Sourdough Bread

I did it!  I finally made good sourdough bread.  Last year when I tackled it, I was not thrilled with the outcome.  It seemed far too fussy and difficult and I made some loaves that resembled curling stones more closely than loaves of bread.  This year I decided it should not be difficult and I was going to make it without giving too much thought to it.  And, it worked!

I made the starter by mixing 2 cups of water with 1 T. of sugar, 1 T. of rapid rise yeast and 2 cups of flour.  I covered it with a kitchen towels and let it sit for about 3 days.  I stirred it a couple times each day.  If it forms a crust, just whisk it back in and it will liquify.

When I was ready to make the dough, I mixed 1 cup of the sourdough starter with 1  1/2 cup of water, 4 tsp. of rapid rise yeast, 1 T. honey, 1 T. melted butter, 2 eggs, 2  1/2 tsp. salt and 6 cups of bread flour.
 The dough is a bit sticky but place it in a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit for 2 hours.

To replenish your starter, mix in 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup of water.  Let it sit our for about 8 hours then refrigerate. Do this each time you use it.

Look at how happy my dough was after 2 hours.

Form it into 3 tight balls and place it on parchment paper which has been sprinkled with flour mixed with cornmeal.  Cover the balls with plastic and let them rise overnight in the refrigerator.

Slice across their tops with a sharp knife before baking. Bake them at 450 degrees for 10 minutes and then turn the oven down to 400 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes longer.  They should read 190 degrees on an instant read thermometer and should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Sourdough bread is a breeze!


And it makes great sandwiches and toast!

Comments

brokenteepee said…
I am just not a big fan of sourdough. Not bread, not pretzels...don't know why exactly.
Anonymous said…
I do like sourdough but I'm just to lazy now in the summer (or what should have been summer here). But I saw that they sold starters in the grocery store the other day and almost bought one :-) The problem was that I couldn't decide if I wanted the one for wheat or rye flour :-) :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.
You know everything I know about bread making you taught me. This looks easy enough for me to to. Here goes! They look wonderful! I love sourdough anything. Tomato sandwich on sourdough. Yum!
Guillaume said…
Don't think I ever tried sourdough. It looks delicious.
TARYTERRE said…
First time I had sourdough bread was in 1966 in San Francisco. I fell in love with it. Scrumptious. But I've never been ambitious enough to make it. LOL
Barbara F. said…
I love sour dough bread. I love any bread that has a very chewy texture. Maybe in the fall I am going to try this. xo
Suzanne said…
I think I might try making some bread this weekend!
Anonymous said…
I agree , this looks wonderful, our bakery makes amazing sour dough bread and sells the starter all over, they are famous for it, I have never made it though, yours looks perfect, I bet its delicious
Nellie said…
I kept a sourdough starter going for years, and have a collection of recipes using sourdough. I have let my life become too full with other things that I just don't seem to work in time for regular sourdough baking. Yours looks very good, and I know it would definitely be a hit around here!
Barb said…
That bread looks wonderful!! My husband is a huge bread lover. I'll have to try it. STAY COOL!!! Only 120 days till Halloween!
trump said…
Most kids would run to a toy store when young, me I ran to the bakery for some fresh baked bread,lol. Looks great and Id slap some apple butter on that warm bread as well!
Happy July 4 to everyone and Id like to invite everyone to my post "Lancaster on 4 wheels part 2 this coming Thursday. Richard
Danni said…
Love this! And I've got this baking in my oven as I type.

I've experimented with sourdough over the years with mixed results. 2 months ago, I tried Peter Reinhardt's (Bread Bakers Apprentice) recipe and it was the most ridiculously complicated - and crazy ingredient-filled (pineapple juice??) thing I've ever done. And I do complicated, but after much time and energy, it didn't even turn out.
So far...your recipe has been a breeze. Timer's going off in 7 min... Mmmmmmmm
:-)