Seeded Sourdough

Having ‘gone down the rabbit hole’ of wild yeast breads, as Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups so nicely put it, I’m going enthusiastically into bread making with my starters. This week I made a seeded sourdough sandwich loaf using the whole wheat starter, Polly. It turned out quite well, although next time I plan to knead in even more seeds. It was really delicious!

I'll post the recipe later...have to go pack. Heading off to be with our daughter and her beau. When next there is a post here, it will be the November Daring Baker challenge, but it's likely to be late in the day on posting day, so go check out other DBs on the blogroll...see the side bar for a link.

Have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving and harvest time!

Stuffed

It's not even Turkey Day, but I'm stuffed anyway. Since we will be joining my daughter and her beau for Thanksgiving this year, we celebrated a little early with Grandma L and our Sunday breakfast buddies by skipping breakfast and having turkey with all the trimmings for dinner Sunday instead.

Welcome to my table, set with seasonal colors and a big basket of fresh fruit. There was also wine, but we were drinking it with 'horses ovaries' as grandma calls appetizers. Later the whole table was covered in dishes and plates and bowls...there was enough food to feed three times as many guests as were at the table.

The turkey was over 21 pounds, big enough to enjoy and still have plenty to send home with our guests, plus for sandwiches for the next couple of days. I especially enjoy grilled turkey sandwiches for lunch.

The hit of the feast was probably the stuffing, as always. You may want to 'borrow' this recipe for your own feast. It is also good with chicken and with pork, so keep it handy. For pork I usually don't use poultry seasonings, just about a teaspoon of sage instead. It's a simple cornbread and bread stuffing with sauteed onions and celery, some herbs and spices, some apples and pecans. Everyone asks for seconds, so you know it's good.

This year I'm grateful for my health, for my Mom still being in great health and spirits, for my sister and nephew in particular, but for all my family being alive and kicking, for so many, many friends and for all they have meant to me this year, for the continued joy of blogging and those I've 'met' through blogging, for the luck of being in a meaningful job and having a good boss. Most of all I'm grateful for the abiding love of my husband and daughter, dog Xam and cat Merlin. Relationships are far more important than anything else as far as I'm concerned. In that respect I'm truly blessed.

Wishing you and those you love and who love you a happy Turkey Day and/or harvest season. Now go on, treat yourself, get stuffed with some stuffing!

(Elle's note: My Mom still makes the best stuffing in the world and she changes it a little each time. This is the stuffing I grew up with, changed slightly...less parsley, more fresh herbs...but basically the same. The smell brings back happy memories. Thanks Mom!)

Stuffing

Based on Mom's recipe in Family Food, June 1994

1/2 cup butter, melted
1-2 onions, finely chopped
1 - 1 1/2 cups diced celery...include some leaves if you like
3/4 cup minced parsley
1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 -8 inch square pan of cornbread (about 1/2 regular recipe)
1/2 loaf or so of stale multi grain bread - if not stale, dry out a bit in a low oven
1 medium apple, diced, skin left on
about 3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 can chicken broth, or equivalent (about 2 cups) home made chicken broth

Combine butter with onions and celery and saute' on medium high heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add parsley, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and rosemary and stir to combine.

In very large mixing bowl or large pot, combine the cornbread, crumbled in large chunks, the bread, cut or crumbled in large chunks, the vegetable mixture, the apples and the pecans.

Stir well so that all ingredients are distributed evenly.

Stir in the broth quickly to moisten the ingredients. Immediately spoon into turkey cavities, keeping stuffing fairly loose and not packing it. Remaining stuffing can be put into a greased, oven-proof casserole, covered, and refrigerated. Finish off turkey and bake as you desire. About an hour before turkey is done, remove casserole from the refrigerator, seal the top with foil, and bake for 1/2 an hour along with the turkey. Uncover and continue to bake about another 1/2 hour, until top is crisp and golden.

Makes enough to serve at least 8 people. Wonderful with turkey gravy!

Happy Times with Polly and Some Nuts

I apologise in advance if this makes you want to eat breakfast again or run out to Cinnabon. DO try this at home...it's great fun to play with dough.

