Sourdough Bread and Sourdough Starter

I have never had much luck with Sourdough Starter, admittedly I've tried many different recipes and have watched what look like Science experiments emerging from my own kitchen.  Some bubbled up and then deflated, others never bubbled up, others smelled so rank that I couldn't bear to cook with.

It's just been a downhill battle when it comes to Sourdough bread for me.  Until I got The Amish Cook at Home cookbook.  As I read through the pages, I came to the Autumn Season and there it was Sourdough Starter that you pop in the refrigerator and leave....sort of.

I can do that.  So last week Monday I did a sort of interactive post on the Facebook page as I made the starter and then waited patiently for 5 days to feed it and then waited patiently another 12 hours, then patiently again overnight and then again patiently 4 hours this morning to finally pop it in the oven and see what comes out.

The result.  AMAZING Sourdough bread and the first starter that I was able to make without botching.  Now that is a sure success.

So if you've had issues with Starters before and are ready to throw in the towel, might I suggest one last attempt?  If it doesn't work out for you, then you won't ever hear me ask you to try it again but if it does work out like mine did, just think of all the yummy Sourdough bread your family will be enjoying.

Sourdough Starter

3 packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105 to 115F)

Starter Feed

3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons instant potatoes
1 cup warm water (105 to 115F)

To make the starter: Mix the yeast and warm water in a small bowl. Put into a plastic container, seal, and refrigerate for 3 to 5 days.



To make the starter feed: Combine the sugar, potatoes, and water in a small bowl and stir into the starter. Cover loosely (to allow some of the pressure to escape as the gases build) and let stand at room temperature for 5 to 12 hours. The mixture will be bubbly.



Take out 1 cup to make bread and loosely cover the starter and return it to the refrigerator. Feed again after 3 to 5 days. If not making bread after feeding the starter, throw away 1 cup to avoid depleting the starter. Note: Do not put the lid on tight.

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For the Sourdough Bread, this recipe makes 3 loaves.  If you want to make cinnamon rolls, then just divide the dough into two balls, roll it out and continue with your favorite cinnamon roll filling and icing :)

Sourdough Bread

2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (105 to 115F)
6 cups of bread flour
1 cup Sourdough Starter
3 teaspoons butter, melted

Combine the sugar, oil, salt, water, flour, and starter in a large bowl. Stir to make a dough. Form the dough into a ball. Grease another large bowl. Put the dough in and turn to coat. Cover with waxed paper and let stand overnight. (Do not refrigerate)



The next morning, punch the dough down and divide it into thirds.



Knead each part on a floured surface 8 to 10 times. Grease three 81/2 by 41/2 inch loaf pans and turn each loaf over in the pan to coat. Cover with waxed paper and let rise in the pans until it is just above the rims of the pans, 4 or 5 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the bread until the crust is nice and golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush each loaf with 1 teaspoon of the butter. Unmold and let cool on wire racks.



Here are the cinnamon rolls. I divided the dough in thirds just like the recipe stated, but made 2 loaves and then used the other 3rd to make cinnamon rolls. I think if I had actually divided the dough in half these would have been HUMUNGOUS. Will try next time.

Bunny Chow

Having grown up in South Africa, there are days that I miss a certain food that I used to love.  Boerewors are definitely on the top of the list, but another one which may seen a little weird, is Bunny Chow.



Now before you go and get yourself all worked up, there are NO bunnies in the dish.  NONE!  No fluffy anything in there, so don't let the name freak you out.  But what is Bunny Chow?  If you're South African or grew up in South Africa like I did, you know exactly what it is, matter of fact you may have tried in once or twice or many times, it's the perfect beach food when you're down in Durban.

Bunny chow, often referred to as a Bunny is a South African street dish consisting of a hollowed out loaf of bread filled with curry, that originated in the Durban Indian community.

Though curry and especially Mutton Curry is the most popular with this dish, there are quite a few versions out there, I've seen chicken, I've seen ground beef etc. Whatever you decide to try, it's delicious.

While sitting here this morning looking at my Menu Plan, I started craving Bunny Chow and just knew that I had to fix it for dinner.

