Making Sourdough Bread

 

Yesterday I made sourdough bread.  I had my daughter take a few pictures because I wanted to try making a .GIF animation to show the kneading action.  I discovered that my very old copy of PS did not have animation capabilities.  Oh well.  Then I decided to drag and drop the photos instead of selecting and inserting each separately.  I wasn’t sure how gallery works, so I clicked on them individually anyway.  So, they are all stuck together.  There was a slideshow option; that might have been better.

This recipe has a two-step mixing process.  The flour water and salt are mixed first and left to rest 10 minutes.  Then the starter is added plus more flour if necessary. I think it is an odd way to mix it but I haven’t tried to mix it any other way.  Chicken, I guess.   I put the dough in the refrigerator the night before and took it out yesterday.  The rising took about 8 hours since the  dough had to warm up first.  The wonderful thing about sourdough is that you don’t add any other yeast.  I find it amazing that this works.  Rising times are definitely longer giving me plenty of time to do other things.  I love the smell of it baking and have to have some almost right away.  I let it cool about 10 minutes before cutting it because everyone knows that the bread police will get  me if I don’t!  Supposedly it can give you a tummy ache if you eat it hot right out of the oven. Pshaw, I say!

 

Baking Bread

 

Wednesday my daughter and I made pizza from scratch.  Sorry, no pix as it is history!  Anyway, we had old packages of yeast  two of which we proofed before trying to bake with it.  Since I hate to throw anything away, I decided to make some baguettes.  I kept the dough in the fridge until yesterday and then made these.  I think a bit more salt would have given the bread more flavor.  Of course, that’s what butter is for.  Meanwhile, I began increasing the amount of sourdough starter so I can make sourdough bread on Saturday.  This starter came from the Cheese Board… it’s 35 years old!  When I told the guy who was cutting cheese for my other daughter that I had their cookbook and had made some of the recipes he asked me if I would like some!  Are you kidding?  “Yes!!”  I’m thrilled!  I have caught wild yeast to make my own starter ( an 11 day process) and let it get old without feeding it during my husband’s illness.  So, now I am going to be good to my starter (in the bowl under the kitchen towel) and feed it every month if I don’t make bread.  Have you ever made sourdough bread?  Success?  Dismal failure?  Please share your experience in a comment.  I’d love to hear about it!