When last we left Polly, our intrepid whole wheat sourdough starter, she was just getting used to being fed with only whole wheat flour. A few days later she was ready to play, so I made some sweet rolls, using the recipe from Breadchick at The Sour Dough. She gave me the idea of making Polly in the first place, so it was fun to try the whole wheat sourdough starter out with her sweet roll recipe. I did use the nut filling from her regular sweet roll recipe because I just love nuts with sweet rolls.

Since the only Daring Baker challenge I've missed was the one where sweet rolls were made, some of this was new territory for me. This was my first time using dental floss the divide the log of filled dough into the rolls. Sorry, no photo of that...my fingers were way too sticky!

The few times that I've made sweet rolls I've had less filling or something because this time it was a real challenge to roll the dough around the filling. Maybe I didn't roll the dough out enough...not sure, but it really didn't matter. The rolls were lovely and Sweetie quite enjoyed them, especially the second pan I baked where I baked them for a shorter time. I think next time I would add some cardamom to offset the natural sweetness of the dough, and maybe a touch of cloves, too.

For the icing I mixed together some hot milk and confectioners sugar for the first batch. For the second batch I added to that some cinnamon and a splash of rum. Both were great, but I liked the rum/cinnamon version best.

Breadchick's Whole Wheat Sourdough Sweet Rolls
Prep Time: 2 Days

This recipe results in 15 - 20 good sized rolls or 30 - 40 small rolls with a tangy sweet taste. You can top them with any type of frosting.

For Dough:
1 Cup whole wheat sourdough starter
3/4 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 Tsp. salt
1 1/2 Cup warm water (80 - 85 Degrees)
1 1/2 Cup bread flour
5 to 6 1/2 Cup whole wheat flour (depending on stiffness of batter, hold back 1/4 cup)

For Filling:
1 Cup Sugar
4 tbsp. Cinnamon (or to taste)
2 tsp Cardamom (0ptional)
1/4 Cup water (to brush on rolled out dough)

OR
Caramel Pecan Rolls Filling:

1 - 1 1/2 C Pecans (lightly toasted and chopped coarsely)
1/2 C. Light Brown Sugar (packed)
1/2 C. Sugar
4 tbsp Cinnamon (or to taste)
1/4 tsp Salt (optional or to taste)
1/4 C. Melted Butter(to brush on rolled out dough)

Making The Sponge: Combine the starter, the water and one half the flour (without 1/2 Cup held back in reserve) in a large glass or plastic bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for at least 3 hours or until almost tripled.

Making The Sweet Dough: Mix the sugar and salt together in small bowl. Stir down the sponge and add the oil and 1/2 the sugar/salt mixture to the sponge. Stir well until all the oil is almost absorbed by the dough. Add 2 cups of the flour and mix well until the dough is smooth. Add the rest of the sugar/salt mixture and all the bread flour and one cup of the whole wheat flour and mix well until combined fully. You may need to switch to hand mixing here if your dough is starting stiffen or if your standing mixer is starting to strain, switch to the dough attachment.

Add remaining flour (without 1/4 Cup held back in reserve). At this point you may find you have to use your hands to combine this flour. Dough should feel sticky but stiff. If the dough feels too loose or wet, add the 1/2 Cup of flour you held back held back slowly until dough feels right. (Depending on the dough, you may need to add more flour). Mix well by hand until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will still be slightly sticky. Resist the temptation to add more flour as this will result in tough rolls.

Place dough in a very large buttered glass or plastic bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 8 - 12 hours or until at least doubled or almost tripled.

Form The Rolls: Divide the dough into 2 halves and cover the half not being worked with plastic wrap and return to bowl. Turn the half of dough you are working with onto a floured surface for rolling and form into rough rectangle. Begin rolling dough out to form 15" x 6" rectangle that is about 1/2" thick. If dough springs back as your rolling use your hand to press into rectangle and roll out slowly. You will depress air pockets out of dough and the dough will be slightly resistant to rolling.

You may also have to let dough "rest" and relax between some rolls for a minute or two. Be patient, dough will relax. Also, be careful to not overwork the dough or add too much flour as you are rolling.

When you have dough rolled out, brush dough with water; not too much or the sweet roll will "fall apart" during last rise. Just enough for filling to cling to dough. Generously sprinkle the filling from one long edge to the other, leaving about 1/4" of one long edge free of filling. Roll the dough slowly to form a long "roll". Pay attention to keeping "ends" of the roll as even as possible, working the ends to be even is necessary until all that is left to roll is the 1/4" long edge border without filling. Brush water or an egg white wash on this 1/4" and seal the roll; gently pinching the roll to seal if necessary.

