Saturday, January 15, 2011

Old World breads boast layers of taste - latimes.com

Here's a great, long story on rye, and baking sourdough rye, from the Los Angeles Times.

Old-world breads are surprisingly easy to make at home.

Check it out.  I am into sourdough rye right now, will post my pics and techniques shortly.  I will try a longer, cooler bake next time, since the article suggests that unbaked rye breads were put into the oven after it was turned off and allowed to sit overnight while they baked.

Old World breads boast layers of taste - latimes.com

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Sourdough rolls recipe from food.com

Sourdough Dinner Rolls. Photo by ~Nimz~

http://www.food.com/recipe/sourdough-dinner-rolls-99966

Found this just now, am starting on the first rise.  Looking forward to trying this in a 9 X 13 pan. 


Started with a cup of starter and a cup of flour and water.  Let them sit for an hour, then added the other ingredients. 

May let the dough sit in the fridge overnight after it doubles and is punched down, then make into rolls and let rise the next day.

I like the instructions to bake at 375 for 20 minutes, clear and simple.  This is where a scale would come in handy, to make the sizes come out uniform.  I will try cutting and measuring by hand, in lieu of a scale.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Great pics of the sourdough process from the King Arthur Flour website

Recipe photo

Can't get mine to look like this - the dough is close enough, but the finished product doesn't have the lush , active texture of this first pic in the story.


http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/rustic-sourdough-bread-recipe

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Managing Your Sourdough Starter

Managing Your Sourdough Starter

Here's a logical, simple bit of info on managing your sourdough starter from Breadtopia. Not difficult at all.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Blueberry Sourdough French Toast in a Crockpot



Allright, I've made this before, and you and I are about to do it again.  Feel free to vary the spicing according to your personal taste, and give us a report after the fact.  Remember, this is your recipe, too.

This smells good while cooking, and tastes great when it's done. 


First, take a 6-quart (+/-) crockpot and generously rub with softened butter or shortening.

Beat 10-12 eggs vigorously together with 2 tablespoons vanilla,  1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 or 3/4 cup sugar and 3 cups whole milk.  Remember, this is your recipe, too, and you can adjust it at will.

Don't forget to rub softened butter into the crockpot.  Place beaten egg mixture into the greased crockpot.

Cut a loaf of sourdough bread, crust removed, into 2-inch squares, and stir gently into the crockpot egg mixture. 

Cube two eight-ounce packages cream cheese, and drop in dollops over the soggy bread.  Do not stir at this point, this works best in layers.

Gently sprinkle one or two bags frozen wild blueberries onto the mixture, depending on the capacity of your crock.  I use frozen wild blueberries because they have less moisture than fresh, don't bleed quite as much, and are available year-round.

You can never have enough blueberries, but you can be tempted to fill the crockpot beyond its capacity, and this dish will grow!  Leave a couple of inches growing room in the crock pot.

Cook on low setting for six hours or high setting for three hours.  Use a combination of both temps if you have time issues.  Egg mixture will rise, propelling the blueberries, but should not push as high as the lid. 

After the rise, if the dish has risen and looks too moist, cook uncovered for the final twenty minutes. 

Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and serve.  Do not stir.  Serve in the warm crockpot, accompanied by a container of maple syrup, for the sugar-needy!

How did it work for you?

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Baking Sourdough Bread - The Basics - Found a good general sourdough lesson after weeks of searching

Sourdough Baking, The Basics, by S. John Ross
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm

I have been intrigued by the living challenge of sourdough, and baking bread in the modern world with some old-fashioned help from the yeasts and common tools at hand.  I have been surfing around reading various intro articles, on both commercial and hobbyist websites.  I haven't quite figured out how to get the true sourdough bubbles, but am still trying.

John's link above is one of the most informative web info sheets I have found so far.

The picture above has nothing to do with sourdough bread or culturing yeast, but is from a tortilla-making class we attended in the Mayan village of Chachoben last month, in the Mexican province of Quintana Roo.  Couldn't resist the juxtaposition!  We were on a land tour from Native Choice Tours, an unforgettable experience, off a cruise ship that stopped for the day in Costa Maya, Mexico.

That's the grill surface, perched above a wood fire and waiting for the tortillas to be dropped.