- Jul 12, 2009
- 20
- 10
My husband has been on me for years to make sourdough bread. So after numerous failed attempts to make anything that tastes like sourdough. I searched the internet high and low and found this little jewel of a site. Where they mail you free sourdough starter with a SASE in memory of their friend Carl. (the starter has a history and story to go along with it)
http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/
* on a side note when the starter came in the mail it was in a small unmarked baggie. With what appeared to be brown-ish pop rocks! I'm surprised the DEA didn't seize my envelope.
I followed all the instructions on Carls page to activate my starter from the dried form (you add flour and water) and waited 48 hours. The starter was bubbly and alive in 48 hours. REMEMBER DO NOT USE METAL ANYTHING - THIS KILLS THE STARTER!
I decided to make San Fran Sourdough-
Lazy San Fran Sourdough
First make up a sponge and let it sit at 74 - 80 degree draft free place for 24 hours:
Starter - 2/3 cup
Water (dechlorinated) - 1 cup
White flour - 1 1/2 cup
Final dough:
Water - 1 cup
White flour - 3 1/2 -4 1/2 cups
Fine sea salt - 1 t
Ready to make a loaf I had to make a "sponge" with the starter yeast and some flour and water & I added everything into a bowl
Once stirred the sponge feeds for 24 hours cover w/ a damp towl in draft free warm place (my oven) and let the feeding take place. The dough will rise and be very bubbly and active
*Side note, it's the "feeding" that releases the gas in the dough - after a few hours your starter will be bubbling like a lava lamp- I was amused
when your sponge is feeding it bubbles and releases gas and that's where you get the sour taste.
*this is a pic of the sponge in active feeding while bubbling!
Once your sponge is fed and 24 hours has passed.
You can begin to make your final dough. I added my sponge, part of my flour, 1 cup of water and salt and began to stir until mixed.
Then I added flour 1/2 C at a time until the dough pulled away from the sides of the bowl and looked like this
This dough will take as much flour as you want to give it so I add flour until it's to a good playdough consistency but on the other hand it's just a lil bit too sticky to knead. (this is the lazy part) As the dough sets it will thicken as the yeast feeds in the next several hours.
I added a spoonful of melted margarine to the bottom of a clean bowl added the dough and covered again. I place the bowl in my oven to let rise and feed for the next 2 1/2 hours!
After 2 1/2 hours or so ---(I used the length of time it took me to write my Sociology paper)It will rise and look like this.....
I added 1/4 cup of flour here, and stirred the dough down until it looked like this....
Then I cover the dough back up and let sit for an hour or so....(exact time isn't important) just let it rise again until it looks like this....
I stirred the dough back down until it looked like this.....
I got out the pizza stone, threw a handful of cornmeal on it and plopped my dough right on top!
From here it will sit in the oven and rise until I can find time to start baking it.
Here it is before baking
Here it is out of the oven (I didn't use any wash on the bread)
After cooling I cut the bread - we cut into 2x2 squares, topped with cream cheese and some garden bruschetta & bacon. It was so good we made dinner out of it.
http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/
* on a side note when the starter came in the mail it was in a small unmarked baggie. With what appeared to be brown-ish pop rocks! I'm surprised the DEA didn't seize my envelope.
I followed all the instructions on Carls page to activate my starter from the dried form (you add flour and water) and waited 48 hours. The starter was bubbly and alive in 48 hours. REMEMBER DO NOT USE METAL ANYTHING - THIS KILLS THE STARTER!
I decided to make San Fran Sourdough-
Lazy San Fran Sourdough
First make up a sponge and let it sit at 74 - 80 degree draft free place for 24 hours:
Starter - 2/3 cup
Water (dechlorinated) - 1 cup
White flour - 1 1/2 cup
Final dough:
Water - 1 cup
White flour - 3 1/2 -4 1/2 cups
Fine sea salt - 1 t
Ready to make a loaf I had to make a "sponge" with the starter yeast and some flour and water & I added everything into a bowl
Once stirred the sponge feeds for 24 hours cover w/ a damp towl in draft free warm place (my oven) and let the feeding take place. The dough will rise and be very bubbly and active
*Side note, it's the "feeding" that releases the gas in the dough - after a few hours your starter will be bubbling like a lava lamp- I was amused
*this is a pic of the sponge in active feeding while bubbling!
Once your sponge is fed and 24 hours has passed.
You can begin to make your final dough. I added my sponge, part of my flour, 1 cup of water and salt and began to stir until mixed.
Then I added flour 1/2 C at a time until the dough pulled away from the sides of the bowl and looked like this
This dough will take as much flour as you want to give it so I add flour until it's to a good playdough consistency but on the other hand it's just a lil bit too sticky to knead. (this is the lazy part) As the dough sets it will thicken as the yeast feeds in the next several hours.
I added a spoonful of melted margarine to the bottom of a clean bowl added the dough and covered again. I place the bowl in my oven to let rise and feed for the next 2 1/2 hours!
After 2 1/2 hours or so ---(I used the length of time it took me to write my Sociology paper)It will rise and look like this.....
I added 1/4 cup of flour here, and stirred the dough down until it looked like this....
Then I cover the dough back up and let sit for an hour or so....(exact time isn't important) just let it rise again until it looks like this....
I stirred the dough back down until it looked like this.....
I got out the pizza stone, threw a handful of cornmeal on it and plopped my dough right on top!
From here it will sit in the oven and rise until I can find time to start baking it.
Here it is before baking
Here it is out of the oven (I didn't use any wash on the bread)
After cooling I cut the bread - we cut into 2x2 squares, topped with cream cheese and some garden bruschetta & bacon. It was so good we made dinner out of it.