Using dental floss, cut the long roll into 1 1/2" - 2" sections and place in well buttered 13" x 9" glass baking dish.

Repeat method with remaining dough. (You may need to also use a second baking dish)

Cover baking dish with plastic wrap and let rise 8 - 12 hours or until rolls are almost doubled.

Baking: Bake Rolls at 350 Degrees for 45 minutes or until internal temperature of roll is 190 degrees. Let completely cool (1 to 2 hours) and frost.

Don't try and halve this recipe. If it makes too many rolls for you, just bake them and freeze them without frosting them. When you want a roll, take a few out of the freezer, let them come to room temperature, pop them in the microwave for a 20 seconds and then frost them.

Playing with Sourdough and Making Pancakes

Never thought of making a sourdough starter and learning to use it as a way to ward off dementia. Then I talked with my mom yesterday. She reminded me that learning new things and exercising the mind are good practices in keeping Alzheimer's at bay. Guess the whole process has been a true learning experience.

'Pancakes for breakfast' has always been a happy phrase. Now that my starter is there, just waiting to be used, it takes on a whole new meaning. For one thing, you need to start your batter the night before (or at least 3 hours before you cook the pancakes). Even though my brain was tired, I did remember to start the batter.

What I forgot the next day when I was mixing the rest of the ingredients in was that I also added a half cup of Polly so that I wouldn't have to throw it away when I was feeding her some more whole wheat flour. So in the morning I followed the directions as given on my recipe, but ended up with a very thin batter which made pancakes that looked like crepes! Seeing that, I whisked in a whole bunch more bread flour and tried again. This time the pancakes were just right...thick enough but not too thick. It wasn't until later that I remembered the extra starter and understood why I needed more flour...about a cup...to make the batter right. So playing with is the right term to use with sourdough when you are as forgetful as I am sometimes.

I served the pancakes with some butter, maple syrup, simmered apple slices with cinnamon, and a couple of pan browned frozen turkey breakfast sausages. The pancakes were light and flavorful and well worth the effort of starting the batter early.

Since these are made with a starter that has wild yeast in it, I'm going to send this off to Susan at Wild Yeast for the weekly Yeastspotting roundup. With two starters going, she will probably be getting one or more posts a week.

This sure is fun!

Sourdough Pancakes

(Not sure where this recipe came from...it was in a stack of recipes I'd printed out a while back. Very sorry I can't tell you whose recipe it is.)

1 cup sourdough starter - I used Sukey which is a thinner type of starter, plus 1/2 cup of Polly, also a thinner type of starter, just more whole wheat in it

2 cups water at room temperature

2 1/2 cups whole grain flour - I used 2 cups whole wheat and 1/2 cup spelt flour (then about 1 cup unbleached bread flour when the batter was too thin the next day)
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

3 to 24 hours before you want to eat, combine in a large bowl the starter, water, and flour.Make sure that you have plenty of room for this mixture to rise. If it is a very hot day, beware of leaving it too long...it will ferment very quickly. To make for breakfast, make this part the night before. The sponge should soak for at least 3 hours.

After the soaking period, add the rest of the ingredients, and combine well. A whisk works well. If you want thinner pancakes you can thin with water or milk. Drop about 1/4 cup of the batter on lightly oiled hot griddle over medium to medium-high heat. Cook until the top is set and the bottom lightly browned. Flip when small air bubbled form around the edges. Cook the other side until pancake lightly browned on the griddle side. Repeat until all of the batter is used, re-oiling the pan as needed. This makes a lot of pancakes...enough for 4 - 6 hearty appetites.

Server warm with maple syrup, butter, fruit toppings and/or whipped cream.

Sukey, Polly and the Rainbow Whisk

You know how a new pet sort of takes over your life for a while? Regular feedings, lots of attention, new behaviors to get used to...that sort of thing. Well a month ago I began a simple Sourdough Starter using some grapes from my own vines and unbleached bread flour. It took a couple of weeks of daily feedings and care to become a good pet, well behaved and of fine, if mild, flavor. That starter is now called Sukey. Maybe over time she will become a friend.

