Sourdough Bread Part II

I have now been able to use my sourdough starter a couple of times!

The first time I baked two of the traditional boule shaped loaves; we are still enjoying the fruits of my labor! I used a recipe for "Black Canyon Sour Dough Bread" on Mike's Sourdough web page.

I kept my starter going for a few more weeks...
I was able to keep it "bubbling and doubling" using Mike's technique simply by discarding a portion of starter, then feeding it with flour and water every 12 hours. Last week I decided to bake again and I decided to bake using loaf pans. I also used the same recipe but decided to change the ratio of white flour to wheat flour...used more white flour and less wheat this time.  Here are the results:

My next challenge should be interesting.  Now that the starter has had about a month to develop, I chose to store it in the refrigerator for a few weeks.  This will put it in a somewhat dormant state; it will need to be fed about once a week until I attempt to bring it back out of the fridge and revive it for use! 

I find this project interesting--I hope you do too.  I am still amazed that you can actually make bread this way.  And I will keep you posted as to what happens when I try to revive the starter. Hopefully it's all good!

Chunky Microwave Applesauce

This recipe is from "The Silver Palate Cookbook." I have always liked this recipe; I have made it several times--it always comes out tasting great!

Chunky Microwave Applesauce

4 servings

2 McIntosh apples (halved and cored; you can peel them if you desire)

2 Granny Smith apples (halved and cored; you can peel them if you desire)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Cut each half apple into 6 wedges.

Combine the apple wedges, water and lemon juice in a deep 1 1/2 quart microwavable dish. 

(I prefer a glass or ceramic dish for this.)

Toss the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl, then stir into apple mixture.

Cook apple mixture uncovered at 100% power for 5 minutes. Stir, pressing the apple into the liquid.

Return apples to microwave and cook at 100% for 5 additional minutes.

Use a potato masher to mash the hot apple mixture until the mixture is coarsely mashed. Allow to cool

to room temperature, then place into the refrigerator until chilled.

Source: Silver Palate Cookbook

My Sourdough Bread Experiment

In recent weeks, I have a new experiment going on at my house; I started my own culture and baked my first loaves of bread!  Using expertise provided on "Sourdough Home",  I began my culture around the 1st of May. At this point I find it amazing that flour, water, and a little salt actually can create a loaf of bread!



The basic technique is very simple:  Following Mike's technique I placed some organic whole wheat flour and water in a clean glass measuring cup.  I patiently checked it every 12 hours, adding more flour and water as directed.  In a few days time I noticed changes going on; and after a brief slow-down (which according to Mike's blog is to be expected!) things seemed to take off.  Finally, after about 10 days it seemed that my concoction was actually a product suitable for use!  At this point, I chose to bake bread using the "Black Canyon Sourdough Bread" recipe on the site.

At this point, I am still babying my starter but I also have two loaves of bread to enjoy.  Supposedly sourdough starter improves with age.

This is turning out to be a fun and exciting project and I hope to continue enjoying the fruits of my small efforts, flour, water and salt for a long time to come!

Sources: Sourdough Home;Wikipedia; OpenClipArt