Sourdough trials

I have tried making sourdough bread a couple of times.  It did work, but it took so long to actually rise during the bread making stage that it became too sour to actually eat.  I am resistant to using yeast during authentic sourdough making!!  I just don't won't have it.  SOOOOO I found an old time sourdough recipe using unbleached white flour rather than the whole wheat I've been using.  I want to get the hang of this skill and if it means starting with an easier flour, I'm all for it.  Still, it will be better than store bought!

update:  Well I had to get off my high horse and use a little store bought yeast as my first attempt rose a little bit, but nowhere near enough to produce a pleasant loaf.  Now, that said, it did taste fine, but was rather flat and wide.  The boys came home and all had a slice or two of it, and the rest of it I simly cut into strips and made breadsticks to go with that evening's dinner.  A big hit!  I combined softened butter and a lot of granulate garlic, simply brushed it on with a pastry brush and popped the pan in the oven at 350* until done.

Today I did turn out a lovely sourdough loaf, using two different old time sourdough recipes as a guide, so here is how I did it, using unbleached bread flour this time along with a small amount of store bought yeast.  (That said I have plans to try again with no yeast, using potato water to attract wild yeast)  This recipe could also be made up quite quicker which was nice!

*note:  Use glass and wooden utensils, not aluminum,  steel or plastic

In a large glass mixing bowl or crock add:

4 Cups unbleached bread flour
4 Cups warm water (not too hot! just warm)
3  TBSP sugar

Mix very well with your wooden spoon of choice.  I let it sit out for about an hour to attract some wild yeast, and beat it again real good before covering and setting to a quiet space in my kitchen for 48 hours.

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After the 48 hours this is what it looks like:

You can see the separation of the fermentation process.  Just mix the liquid back in gently until it is well incorporated again.

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Now we make the sponge.
Add to a large glass mixing bowl:
1 Cup starter
1 Cup warm water (not too warm) (add to it 1 tsp yeast, allow to sit 5 min, then incorporate into bowl)
1 TBSP sugar
2 Cups unbleached bread flour

Stir batter until no lumps remain with your wooden spoon.  Let this sit overnight.  This is what it looked like in the morning.

Now it's time to store the remaining starter in the fridge until it is next needed for more bread baking.  I put mine in a glass Pyrex measure/pour bowl and covered with Saran Wrap.  

Now to make your bread you add to the sponge:

1 Cup warm water (not too warm!) 

Add to the water, 1 tsp yeast --allow to set for 5 minutes and then add the remaining ingredients

3 tsp salt

enough flour to make a soft dough.  I personally used 4-1/2 Cups unbleached white bread flour.

Knead 10 minutes, until it's nice and pliable.  

Allow the dough set in bowl, covered with a kitchen towel,  at room temperature until doubled in bulk again.

1-1/2 hours later I cut the dough in half with a sharp knife, shaped into two loaves and placed on a baking sheet sprinkled lightly with corn meal.   Dust tops with a fine sprinkling of flour, and cover with kitchen towel.  Then I left undisturbed, covered with a light kitchen towel, to allow to rise once more undisturbed.

Preheat oven to 375*.  

Slash the top of the loaves gently with a serrated knife,  and pop the loaves in the oven immediately.  

After 35 minutes, check on the loaves and remove to cool.  Do not slice bread until it is completely cooled or it will be gummy inside.  

So that you could see the size of the loaf, I placed one on a dinner plate!

Here is a look at it sliced up.  :)

yummmm.....

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Now just simply feed your starter  

Add to the starter:

1 Cup mildly warm water

1 Cup unbleached bread flour

1 TBSP sugar

Stir well, cover and store in fridge for the next usage.  

Hello Cupcake!

Today I decided to whip up a batch of chocolate cupcakes for the kiddos, they gathered the ingredients and put them away while I mixed it all up into a bowl of chocolately goodness....and boy does it look rich!   I am not eating any though, my friend's wedding is in 2 weeks from today and I am wearing a sleeveless dress!!!  I am not where I would like to be but I have come far, and am not screwing it up!!  My cousin's wedding is a month following my friends and I am wearing a dress a size down, finally, and it's shorter than I am used to so I am going to be very careful!  ;0)

Simple Chocolate Cupcakes


3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 Cup of dark chocolate, chopped (or you can use chocolate chips!)

Directions:
             
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 24 cup muffin tins with Pam.

In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, white sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt until thoroughly mixed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, water, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Whisk into flour mixture until all of the ingredients are mixed in and no streaks of flour remain. Add in optional mini chocolate chips, if using.

Fill muffin cups evenly with the prepared batter.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, or with only a few crumbs.

Remove cupcakes from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
                                               


And oh yes, if I am going to bother making cupcakes for the kidlets, I am going to pile the frosting high and swirly...and no, I am not a perfectionist! ;0) I used Wilton's Buttercream icing. It was super and thick and stayed where put!

