I love pastrami.

I made a deal with him that if he made a new batch of his pastrami to be ready when we arrived to visit in Colorado a few weeks ago, I would bring a German rye sourdough and bake him fresh bread to go with it.

And this Polish Cottage Rye Sourdough bread didn’t disappoint . . .

Sourdough Crepes

Jan 202010
 

Reason #214 to maintain sourdough starter.

Because when you run out of bread . . . and tortillas . .. and your toddler requests peanut butter sandwiches or quesadillas for lunch (basic toddler fare), you can make sourdough crepes (crepes instead of pancakes, because we didn’t want syrup for lunch), fill them with cheese or peanut butter (or any other leftovers or jam you like), and then later, when someone asked what you made for him and you mention that you made him crepes (?!?!) they think you’re a crazy gourmand.

They don’t realize how easy these things really are.

The Definitive Guide to Sourdough . . . according to me.

Jan 052010
 

The Definitive Guide to Sourdough . . . according to me.

Sourdough Do’s and Don’ts.
Tips and Tricks.

And that, “According to me” part? That’s my disclaimer. Who am I? A home baker. A mama – of two boys and a jar (okay, three) of sourdough starter. A sourdough mama who likes to read professional cookbooks and better baker blogs than me, and then tries to relate them to real life and real kitchens who use cups and Tablespoons and not grams and ounces (though I did just get a nice kitchen scale for Christmas . . . ). I don’t grind my own grain, but I am particular about my flour. I don’t have Diastatic Malt in my cupboards, nor Excel spreadsheets for hydration on my computer, but do have honey and eggs and leftover oatmeal. I’m a home baker who happens to have good luck with sourdough. . .

Sourdough French Bread

Nov 162009
 

This is the bread recipe I’ve been looking to make forever. It easily replaces (and is so much better) than the sourdough boules you’ll find at your local grocery store bakery. Soft and slightly tangy sourdough flavor, with a firm crust that crackles when you squeeze it and a soft interior that squishes down pleasantly to the tooth.

I like this recipe because it’s kind of a “cheater” sourdough recipe. It allows you to make bread in one day, without having to make a sponge or (gasp!) plan for it a day in advance, because you cheat a little and use a little bit of commercial yeast, yet still tastes like amazing sourdough bread.

Plus, the egg wash makes the outside shiny like you bought it at a fancy bakery. . .

Sourdough Biscuits

Oct 272009
 

I love biscuits.

My very first job was at a place that shall remain unnamed, but is well known for it’s fried chicken and homemade biscuits. At 15, I was not old enough to be able to do a lot of the back-of-the-house cooking, but I was old enough to make biscuits. And I did. And I ate one, with butter and honey, every day that I was on the clock.

It wasn’t until about three years ago I had ever heard of a biscuit made with yeast, and once I became a sourdough mama, I thought, why not? I’ve been on the search for a good sourdough biscuit recipe for a long time and, through much experimentation, have finally found one up to my standards! They are just like the baking powder biscuits I grew up on, with a sourdough twang. I love them!

Multi-Grain Sourdough Bread

Oct 062009
 

This recipe was a happy accident. Inspired by a recipe for Multi-Grain Struan in Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads, along with a recent recipe from Leila, I started to experiment. I thought what I was making would make a lovely, crusty rustic bread but instead found myself excitedly eating the softest, multi-grain bread I’d ever made. The crust was lovely, the inside was spongy, perfect for sandwiches. I made it again today, this time writing down the details, and in loaf form, and again, success! Lloyd loved this with peanut butter and bananas (his favorite sandwich at the moment) and T. loved it as a late night dinner with leftover shredded pork and homemade barbecue sauce. Yum. I was very happy to find the bread hold together much better than [... To read more, click here ...]

Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Pancakes

Sep 272009
 

I have recently found a gem of a cookbook. A gem that I already had on my bookshelf. Alaska Sourdough by Ruth Allman. This is a great book for anyone with starter in the fridge that is wanting to begin using it in everyday life. Alaska Sourdough has a ton of recipes for easy, basic recipes from pancakes to muffins to potato bread to pretzels to cakes. All using sourdough. Though it is not my favorite for rustic sourdough bread (I prefer Nancy Silverton’s Breads from the La Brea Bakery for that) it is a perfect book for filling out a meal, from corn muffins to go with chili to cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. Plus, I appreciate that it uses everyday ingredients and measurements, making sourdough achievable for the [... To read more, click here ...]

Sourdough Cheese Crackers

Sep 252009
 

I don’t even know what to tell you about these crackers except that you really must make them immediately. They are addicting. Buttery. Slight twang from the sourdough. Nicely cheesey without cloyingly so. So yummy. I originally wanted to develop a recipe for a good cheese cracker for my son, and in the interim found my new favorite thing. These are so good. Trust me. Go, make them now. Sourdough Cheese Crackers makes about 6 dozen 1″ diameter crackers 1-1/2 sticks cold butter (3/4 cup) 1 cup flour 1 to 1-1/4 Cup sourdough starter, freshly fed and room temperature 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon smoked paprika* In a food processor, [... To read more, click here ...]

Related Posts with Thumbnails
 Older Entries
Log in here!