So lately I’ve been enjoying my forays into sourdough . . . making pancakes, rolls, biscuits, and bread. But I haven’t yet successfully made what I’ve been trying to make for a while, that most elusive of sourdough forms, the boule. I’ve tried, mind you, I’ve tried. I’ve carefully floured dish towel after dish towel, laid them in various size bowls to mimic a banneton (which I don’t have but would make a lovely gift . . .hint. hint.) with various quantities of formed dough to raise. Only to have, when it is time to bake, problems arise. The towel sticks to the warm, risen dough so when I finally, ever so carefully, try to peel it off, it pulls on the risen dough and, quite successfully, deflates it. I’ve [... To read more, click here ...]
Feb 072009
Phew! That title is a mouthful, but this bread is so good, it is hard to “name” it without including all of it’s delicious ingredients! This recipe is from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads and was such a success I had to share it! I lightly adapted it and made mine half sourdough/half yeast driven (and will explain where I veered from his original below) and added a bit of whey to the biga and soaker, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly and have included the recipe in almost verbatim format below. I had my first slice this morning and it has been such a joy to eat it toasted up with cream cheese on top for breakfast (Lloyd loved it too! He wasn’t interested in his oatmeal as long [... To read more, click here ...]
Dec 092008
I bought the book Alaska Sourdough a few months ago, but hadn’t yet had a chance to try any of the recipes. This is a great book for using sourdough in an average home by an average cook (if you’re looking for more artisan style sourdough recipes, I highly recommend Breads from La Brea Bakery). Recipes range from suggestions on how to use your sourdough and leftovers (from leftover rice fritters to muffins using leftover oatmeal from breakfast), a few basic bread recipes, and a large quantity of recipes for biscuits, muffins, pancakes and waffles, along with a few fun recipes for simple special occasion cakes; even Baked Alaska! The recipes are written by hand in the book and aren’t too detailed, they assume that you know what you are [... To read more, click here ...]
Oct 162008
I have experimented with and am sharing with you today the best focaccia recipe ever. Seriously. It is so good, if I wasn’t already full (from eating said bread) and pregnant (so, therefore, extra full) I would eat another slice before wrapping it up and going to bed. You must try it. Recipe below. But first, I have two focaccia stories to share with you. The first time I ever made focaccia I was in high school, probably my junior year. My advanced Spanish class, along with all the other language classes in my school, were participating in a “Cultural Awareness Night” where every student did something related to learning about a different culture and shares it. Maybe it’s learning about the castles of Ireland or Dia de Los Muertos [... To read more, click here ...]
Aug 262008
Lloyd loves crackers, as does his mama, but it is hard to find whole grain crackers in the store that I’d feel comfortable feeding him that aren’t filled with preservatives or canola oil or corn syrup. I went in search of a good recipe (trying out a few duds in the meantime) and have discovered one that I love! It is whole grain, uses sourdough (a great way to use your sourdough a day after you feed it!) and tastes remarkably like one of our favorites, Wheat Thins! I found the dough to be very easy to roll out as thin as it needs to be to make crisp crackers (a problem I’d had with other recipes was that it was difficult to roll out the dough thin enough) and [... To read more, click here ...]
Jul 172008
Success! I’ve been enjoying my forays into sourdough bread making and was looking for a good, whole wheat, soft, sandwich style bread recipe. Last weekend when we were at the store we forgot to pick up a loaf of bread for the week, so I decided that was a sign for me to try to make it instead . . . . and boy am I glad I did! I delved into one of my favorite baking cookbooks and found a great honey whole wheat bread recipe that looked like it was just what we were looking for. With a cross reference to their sourdough section, I adapted it to use sourdough starter and began a sponge the night before to get it going. And it worked great! The crumb [... To read more, click here ...]
Jul 012008
As a sourdough mama, I’ve learned that when feeding your starter you generally have to remove some of the original starter to make room for the new “food.” Some people simply discard it, I’ve read that some people use it to keep slugs away from their garden, and others make beautiful muffins, biscuits and breads. All great uses (except for the discarding part – I’d feel bad to waste those baby yeasties!) but I think that I’ve found the go-to recipe for me to use that discarded starter. Sourdough pizza. My husband and I are big pizza fans; what is there not to love? Pizza is a tasty way of getting a complete meal to the mouth. And I make pizza with whatever I have in my fridge. Leftover chicken [... To read more, click here ...]
Jun 202008
Alright, so it doesn’t quite look like the big loaves of crusty bread served on The Wharf, but I’m working on it! I succesfully made my first batch of homemade sourdough bread using my new sourdough starter this week! I followed this recipe, using my Whole Wheat Starter to approximate a roughly 1/3 Whole Wheat to White bread recipe. Before I get into baking notes I wanted to also let you know about my first-ever series that I’ll be hosting next week, “Preserving Our Bounty, Our Heritage, and Our Health!” Every day I’ll be posting a recipe and results for a lacto-fermented vegetable or fruit preserve. With fruit and veggies coming out of my ears, and a big jar of whey in my fridge, I’ve gotten inspired! Join with me [... To read more, click here ...]
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