Thanks to a delightful recipe on Saturday, Oct. 8th from Breadchick at The Sour Dough, which nudged me into beginning a whole wheat sourdough starter, I'm now well on the way to having another pet, Polly.

Surely at some point you have read the nursery rhyme:

Polly put the kettle on, Polly put the kettle on, Polly put the kettle on,

We'll all have tea!

Sukey take it off again, Sukey take it off again, Sukey take it off again,

It's all gone away.

Since it seems that Sukey's lot is to have part of her taken away on a regular basis to either make a sourdough recipe using some of her, or so that she can help in the creation of other starters like Polly, it seemed like a fine name. And we will put the kettle on for sure and have tea once I've made those Whole Wheat Sweet Rolls with the help of Polly in a day or two, once she has reached her strength as a whole wheat starter. The story and photos and recipe will be coming to this blog soon :)

The rainbow whisk? Well that is my treat to myself because I'm finding that I use a whisk a lot these days feeding the various starters and recipes using the starters. My old whisk was a wimpy one and the rainbow one is not only cheerful, but strong...plus it washes up easily since the wires are covered in multi colored plastic coating. Woot!

I'm planning on making Sourdough Pancakes Sunday morning, so I have a bowl of that mixture going, too. Now I just have to make sure I keep them straight...they all look similar. Photos of the pancakes once they are done should be more interesting than the ones of the starters :)

Tropical Bannana Bread

Take one plain, uninspired, but solid recipe for banana bread, substitute some molasses for some of the sugar (while thinking of how the molasses / sugar trade was one leg of a terrible triangle in the early years of our country...the other legs being rum and slaves, or so I've been told). Bananas and vanilla are certainly tropical enough, but let's add some dates (thinking of desert palms and midnight at the oasis). Pecans grow in the south, not necessarily tropical, but warm, anyway. Let's throw some in, along with coconut (think Hawaii and Pohnepei where Sweetie spent time while in the Peace Corps, and island breezes). Now we have a tropical banana bread that is sure to please my Sweetie.

The fragrance that fills the house as it cooks is alluring. It was so hard to wait a bit after it came out of the oven to let it cool...well at least a little...although it was still warm.

What a mouthful! The flavors of coconut and banana are followed by the date and pecan and molasses goodness. It is flavorful from the whole wheat flour I used, super moist and hard to resist.

The next day, chilled and sliced thin, spread with cream cheese and cut into fingers, it's also an elegant accompaniment to a nice cup of hot tea. This might be the best banana bread I've ever made. Next time I might make some rum flavored syrup to pour over while it's hot. That would be perfection.

Tropical Banana Bread

based on my mom's banana bread in Family Food, June 1994
makes one loaf

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup molasses, dark is best

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, beaten

3 ripe bananas (or 2 large), mashed

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup chopped pitted dates

1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Beat butter, molasses and sugar together until fluffy. It's OK if it looks curdled.

Add eggs and banana pulp and beat well.

Add sifted dry ingredient's, vanilla, and buttermilk. Mix just until dry ingredients are incorporated. Stir in nuts, dates, and coconut.

Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake about 1 hour. Test for doneness with a toothpick in center. When done, toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs on it. Cool well. Store overnight before cutting...if you can wait that long. A serrated knife makes cutting easier.

In the Mood for Black Beans

It is a rare day when I'm in the mood for black beans as part of Southwest flavored food. It isn't that I don't enjoy chili and burritos and the occasional tamale or taco salad, but most of the time the appeal isn't there. Then, for no apparent reason, a day comes...like today...when I want to make something with southwest flavors.

The casserole that resulted from that rare yen can easily be a vegetarian entree. If you make the sauce with unsweetened soy milk, it can be vegan. Since I'm absolutely not a hot pepper lover, my version has mild green poblano peppers, but you can add as much heat as you like. I used a little cayenne pepper for just a touch of heat, but most people would want more. Other additions that would go well are things like cumin, black olives, hot pepper sauce, etc.

