Hi Fellow Sourdough Devotees. I have been making sourdough for about two
years. I use a Breadman Plus machine. After fashioning a couple of
doorstops and several attractive paper weights, I found and modified a good
recipe for sourdough bread. ** The key for me is to use the machine to
make the dough, and to rise and bake the stuff OUTSIDE of the machine, which
I call the Invention Exchange with a nod to Mystery Science Theater 3000.
It's a proofing box fashioned from a sytrofoam cooler. More on the
invention in a minute. Here's the recipe:
Beer Sourdough Bread
3 c. white flour
1/4 c. wheat gluten flour
~12 oz. sourdough starter
1/4 c. warm water
1/2 c. flat beer
1 tblsp. olive oil (optional--I leave it out)
1/2 tblsp. salt
1 tblsp. sugar
1/2 tblsp. yeast
LOTS of fresh rosemary--at least 3 tablespoons
Make dough in machine. Rise outside the machine in a warm place (see below
for invention I use. Bake at 375 for about 35 minutes. I brush the top of
the crust with water to make the crust brown nicely.
To make the "Invention Exchange", aka Proofing Box:
Quoting "Worldwide Sourdoughs From Your Bread Machine" by Donna Rathmell
German and Ed Wood, "To really make a sourdough sing, it needs a warm
environment after it comes out of the refrigerator. The ideal is 85 to 95
degrees . . . The best solution is to fashion a 'proofing box'. Seek out an
ordinary styrofoam cooler, the bigger the better. Throw away the top, turn
it upside down and cut a hole in the middle of the bottom just big enough to
admit a standard light socket. A
25-watt bulb should maintain the correct temperature. If you want to get
fancy, put a light dimmer switch on the cord and you can regulate the
temperature precisely."
Now, I use my proofing box to rise the dough once I have formed it
into a loaf and put it in a pan. Check the loaf every half hour or so, as
it may over-rise and drip down the side of the pan. Yes, I've had LOTS of
experience with this. You want it to be a nice round dome when you bake it
(in the oven). I bought a light socket already wired to a cord and plug at
a hardware store. It even has a dimmer switch already installed. This
works well for me. Good luck, and let me know how it works for you!
Susan Benford
Susan V. Benford <benford@cts.com> Writer/Editor/Creative Director
voice: 619.944.9400 55 East G Street
fax: 619.944.9422 Encinitas, CA 92024
"As long as we're treading on thin ice, we might as well dance!"