Saturday, January 25, 2014

Making Sourdough Bread

Making Sourdough Bread - Back to the Homestead

There are three videos that I have attached to this blog post. The first two make up part 1 and part 2 of the long version (about 30 minutes total viewing). The third video is the short version (where I don't blab so much).

Making Sourdough Part 1 (Long Version)



Making Sourdough Part 2 (Long Version)



Making Sourdough (Short Version)



If you've never made sourdough bread before, you may be surprised to know that it is very easy to make. There are just a few ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of sourdough starter
2 TBL Oil
2 cups of flour
1/2 TSP salt
2 TBL Sugar

We'll talk about the yeast in a bit.

What I do is mix up my "dry" ingredients first and then my "wet" ingredients before I mix the two together. Next, I take a firm object (my wooden spoon) and mix the ingredients into a crumbly, messy mess before pouring the contents onto a dry work surface.

Kneading the dough is a workout. There's no real motion or pattern to follow; it's more-or-less a "feel" for the gluten strains to bind and create an elastic feel. If you dough is too sticky, add some flour. BUT, keep kneading and only add small amounts of flour to allow the dough to absorb the dry flour a little bit at a time to avoid adding too much. Adding liquid to the dough is much more difficult than adding dry flour. It's better to start too sticky than to start too dry.

You're first loaf will probably be a brick. Yes, you need to expect to fail on your first attempt. Keep on keeping on until you get a nice loaf. You can always add your comments here or on the You Tube video and let me know what troubles you're having. Sooner or later, you'll develop a GREAT loaf.

Adding yeast?? I like the nature of sourdough. If there was ever a time where ingredients were difficult to locate, I would say that yeast would be the first to become scarce. The more self-sufficient I can be the better. I'd suggest adding yeast to this recipe for two reasons:

1. You are using a bread machine
2. You are using a sourdough starter that is not active.

Good luck!