The basic casserole starts with fresh onions, red peppers, and celery, sauteed in some oil or butter. Since this oil blends with the flour that later thickens the sauce, don't leave it out. Olive oil, grapeseed oil, margarine and butter all work. The vegetables are super easy if you have access to a frozen mixture that combines corn, black beans, mild green chilies and red (or red and green) bell peppers. I like using the frozen mix because then I really can make this when the mood strikes. Even better would be fresh corn, freshly cooked black beans, fresh chilies and more fresh bell peppers. In a pinch you could just use the frozen mix and make the sauce without any additional vegetables, but you would lose the crunch of the fresh veggies, as well as some of their flavor.

Since Sweetie is a 'meat and potatoes' kinda guy, I also sauteed two boneless, skinless chicken breasts and then cut them into bite sized pieces, which I mixed in after the frozen mixture was added to the sauce. Since he went back for a second helping, I think he found that pleasing. You could also use turkey, so this might be a good recipe to keep in mind for November 28th!

For a topping I scattered sliced green onions (scallions), including some of the tops, followed by a layer of about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. It all bakes until bubbly and the cheese turns golden brown and crusty.

Served with a mixed green salad, this is a fine cool weather meal.

Southwest Skillet Bake

Serves 4 - 6

1 medium onion, chopped

3 ribs celery, sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cored, chopped

4 tablespoons oil (butter, margarine, olive, grapeseed, vegetable)

4 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Optional: hot pepper sauce, cumin

12 oz evaporated milk (I used non fat) or unsweetened soy milk

14 - 16 oz. mixed frozen vegetables that contains corn, black beans, red bell pepper, and green chilies

OR fresh or canned vegetable equivalent

Optional: hot peppers, sliced black olives

Optional: 1 cup or so cooked chicken or turkey, cut into bite sized pieces

2-3 green onions sliced, including some of the green tops

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a skillet, heat the oil and then saute' the onion, red pepper and celery in it for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To the sauteed vegetables, add the flour and cayenne and black pepper (and cumin if you are adding it). Stir to completely coat the flour with the oil in the vegetables and cook over medium heat on minute, stirring occasionally to cook the flour.

Add the milk or soymilk all at once, stirring constantly. Continue to stir and cook the mixture until it thickens. Remove from heat.

Stir in the mixed vegetables, the pepper and/or black olives if using, the chicken if using. Stir until well mixed, then smooth the top of the mixture.

Sprinkle the green onions evenly over the mixture. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over that.

Bake in preheat oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden brown and mixture is bubbling.

Serve hot.

English Muffins Sort Of

In my ongoing quest for great sourdough recipes I tried taking a regular yeast version of English Muffins and made them with some yeast and some sourdough starter. The results were delicious. They tasted like sourdough English Muffins, and much better than anything we have bought from a store, but I was disappointed with the texture.

Inside they were more like dinner rolls than like the English Muffins that have lots of holes to hold the melted butter.

I also discovered that the directions were not complete. I should have made them much flatter and wider because they puffed up quite a bit and became rather tall, small diameter muffins. The good news is that I have lots of starter and can try again.

I suspect that I'll need to add more liquid, made the discs flatter and wider and maybe even add a little baking soda. When I have a good recipe, I'll post it.

In the meantime, at least you can see some photos of the little darlings.

those are the lumps of dough to be shaped and below are the discs rising before being grilled.

Glad That's Over - Let's Have Comfort Food

No more political ads....or phone calls...or talking heads...and we can still watch Saturday Night Live if we want to.

Fall has truly arrived. With the change away from daylight savings time it now is nicely dark by dinner time. The rains are here at last and Sweetie has the wood stove going to ward off the chill. This kind of seasonal feeling makes me long for slow cooked savory foods like stews and soups. Tonight I made a slow cooked braised chicken dish base loosely on my Mom's recipe for Beef Stroganoff...so I guess I could call it Chicken Stroganoff. Mushrooms, onions and sour cream (non-fat in my case) are the key flavor components. If you use a non-stick skillet and skinless chicken, it is a fairly healthy dish. The nice thing is that you get the bonus of a nice sauce which can be spooned over pasta as a side dish. Add some green veggies or a salad and you are set with a savory dish of comfort food...perfect for a fall evening.

Chicken Stroganoff
based on Beef Stroganoff in Family Food, 1994 - serves 4

1 medium onion, peeled, cut in half, and sliced thinly
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 chicken thighs or chicken breasts or a combination
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 can chicken broth
2 tablespoons brandy
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup sour cream (non-fat is O.K.)