Fall Means the Oven is Back in Business

Very happy to have comfortable weather enough to once again employ the oven without wilting the entire household, I eagerly prepared some sandwich bread (we had none) along with cinnamon rolls for breakfast yesterday morning. The two littlest boys slept until almost 10 o'clock in the morning, much to my surprise!! As soon as the rolls were almost ready to pull out, the aroma roused them out of beds and beckoned the two downstairs. Their faces alight with merry surprise, they watched me slip the pan from the oven to the stovetop to cool. Below, is my roll making in pictures. ;-)



Start by rolling your dough out into a thin oblong shape

Spread the sauce all over top surface of the rolled out dough

This is the way we roll them up..roll them up..roll them up..

all rolled up nice and snug

all prepped, just after spooning extra sauce to the tops, and ready to rise

fully risen and ready to go into oven

fresh out of the oven

To make cinnamon rolls, take a basic bread dough recipe:

Basic Bread Dough
Yields:3 loaves

3 cups comfortably warm water
2T yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 TBSP salt
9 cups flour

I set this in my Bosch kitchen system on level 1 for a couple short minutes to knead. You can also knead by hand.

Then divide dough into 3 equal amounts. I usually make 2 loaves of bread and 1 batch of cinnamon rolls, but you may do it differently depending on your needs. I take the 2 portions and allow to rise covered, until doubled in size, in a place free of drafts. When risen, punch down, shape into two greased loaf pans and allow to rise a second time while you prepare and rise the cinnamon rolls. At the end, they can all go in the oven together, though the bread loaves will take an additional 10 minutes than the rolls.

Now onto the rolls:
Start a stick of butter to melt on low heat in a small saucepan. Add some brown sugar and cinnamon once it begins to melt and stir until dissolved and uniform. I then take my single portion and roll it out very thin in an oblong shape on a sparsely floured surface (to prevent sticking). Spread a good amount of the sauce all over the surface of the bread dough.

Prepare a lasagna type oblong pan with cooking spray.

Be aware: This will be a messy job! Roll up tightly as you can, length-wise as in the pictures above until all the dough is rolled like a carpet ;) Then slice in about 20-26 slices. I use an extremely sharp knife so that I can cut without flattening. I've also seen it done with floss. You can "loosely tie" the floss around the roll and pull to slice each portion from the roll.

Gently place the rolls into prepared pan and allow to rise in a warm place. I then spoon some of the leftover sauce atop each roll. What I do is preheat my oven to 350 degrees, and set the pan of rolls in the microwave above my stove to rise in a warm and safe place. In about 30 min. they will be risen, and you may pop them into the oven to bake for 20 min or until golden brown. Serious. Yum.

You could glaze with maple syrup, but I leave as is. They don't last long enough with the 8 of us to dry out.

Fall means the oven is back in business!!!

Very happy to have comfortable weather enough to once again employ the oven without wilting the entire household, I eagerly prepared some sandwich bread (we had none) along with cinnamon rolls for breakfast yesterday morning. The two littlest boys slept until almost 10 o'clock in the morning, much to my surprise!! As soon as the rolls were almost ready to pull out, the aroma roused them out of beds and beckoned the two downstairs. Their faces alight with merry surprise, they watched me slip the pan from the oven to the stovetop to cool. Below, is my roll making in pictures. ;-)



Start by rolling your dough out into a thin oblong shape

Spread the sauce all over top surface of the rolled out dough

This is the way we roll them up..roll them up..roll them up..

all rolled up nice and snug

all prepped, just after spooning extra sauce to the tops, and ready to rise

fully risen and ready to go into oven

fresh out of the oven

To make cinnamon rolls, take a basic bread dough recipe:

Basic Bread Dough
Yields:3 loaves

3 cups comfortably warm water
2T yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 TBSP salt
9 cups flour

I set this in my Bosch kitchen system on level 1 for a couple short minutes to knead. You can also knead by hand.

Then divide dough into 3 equal amounts. I usually make 2 loaves of bread and 1 batch of cinnamon rolls, but you may do it differently depending on your needs. I take the 2 portions and allow to rise covered, until doubled in size, in a place free of drafts. When risen, punch down, shape into two greased loaf pans and allow to rise a second time while you prepare and rise the cinnamon rolls. At the end, they can all go in the oven together, though the bread loaves will take an additional 10 minutes than the rolls.

Now onto the rolls:
Start a stick of butter to melt on low heat in a small saucepan. Add some brown sugar and cinnamon once it begins to melt and stir until dissolved and uniform. I then take my single portion and roll it out very thin in an oblong shape on a sparsely floured surface (to prevent sticking). Spread a good amount of the sauce all over the surface of the bread dough.

Prepare a lasagna type oblong pan with cooking spray.

Be aware: This will be a messy job! Roll up tightly as you can, length-wise as in the pictures above until all the dough is rolled like a carpet ;) Then slice in about 20-26 slices. I use an extremely sharp knife so that I can cut without flattening. I've also seen it done with floss. You can "loosely tie" the floss around the roll and pull to slice each portion from the roll.

Gently place the rolls into prepared pan and allow to rise in a warm place. I then spoon some of the leftover sauce atop each roll. What I do is preheat my oven to 350 degrees, and set the pan of rolls in the microwave above my stove to rise in a warm and safe place. In about 30 min. they will be risen, and you may pop them into the oven to bake for 20 min or until golden brown. Serious. Yum.

You could glaze with maple syrup, but I leave as is. They don't last long enough with the 8 of us to dry out.