Tag: Sourdough

Sourdough Molasses Brown Bread

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Sourdough Molasses Brown Bread

I love Sourdough, always have, and I’ve also loved Molasses for as long as I can remember. So, it make’s perfect sense to me that the two should go hand in hand! Right!? 

However, I also tend to be a rather impatient, and waiting for bread to rise for 6-8 hours or longer. I’ve done it, but not so much! I’d rather find ways to speed things up. So, I make my own recipes! 

I start with the Sourdough Starter we made from just water and flour. Started the Starter about 6 months ago, and call Him, John Dough! 

I put 4 Cups of all purpose flour I a large bowl. I put about two cups of Starter in a four cup measuring cup. To the starter I added, (I really don’t measure, I just guesstimate the amount in my hand) about 1 teaspoon each of sugar, baking soda, and salt. Plus about a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar. When I stir that up with a fork, it rises to nearly fill the measuring cup. In another measuring cup I put about a half cup of molasses. Then I mix about a third of the Starter Mixture into the flour. Then I mixed about half the molasses into the flour mixture. Finally I added the remaining molasses into the remaining starter mixture and once mixed I added it into the flour mixture. Honestly at this point it was more like cookie dough. (Might try that next). So, I added in more flour, about a quarter to a half cup, mixing in until the dough was the right texture for bread dough. 

Then I put a little olive oil in a bread pan and used a paper towel to spread it on the bottom and side of the pan. Then dusted the pan with Watkins Cinnamon. Then placed the dough into the pan. 

I turned the oven on to about 150 F to warm up, and placed the loaf pan in the oven, covered with a warm, wet, dish towel. After about 5 minutes I turn the oven temperature down to just under 100 F. Then let the dough double in size. Sometimes I remove the dish towel and wet it again with warm water. And keep it over the top of the rising loaf. Once the loaf rises to desired level it’s time for the bake. 

I turn the temp up to 400 F. and place the Loaf in the oven uncovered. Dish towel now removed. After about 5 minutes I cut a slit in the top of the loaf to let the excess steam escape. Otherwise the sides of your loaf will blow out! Sometimes they do a bit anyway! It’s ok! 

I check the loaf after 20 minutes and then about every 5-10 minutes till done. There are a few ways to know when it’s done. Tap it and it should sound hollow. I let it bake till the outside looks done, sometimes a tad over done. The smell is a big indicator, and an old trick is to stick a knife in it and pull it out. If the knife comes out clean it’s done! Really, it’s kind of trial and error! After a few loaves you’ll get to know. I still worry about it every time! 

When done, let it cool on a wire rack. I often let it cool off in the pan to finish baking! Then, once it’s cooled off, somewhat, I put it on the rack. 

This particular loaf has Rolled Oats sprinkled on it and baked on top. If not I’d use a paper towel to smear butter on the top; and all over really! 

If You dare to compare, or try my recipe, please let me know in the comments below. If you’re local and need some Starter, let me know! 

Sourdough Bread for Earth Day 2024

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Baking Sourdough Bread

I love Bread, and it often gets a bad wrap! No pun intended, well, maybe! All things in Balance, I believe Bread, Breaking Bread, and the practice of making Bread, is very Earthy. Flour is a Raw Food, and when you combine flour with water and leave it sit, it attracts beneficial bacteria from the air! That’s actually how You make a Sourdough Starter. Read what EatingWell.com says about the Benefits of Sourdough

So, why not make Sourdough Bread on Earth-Day!? 

To me, it’s a very earthy thing to do and the process helps me get grounded. Having and caring for a Sourdough Starter means providing daily care for a living culture! Yes, Sourdough Starter is a living thing and is something that can be started by anyone, anywhere! So, if you’re living in a place where you can’t have a pet, or garden, animals, etc. You can still benefit from creating, caring for, and maintaining a Sourdough Starter! You’ll be surprised by how tactile and rewarding it can be! 

Sourdough Bread with Everything Bagel Seasoning

Traditional Smokehouse Bacon and Sourdough Pancakes

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Smokehouse Bacon and Sourdough Pancakes

What can be better! Traditionally Smoked Bacon and Sourdough Pancakes made from John Dough! All Raised here at Briden Farm!

Discover the Benefits of Eating Sourdough 

Developing Our Unique Sourdough Bread Recipe

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Sourdough Bread

John Dough, that’s what we call our Sourdough Starter, was born a little over a month ago, and is a happy guy! We know that because He’s really Bubbly! 

Building on His natural exuberance, and not wanting to waste anything We’ve come to discover that there is far more to Sourdough than Bread, and that daily Discards, that’s the half of the Sourdough Starter that has to be discarded, or otherwise used, on a daily basis, is really the more exciting part of working with Sourdough! 

There are so many Recipes for Sourdough Discard that it opens a whole world of natural experiences, and these recipes are really on the Rise! Imagine having Tea and Crumpets! Yes! 

The other thing I love about working with Sourdough is learning to develop my own recipes! My first loaf was done using a simple recipe for Making Sourdough Bread Recipe and it went well, but not quite what I wanted. Or, perhaps, I just like to play with my food! 