Traditionally it is served in a half of a bread loaf, that has been hollowed out, then the curry scooped into the middle.  For me, the best part is that the bread soaks up all that curry gravy *drool*

Only thing I'm doing differently is that I'm making my own filling and using homemade bread bowls instead of loaves :)  You can use whatever recipe you have on hand, the one I'm using I've had for a while and found it on allrecipes.com.



Homemade Bread Bowls

1/2 cup water (70 to 80 degrees F)
1 cup warm milk (70 to 80 degrees F)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

In bread machine pan, place the first seven ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).
When the cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into six portions; shape into balls. Place on greased baking sheets.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.



Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.



Cool on wire racks.



To make bowl, cut the top fourth off of bread; carefully hollow out bottom of each, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use).



I'm keeping mine to make some homemade bread crumbs as I'm running pretty low :)

Now for the filling, you can find a gazillion different versions out there, it really depends on what you like....but this is how I made mine tonight, just kept it very simple but it was still really good :)

Bunny Chow Filling

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
2 small tomatoes, finely diced
chopped garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons curry powder

In a skillet, add a little bit of olive oil and the garlic, cook for a minute or so, don't let the garlic burn though. Add the ground beef and cook until brown. Add the onion and tomatoes, salt and pepper and curry powder. At this point I like to add a little bit of water, not much but enough to give it a little bit of gravy and not allow it to dry up.



Cook for about 15 minutes for the flavors to combine well. Check frequently and stir, also remember to keep adding a little bit of water at a time, you want to end with a nice consistency and definitely a bit of gravy in there, just don't add too much, you don't want it soupy.

I know I'm horrible at writing recipes, I am such a visual and do-er person that writing it down is hard for me. :)

Once done, scoop into the bread bowls and serve immediately :)

No Knead Artisan Bread

I remember a time when Artisan bread and No Knead bread was a huge thing in blogland, matter of fact you couldn’t visit a single blog without either a recipe being posted or some mention of the bread being made.

I will tell you right now that I’m not a baker and matter of fact I’m sure you’ve noticed that unlike most food blogs, mine has 90 % actual food and only a very few sweet/dessert recipes.

I do love to bake bread, I think there’s nothing like a slice of fresh bread out of the oven with some butter slathered on, it’s enough to make me weak at the knees.

I saved a bunch of these No Knead bread recipes but this is the one I turn to the most, mainly because it’s always turned out well no matter how many times I’ve made it and it’s well above 50 loaves of bread or so.

Recipe is from Steamy Kitchen who adapted it from Mark Bittman of NY Times who got it from Sullivan Street Bakery.

No Knead Bread

3 cups bread flour (I like Harvest King bread flour)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine table salt (or 3/4 tablespoon of kosher salt)
1 1/2 cups warm water
Covered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, something that can go into a 450F oven.)






1. Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess.

 

Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.

 

2. Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour.
Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you’ve got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.

3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven.
Holding towel, turn over and dump wobbly dough into pot, using your hands to get the dough off the towel. Doesn’t matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F.

 

Remove and let cool on wired rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350F oven for 10 minutes.

© 2006 - 2012 Full Bellies, Happy Kids - All Rights Reserved

Simple White Bread

I love homemade bread, there is just nothing like a thick slice slathered in butter and watching it melt and drip down your fingers as you take a bite.

Baking bread at home does not need to be intimidating or difficult, matter of fact, all the bread recipes I use are easy and always turn out well.  Trust me, anyone can bake bread.

The recipe I'm sharing with you is not for a bread machine.

Simple White Bread

1 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tbsp (or 1 packet) of quick rise yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cups flour (plus more for kneading)


1. Mix together the water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl.

2. Add the salt to the 3 cups of flour in a large bowl.

3. Mix the liquid and the dry together and then add the oil.

4. Mix until it comes away from the sides of the bowl, sprinkle some of the last cup of flour on a wooden surface, and knead. Keep adding flour as needed, kneading for about 10 min.

5. Scrape the big bowl clean and coat it with a small bit of oil. Add the dough and cover with a clean tea towel. Place it in a warm spot to rise till doubled in bulk, 1-2 hours.

6. When it has risen, punch the dough down and tip out onto the counter. Roll it out into a rectangle. (about 9 inch x 18 inch)

7. Roll it up, tuck in the ends, and place it into a greased bread loaf pan or glass baking dish.

8. Cover and let rise again, till doubled in size. 45 min - 1 hour. (it takes time!)

9. Once risen, brush the top with a bit of beaten egg, and bake for 30 min at 375 (f).

10. Once cooked, remove the bread from the pan immediately and place on a rack to cool.

Crazy Pizza Bread

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this recipe was "WHY didn't I think of that?".

