In a recent letter you wrote:
<<Does anyone out there have a great recipe for sour dough bread??? I don't
have the starter either --- anyone know where to get that?? >>
Hi Floyd
Yes, I have a fine recipe for sourdough bread. I have been using it now for
about nine months. The recipe is shown below. I adapted it for the ABM from
a recipe in the book Adventures in Sourdough Cooking & Baking by Charles D.
Wilford. I strongly recommend this book for anyone just starting into
sourdough baking. It provides many great recipes as well as a lot of good
technical information about the care, and feeding of sourdough starters.
I obtained my original starter from "The Baker's Catalog" published by King
Arthur Flour Co. in Norwich, Vermont. You can call toll-free at
1-800-827-6836. The starter is shown in the latest catalog at $6.95 and they
will send you enough to inoculate a bigger batch. You'll also get a nice set
of instructions for doing so along with some sourdough recipes and good
general information about sourdough baking. I also purchased the book from
King Arthur.
There are however a couple of things you should keep in mind while
adventuring into the world of sourdough baking:
1) If the recipe calls for yeast it is not real sourdough bread. Those with
yeast are the beginners recipes and are only to help you graduate up to the
real thing. True sourdough will rely on only the starter itself as the
leavening agent. This is a much slower rising process than using common
baker's yeast along with the starter. Usually the sourdough rise times will
vary between 2 1/2 to 4 hours per rising depending upon ambient conditions
and the finished product will be totally different without the yeast.
Different in flavor, texture and crust.
2) If you don't live in San Francisco, you can't make San Francisco
sourdough bread. You may have a starter that came from San Francisco but
after a few baking sessions your bread won't taste the same. The atmosphere
contains all types of wild yeast microorganisms and sourdough starter is
wild yeast living in an environment of flour and liquid. Each geographic
area has it's own unique combination of these little critters and each time
you feed and ferment your starter a few more of the local yeast beasts will
invade your starter and alter it's characteristics. After several months
your starter will have taken on a personality that is uniquely it's own.
Your bread will taste different, smell different and have a different
texture as well, but it will still be great. I live in the state of Missouri
and at our house we call ours, M-O Sourdough.
All that having been said, here's the recipe:
* Exported from MasterCook II *
Sourdough Bread
Recipe By : Adventures in Sourdough Cooking & Baking by Chas D Wilford
Serving Size : 16 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads: Yeast
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
PRIMARY BATTER
1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup water -- 85 deg. F
1 1/2 cups flour
DOUGH
1 1/2 cups primary batter
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour -- unbleached
1/2 teaspoon salt
PRIMARY BATTER
Combine the starter, water and flour in a bowl large enough to allow for some
expansion of the batter. Mix well with a whisk, cover with Saran Wrap and
allow to stand 12 - 24 hours until the batter has completely fermented. The
longer the proofing period the more sour the final product will be. After
this proofing period, remove 1 cup of the batter and return it to your jar of
sourdough starter. Put the starter jar back in the fridge.
Dough
Place the remainder of the primary batter - about 1 1/2 cups - and all other
ingredients in the ABM in the order presented and press start. After final
kneading turn off machine and allow dough to rise until doubled in bulk,
about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Punch down and allow to double in bulk a second time
- about another 2 hours.
FOR A LOAF
When second proofing is done, remove the dough from the ABM, form into a
loaf, place into a greased 9x5 inch bread pan and allow to double in bulk.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes.
FOR BAGUETTES
When second proofing is done, remove the dough from the ABM and divide it in
half. Form into two 15 inch loaves and place in baguette pans or on a cookie
sheet, whichever is your preference. Allow loaves to double in bulk. Slash
diagonally several times and bake at 400 degrees for about 18 to 20 minutes.
For a crisper crust, just before placing the baguettes in the oven spray them
with cold water. Then spray them every three minutes for nine minutes.
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Floyd, I hope this helps.
Don