Either way, I love tweaking Recipes. The first recipe, probably more healthful, come from Cultures for Health, and calls for no sugar or soda, and little if any salt! It did taste good, but didn’t quite have the Rise I was looking for. Of course, part of that may have been because my Starter was relatively new. It takes at least a few weeks, to a few months, to develop a really great Sourdough Starter! 

So, I began to experiment, sort of from instinct, and somewhat based on Sourdough Pancake and Sourdough Crumpet Recipes, and I added in some sugar, soda, and salt. It worked, my Sourdough Bread rose far better. However, the .crust was still much harder than I wanted it. 

Then, I thought about it, and decided to add some Apple Cider Vinegar to the recipe. I happen to love cooking with Apple Cider Vinegar. By the way, do You happen to recall the TV Show, The Urban Peasant? James Barber, on one episode, picked up a measuring cup of flour, or sugar, or something, and poured a bit in his palm and said, “That’s a teaspoon”, and continuing to pour, “That’s a Tablespoon” and pouring stilll more, “That’s too much!” That’s sort of the way I like to cook, and bake! 

Some people will tell You Sourdough Baking is like Science, and some aspects definitely are, but I can’t help think that some of the ole Camp Cooks, in the Klondike and Lumber Camps, probably didn’t pay that close of attention to the grams of flour or sugar or other ingredients on a digital scale! So, I say, somewhat joking, “If Sourdough is a living Culture, which it is, then let it guide me!”. Then go somewhat by gut and instinct! Bear in mind if you do this You may well waste a batch! OrTwo! I’ve been lucky, and haven’t yet, and we’d probably still find a way to use it! 

Anyway, since I’ve had a friend, Lisa, ask for my Recipe, which I’m still developing, I decided that I’d try to put it into exact measurements. Honestly, trust your gut, and if it’s a little dry add some liquid and if it’s a little to liquid, add some flour! Taking that into consideration, and using l disclaimers, here’s my recipe….

I take 2-1/3 Cups of active Sourdough Starter and add  3 Tablespoons of Sugar, a bit of Salt, maybe a half to one teaspoon of Salt (depending on your personal preference and dietary restrictions) and a half Tablespoon of each Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar. Mixing that together with a spatula and a fork, one also helps clean the other, and watching the Bubbles. The Starter mixture should be bubbly.

Once you have that working, add in 3 Cups of Flour. Mix it all together, but don’t over mix. It should be bread dough consistency. Or, well, almost!

You’ll also have to mix in some water. Some Luke Warm Water. Approximately a Half to One Cup. Just add it slowly till all the flour is part of the dough. Again, don’t over mix.

Then, place a warm, damp, dish towel over the bowl and place the bowl in the oven with a low heat of about 100 F. Watch it, check it at about five to ten minutes to see it’s not to hot. You’re not wanting to bake it yet, the low temperature oven and wet cloth help make your oven a Bread Poofer.

I leave it in the oven, at the low temperature, for about 30 minutes. Then remove, uncover, and dust it with flour. When you first remove it from the over the dough will be sticky, just dust it with enough flour to make it easier to handle.

Pull it, stretch it a bit, and reform it in to a ball.

Place it back in the oven at the same low temperature for another 30 minutes. Repeat this process till you’ve removed it from the oven for the fourth time. The fourth time, do the same, but put it I a greased and floured bread pan before returning to the Oven at the same low temperature. Watch it closely again.

After the dough has risen another 30 minutes, this time in the pan, in the low temp oven, turn the over up to 400 F.

Remove it after the first 5 minutes at 400 F, when the top has just started to brown. Use a sharp knife and cut a small slit down the middle of the top. That allows the gases to escape. Otherwise it’ll blow the sides out. It may anyway! If so it’s not a big deal.

Return it to the oven, at 400 F. Check it again in 10 minutes, and again in after another 15 minutes at 400 F. Total time in the oven at 400 F should be about 30 minutes. Actually, you need to watch it, and maybe turn it around about half way. Some ovens have uneven heat and that can also cause the sides to blow out of the bread! Honestly, it’s not that bad! 

It’s easier than it sounds and you’ll soon get used to it. 

When You remove the Bread from the Oven after it’s been in there for about 30 minutes at 400 F it shou,d be done. You’ll get to know it’s done mess by instinct, but it should have a somewhat hollow sound when you tap the bottom. Another thing to watch is that your over doesn’t burn the bottom. If your over heats quicker on the bottom, and it may take you a couple goes to know it’s actually doing so, you can take your bread when nearly done, say at the 20-25 minute mark, and turn it over in the Bread Pan. Thus preventing it from over cooking the bottom and allowing the top, now the downward side, to finish better. Perhaps quicker too! 

Don’t be discouraged, You’ll catch on quickly enough. With every loaf getting better and better! 

So, to recap I use 

2-1/3 Cups Starter 

3 TSpn Sugar 

1/2 TSpn Soda

1/2 TSpn Apple Cider Vinegar 

and about 0.5-1 Teaspoon of Salt

And 3 Cups Flour 

I’d love to hear About Your experiences with your Sourdough Starter, Discard and Breads. What else have You made? Tell us about it in the Comments below…

Sourdough Loaf