The picture itself made me drool and I knew that I had to make it, there's no way my kids would ever forgive me if I didn't and honestly, kids and pizza go together like beer and brats or peanut butter and jelly.

So here's a super quick, easy, DELICIOUS meal to throw together.  I'm thinking this would be perfect for sleep overs and get togethers with friends and family.

Crazy Pizza Bread

Credit:  The Ivory Hut

1 teaspoon yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup Lindsay Chopped California Ripe Olives or 1/2 cup Lindsay Large Pitted Black Ripe Olives, sliced
1 1/2 cups favorite toppings, chopped
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a bowl. Let it sit for 3 minutes until foamy, then add in flour and salt. Mix (using a mixer, spoon, or your hands) just until it comes together. Add in the olives and toppings and combine well.

Dough will be tacky, but feel free to dust with a bit more extra flour if it feels too tacky. Let rise for about 1 hour, then put in the refrigerator for another hour.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and flour a Silpat or waxed paper. Roll out into a rectangle about 11×17”. Sprinkle cheese over top. Then, using the Silpat or paper, fold along the long side, like an envelope. Seal sides so cheese is not exposed. Let rest while you preheat oven to 450 degrees. Let oven stay at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.

Bake the bread, either on a pizza stone or baking sheet, for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. About 3 minutes before taking it out, lightly brush the top with olive oil and let it finish baking.

Let rest on a wire rack to cool slightly before slicing.

It was gobbled down by the family, multiple compliments on how good it was and has been requested for tomorrow again.  My husband actually asked me to make him one to take in to work as well.

HUGE THUMBS UP!

Bread Rolls

I love my KitchenAid, I use it pretty much every single day, no matter what I'm making.

I think my favorite recipes to make though are for bread dough, I love that I don't have to sit there and knead and knead and get all messy, though I DO once in a while still make bread that way, just because I love the whole process.

I found this recipe online while looking for a quick and easy way to make rolls.  These turned out pretty good.  I had a bit of a hard time when it came to adding the 1/2 cup flour increments and waiting for it to pull away from the sides of the bowl.  It just seemed like I added an enormous amount of flour and the rolls turned out a bit too doughy for my liking.

BUT they're still delicious and the kids and I slather on some butter and strawberry preserves while they were still warm.  Yum!

Molly's Rolls
Credit: Real Mom Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 package yeast(2 1/4 teaspoon)
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/2 T salt
• 1 egg
• flour

Directions: In mixer combine yeast, sugar, and warm water; let grow until bubbly(about 5 minutes). Add milk and mix. Mix in oil and egg. Slowly add 2 cups flour, mix and then add salt. Add 1/2 cup flour at a time until it comes away from side of bowl. Let rise in mixing bowl for about 30 minutes. Form rolls as desired and place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise and additional 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. (Rotate pans after 7 minutes.) Brush hot rolls with melted butter.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I love Cinnamon Raisin Bread but honestly, at almost $3 for a small loaf, I find myself not buying it as often as I would like.



While visiting Annie's Eats, I found a recipe for Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread and I just knew I had to give it a shot, I did omit the raisins because I'm the only one that likes them and the kids won't eat it.  I made it this afternoon and it not only smelled heavenly but it's DELISH.

Go on over to Annie's Eats when you get a chance and take a look around her blog, she has some of the tastiest recipes out there.

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

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Yield: 1 9 x 5-inch loaf

Ingredients:
For the dough:
1 1/8 tsp. instant (rapid rise) yeast
1 cup warm milk (105-110˚ F)
17 oz. (3¼ cups) all-purpose flour
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup sugar
1 large egg
1¼ tsp. coarse salt
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ cup raisins
Vegetable oil

For the filling:
¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tbsp. water
1 egg, lightly beaten


Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, warm milk, flour, butter, sugar, egg, salt and cinnamon.  Mix briefly until a dough forms.  Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed until the dough is mostly smooth and clears the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes.  Add in the raisins and allow to continue kneading about 3 minutes more, until the dough is smooth and supple and the raisins are evenly incorporated.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.

