Sourdough

Since lockdowns began I hopped on the sourdough bandwagon. Previously, I never really perfected anything except simple quick breads but the people on YouTube made it look so easy. My first two attempts were failures. I never realized how wet the dough was supposed to be so I was anticipating something much easier to handle. One of them I threw out before it ever made it to the oven and the second I burned the bottom and cut it while it was still warm. If you cut it to early it becomes gummy inside. Third time is the charm apparently.

This is the artisan loaf that I made that turned out really well.
http://edibleaustin.com/index.php/recipes/recipe/1256-no-knead-beginner-sourdough-bread

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I also made some sourdough English muffins.

This recipe turned out really well.
https://littlespoonfarm.com/wprm_print/236

I forgot to take photos but I left some on the cutting board when I made some other bread.

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This one is my favorite. A sourdough white sandwich bread.

Sourdough sandwich bread

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biggill wrote:

This one is my favorite. A sourdough white sandwich bread.

Sourdough sandwich bread

All of those pictures look great. Bread plus butter = happiness

Tonight’s bounty.

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Whats the purpose of Sourdough? Is it suppose to be healthier for you?

biggill wrote:

I also made some sourdough English muffins.

This recipe turned out really well.
https://littlespoonfarm.com/wprm_print/236

I forgot to take photos but I left some on the cutting board when I made some other bread.

Wow that would make some excellent sandwich bread right there!

Dutchboy wrote:

Whats the purpose of Sourdough? Is it suppose to be healthier for you?

Yes, healthier. Soured or fermented bread is healthier for a few reasons.

First, the lactic acid development from the long fermentation process breaks down phytic acid which prohibits your body from absorbing the minerals in the grains. Note that a lot of commercial breads and flours are enriched which is a process of adding crucial minerals and vitamins in the bread.

The fermentation process also helps to break down the gluten in the bread so it is more digestible. Some people with gluten sensitivities can actually eat sourdough breads because the gluten is already been partially digested.

Not to mention the sour flavor is pretty incredible. It’s not hard to eat sourdough without any butter at all. No one would ever know these loads were sourdough. Makes some awesome toast.

Stop by tomorrow morning and you can have a slice. By the end of the day tomorrow these will be sliced and placed in the freezer. Otherwise Monday or Tuesday they’ll be moldy, just like when you were a kid. It’s my opinion commercial bread isn’t food since it takes weeks to begin to grow mold. If mold won’t eat it, neither will I.

Sliced them up this morning after I started up the smoker for today.

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Mmmm, nothing like homemade bread with butter. I’m drooling over here…

Cheddar smoked paprika sourdough

I think next time I’ll use 1/2 the oregano. Otherwise, it turned out really good.

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Rosemary focaccia sourdough

Next time I’ll put the rosemary in the dough and on top. Otherwise, it turned out pretty good.

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Matt, do you do a starter?

Is there a such a thing as feeding the fermentation as you take from it to make a loaf or loaves?

I have a genuine interest in sourdough and rye breads.

biggill wrote:

If mold won’t eat it, neither will I.

Probably a good mantra to live by. I figure with as many preservatives that we typically consume now days, it won’t be long before the funeral homes can just skip the embalming process.

Denny O wrote:

Matt, do you do a starter?

Is there a such a thing as feeding the fermentation as you take from it to make a loaf or loaves?

I have a genuine interest in sourdough and rye breads.

I got a starter for Christmas and really enjoy it. It does have to be fed weekly and discard 25%. I’ve used the discard to make pancakes that are killer!

Denny O wrote:

Matt, do you do a starter?

Is there a such a thing as feeding the fermentation as you take from it to make a loaf or loaves?

I have a genuine interest in sourdough and rye breads.

@OleCrosseyes
Yes, I do a starter. You need to follow a recipe for the first week to get a good starter going. I will say that mine didn’t develop a good flavor until after about 2 weeks. You start out with a lot of rye flour and once it’s ready you can drop the rye altogether and use whatever you have. I personally feed min me with 25% rye and 75% AP flour. Always use organic I unbleached unenriched flours. The glyphosate used in the desiccant process can kill or seriously alter your starter.

This is the recipe I followed to make a starter. I understand this guy might come off as a young punk but he is a really good chef. His recipes have been nothing short of perfect.

I think one of the keys to making really good sourdough or any bread for that matter is finding really good flour. I’ve been researching this lately and found that you can buy locally grown organic stone ground wheat from local mills.

I’ve been buying what’s called Turkey Red Heritage Whole Wheat and Turkey Red Heritage White Flour. I use the whole wheat in pancakes and the family absolutely loves them. It’s a little expensive at about $2-3/lb but it tastes great and the starter loves it.

Here’s my under starter I just took out of the fridge. I’ll feed it tonight and take another pic in the morning.

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I just fed it, drew a line where it starts. We’ll see how high she gets in the morning.

In the morning, I’ll take it and put it in the fridge. It can sit there for at least a week without being fed. A day or two before a bake, I take it out and feed it one more time so it’s really lively when I want to bake.

I left one in the fridge for two weeks without feeding it and I didn’t like the way it smelled and looked so I make sure to feed it once a week.

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Huntindave wrote:

Probably a good mantra to live by. I figure with as many preservatives that we typically consume now days, it won’t be long before the funeral homes can just skip the embalming process.

My sourdough bread is flour, water and salt. That’s it. It amazes me that sourdough or any other bread from a store has 15+ ingredients.

My sandwich loaf is flour, salt, milk, sugar and butter.

That’s why it hits the freezer on day two.

belletaine wrote:

I got a starter for Christmas and really enjoy it. It does have to be fed weekly and discard 25%. I’ve used the discard to make pancakes that are killer!

Ive tried those pancakes but I didn’t put any toppings on them so they didn’t really appeal to me. I’m sure I’ll try them again sometime. Now that I feed it only once a week the discard isn’t a big deal. I’ve been saving some of my discard for recipes like banana bread or English muffins.

If anyone wants some of the discard for their own starter I’m willing to donate.

Matt, he is one of the videos that I’ve watched.
Here is another one that I’ve followed too
Breads

I’ve seen a few of his videos too. Here’s the starter this morning.

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Got this book at Christmas as well. It really explains the science of it all.

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belletaine wrote:

Got this book at Christmas as well. It really explains the science of it all.

Thanks! I’ll have to check that book out. Looks legit considering it’s a James Beard winner.

Made the sandwich loaf again but this time I added 25% stone ground red heritage whole wheat. Next time I might go with 50%.

Would love to make it with 100% winter white whole wheat if I can find some.

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Made some sourdough hamburger buns as well. Not thrilled about the lack of rise in the oven. I think I proofed them too long. The recipe called for commercial yeast as well as sourdough starter so I think I missed my window to throw them in the oven. I also think a higher initial temp like 425 for the first 10 minutes may help. Took a little nibble and didn’t care for the flavor either.

I think next time I’m going to use the Foodgeek sourdough sandwich loaf recipe to make these.

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