masterofmidgets (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
masterofmidgets) wrote2010-07-07 07:19 pm
masterofmidgets) wrote2010-07-07 07:19 pm
Entry tags:
I Bring You Delicious Bread
Now, I'm the kind of person who, if you told me I could only eat one kind of bread for the rest of my life...well, I'd probably tell you to drop dead, because that's an impossible choice. I love all kinds of bread! But sourdough would definitely be high on my short-list of breads for which I'd forgo all other breads. I love a proper crusty, chewy, tangy sourdough.
However, I am also the kind of person who is way too lazy and indecisive to want to keep a sourdough starter on hand all the time. I don't like the idea of being tied down to making some kind of sourdough bread every week so my starter doesn't go bad; I have too much fun experimenting with other kinds of bread that don't need it, and between my and my dad, we just can't eat more than a couple loaves a week. And I don't want to have to toss half my starter when I'm done and waste it. So when I'm picking a bread recipe for the week, I tend to skip over the sourdough in favor of breads that aren't such a long-term commitment.
I was super-excited to find this sourdough recipe in one of my mom's bread books, because it is perfectly made for people like me - it takes a few days to get going, but you use up all the starter in the dough, so then you can be done with it altogether and move on to something else. Also, it is really good. :)
San Francisco Sourdough (from the Wooden Spoon Bread Book)
Three days before baking, mix in a glass quart container:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup warm water
1 T sugar
Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean cloth. Set on the counter out of the way and stir well three times a day. It should be ready to use by the third day, when it starts smelling sour. On baking day, in a large mixing bowl combine:
2 1/4 cups warm water
~2 T or 2 packets dry yeast
1 T sugar
Allow yeast to proof. Add to the yeast mixture:
all of your sourdough starter
1 T salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Beat well. Cover and let this sponge rise for 1 hour. Mix together and stir into the sponge:
1/2 t baking soda
1 cup flour
To make a soft dough, gradually add:
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Cover with a cloth and let rest 20 minutes. Divide dough into three or four parts. Shape into balls and place into well-greased round pans with have been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 to 60 minutes. Place a large, flat pan on the bottom rack of the oven and fill with boiling water. Place loaves on center rack and bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Carefully remove pan of water for last five minutes of baking time to brown bottom of loaves. Cool on wire racks. Makes 3 or 4 loaves.
Baking Notes: We can't eat four loaves before they start to go moldy, so I cut the recipe in half to make two loaves. This worked fine, although I probably could have used a little more yeast (I'm still figuring out oven-proportions vs bread machine-proportions) and a little less flour (I used the minimum amount in the recipe and still had to add a little water while I was kneading). We didn't have round pans, so I used a flat baking sheet and shaped then into regular loaves - less traditionally San Franciscan, and smaller than I expected them to be, but what can you do? They should still make decent sandwiches anyway. Keep an eye on the time during baking; mine were done after about 35 minutes, but the high altitude screws everything up. This was most excellent as a side with oven-fried cod and fried potatoes and a nice salad.
And for the record, this fits right into watching a football match: I started the sponge just before the match came on, kneaded it during half-time, and got it in the oven after Spain's glorious victory over Germany was through. If, you know, you're the kind of person who schedules your life around the World Cup.
However, I am also the kind of person who is way too lazy and indecisive to want to keep a sourdough starter on hand all the time. I don't like the idea of being tied down to making some kind of sourdough bread every week so my starter doesn't go bad; I have too much fun experimenting with other kinds of bread that don't need it, and between my and my dad, we just can't eat more than a couple loaves a week. And I don't want to have to toss half my starter when I'm done and waste it. So when I'm picking a bread recipe for the week, I tend to skip over the sourdough in favor of breads that aren't such a long-term commitment.
I was super-excited to find this sourdough recipe in one of my mom's bread books, because it is perfectly made for people like me - it takes a few days to get going, but you use up all the starter in the dough, so then you can be done with it altogether and move on to something else. Also, it is really good. :)
San Francisco Sourdough (from the Wooden Spoon Bread Book)
Three days before baking, mix in a glass quart container:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup warm water
1 T sugar
Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean cloth. Set on the counter out of the way and stir well three times a day. It should be ready to use by the third day, when it starts smelling sour. On baking day, in a large mixing bowl combine:
2 1/4 cups warm water
~2 T or 2 packets dry yeast
1 T sugar
Allow yeast to proof. Add to the yeast mixture:
all of your sourdough starter
1 T salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Beat well. Cover and let this sponge rise for 1 hour. Mix together and stir into the sponge:
1/2 t baking soda
1 cup flour
To make a soft dough, gradually add:
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Cover with a cloth and let rest 20 minutes. Divide dough into three or four parts. Shape into balls and place into well-greased round pans with have been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 to 60 minutes. Place a large, flat pan on the bottom rack of the oven and fill with boiling water. Place loaves on center rack and bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Carefully remove pan of water for last five minutes of baking time to brown bottom of loaves. Cool on wire racks. Makes 3 or 4 loaves.
Baking Notes: We can't eat four loaves before they start to go moldy, so I cut the recipe in half to make two loaves. This worked fine, although I probably could have used a little more yeast (I'm still figuring out oven-proportions vs bread machine-proportions) and a little less flour (I used the minimum amount in the recipe and still had to add a little water while I was kneading). We didn't have round pans, so I used a flat baking sheet and shaped then into regular loaves - less traditionally San Franciscan, and smaller than I expected them to be, but what can you do? They should still make decent sandwiches anyway. Keep an eye on the time during baking; mine were done after about 35 minutes, but the high altitude screws everything up. This was most excellent as a side with oven-fried cod and fried potatoes and a nice salad.
And for the record, this fits right into watching a football match: I started the sponge just before the match came on, kneaded it during half-time, and got it in the oven after Spain's glorious victory over Germany was through. If, you know, you're the kind of person who schedules your life around the World Cup.