Pat into a round.

Fold the bottom third of the dough up and fold the top third down, in business-letter fashion.

Then fold the right and left sides into the center in thirds, forming a rectangle. Press down to seal.

 Return to the bowl, cover and let rise again until doubled, about 40 minutes. Generously butter a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.  To make the filling, combine the sugar, cinnamon and water in a small bowl and whisk until well combined.  Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface.

Roll the dough into a 10 by 12-inch rectangle.  Brush lightly with the beaten egg.

Sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, leaving a thin border around the edges.

Fold in the edges of the long sides of the dough about 1 inch.

Beginning with one of the short ends, roll the dough up into a tight spiral log, gently pressing as you go.

Pinch the seam shut, and place the loaf seam side-down in the prepared baking pan.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rise until the dough rises just above the edge of the pan, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  When the loaf has risen, brush the top of the loaf lightly with the remaining beaten egg.  Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the loaf is golden brown, about 45 minutes.  If the surface seems to be browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil (I did this halfway through baking).  Cool in the pan 5 minutes, then turn the loaf out and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Homemade Breadcrumbs

I have always used the store bought breadcrumbs, and don't ask me why, maybe out of habit or maybe because I never thought to make my own?

A few months ago, I had a ton of old bread in the house and I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of it, I knew I had to find something to make but honestly how much bread pudding can one person eat??

I decided that it was time to dig out my trusty old food processor and get to work.  I did think at first that it must be some crazy elaborate way of making breadcrumbs, but after googling a ton of recipes out there, I noticed that there really is nothing to it, and believe me, they are tastier than the stale store bought ones.

The good thing is that you can add whatever you want to it, or you can leave them plain, it's up to you.  I like adding garlic and parsley to mine, so let me show you quickly how I do it. 

Homemade Breadcrumbs

Stale bread (you can use as much or as little as you have on hand, today I used 4 hotdog buns and was able to fill a pint size jar and still have a little over). 
Garlic powder
Dried parsley (I dry my own and just crumble into the food)


Break the bread into chunks and drop into your food processor.

Process for a few minutes or until finely crumbed.

Pour them into a baking sheet, no need to grease, spread them out and bake for an hour at 250 degrees F.

Let them cool down a bit, then sprinkle in your garlic powder and your parsley.

You can also add parmesan cheese or italian seasoning to make Italian Flavored Breadcrumbs.

Some people use olive oil, some use butter....I don't add either of those with mine.

Mix the spices with the breadcrumbs well,

then pour or spoon into the pint jars.  Seal tightly and keep in a cool place.

Now go forth, make breadcrumbs not war and NEVER buy store bought again.

Pao com Chourico - Chourico Bread

Now this is one of my favorite portuguese breads to eat. I remember many times sitting in one of the Lisbon Pastelarias (bakeries) and smelling the aroma of the bread baking in the oven, it was intoxicating but in a good way.

I am a bread lover, I could live on bread, I try not to because it's not healthy at all, but if it was possible to do so, believe it, I would have a loaf of bread and a brick of butter every.single.day.

This is an extremely easy recipe to make, it almost reminds me of the other bread that we portuguese make, called a Bola de Carne. A ball of meat....literally, it's like a ball or oval shaped loaf with ham and chourico etc inside. YUM!

Pao com Chourico - Chourico Bread

5 1/2 cups of flour
3 1/2 teaspoons of dry yeast
1 chourico cut into slices and casing removed
Warm water
1 teaspoon salt (table salt)

Dissolve the yeast in 4 tablespoons of warm water. Add about 1/2 tbsp. of flour and mix well. Set aside.

In a big bowl, mix the flour, salt and the yeast mixture, add warm water a bit at a time

until you have a smooth dough that doesn't stick to your hands. Let rise for 3o minutes.

Divide into 4 portions. Using a rolling pin roll out the dough into a rectangle, not too big, you want to have a sort of thick dough....you can see by my picture how it should look.

Layer the chourico on the dough....roll the dough up, pinch the seams to close and set seam side down on a baking sheet.

Let rise again until you can see that it won't rise anymore. Bake in a 375 oven for about 20 minutes.

One thing you'll notice about these loaves is that they don't turn really brown, matter of fact most of them stay a nice white pale. Enjoy!