Saute the onions and mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Set aside. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel.

Saute the chicken in the other tablespoon of the olive oil. Set aside.

Add the butter and let melt. Add the flour, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce, stir and cook over medium heat for a minute. Add the chicken broth and whisk to combine. Add the brandy, stir and let the sauce cook over medium heat until thickened.

Add the onion-mushroom mixture to the sauce. Stir to combine. Top with the chicken, flip the chicken pieces to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with the thyme. Cover and cook over low heat for 1 hour (1/2 hour if using chicken breasts). Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream, stirring to combine with the sauce.

Serve the chicken with some sauce poured over the top of each portion. The rest of the sauce goes well with rice or pasta/noodles.

GO VOTE (if you live in USA) then have some Sourdough Herb Bread

If you are registered to vote in the U.S.A., do vote...you'll kick yourself later if you miss out on participating in this historic presidential election. I'm not going to suggest how you cast your ballot, just DO IT!

The great thing about having a sourdough starter in the fridge is that it inspires you to bake bread.

One day after a long meeting last week I stopped in at Willie Bird Turkey outlet mid-afternoon and who should I meet but Grandma L! She had gotten off work early and was very tired from catering a wedding over the weekend for 60 people. I immediately invited her for dinner and soon, while driving home, figured out that I had just enough time to bake a loaf of bread. She loves bread and so does Sweetie. He even has leftovers toasted the next morning for breakfast (with quince jam, a flavor combination that didn't sound so great to me, but he loved it.)

A nice loaf of her bread seemed just right It's perfect for a chilly night and we are finally getting true Fall weather. It would go well with baked chicken with onions and a nice salad.

This bread was based on the recipe for Fresh Herb Twist in Local Breads by Daniel Leader. I used it mostly for amount of herbs and for proportions because I didn't make a twist and, since my starter had already fermented and I had limited time, I only did one rise, having shaped the bread right after kneading it.

The fragrances of fresh bread and savory herbs, plus Italian cheeses was outstanding. We had a hard time letting the bread cool enough before we sliced it. The sourdough flavor was mild, probably due to the single rise and the fact that the sourdough starter was still a bit cool when I mixed everything together. The crust was not too thick, but was crisp and delightful. Grandma L was thrilled to pieces. Sweetie had to stop himself at three slices, so I know he enjoyed it, too.

Herbed Sourdough Bread

makes one loaf

1 cup sourdough starter at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast (I used RapidRise)

1/4 cup tepid water

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano, thyme, and crumbled dried rosemary

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

about 3 cups all-purpose flour

Put the sourdough starter in a large mixing bowl. If using a stand mixer, attach the paddle.

In a small bowl, combine the yeast and the tepid water and sugar. Stir. Let sit for 5 minutes to make sure yeast is active. Active yeast will smell very yeasty and clumps of bubbly yeast will rise to the surface of the water.

After it has proofed, add the yeast mixture to the bowl containing the sourdough starter. Mix in the herbs, olive oil and salt. Add a cup of the flour and mix until combined.

Switch to the dough hook (or continue mixing with a wooden spoon), adding flour a 1/2 cup at a time and mixing until incorporated. If using a stand mixer, keep adding flour until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. Continue to knead using the dough hook another 6 - 8 minutes until dough is satiny. If stirring by hand, stir flour into dough until it is too hard to stir, then turn dough out onto a well-floured board or clean, well-floured counter and knead the rest of the flour into the dough. Amount of flour will vary. Keep kneading until dough is satiny and supple.

Once you have finished kneading dough, press down on it to shape into a rectangle about 8 by 12 inches. (Optional: sprinkle dough with about 3/4 cup of mixed Italian shredded cheeses).

Roll up dough along the long side, fold the ends under, pinch to seal, and put into a greased loaf pan.

Cover with a damp kitchen tea towel and put in a warm place to rise.

When risen to double in bulk, place in preheated 400 degree F oven to bake for about 20 - 25 minutes. Finished loaf is golden and sounds hollow when bottom is tapped. Let cool on rack until barely warm. Slice and serve. Enjoy the aromas of herbs and fresh bread.

Remembering Ray

I was going to blog about sourdough herb bread, but that will have to wait until next month. Yeah, like tomorrow or the next day. :)

Today, being Halloween, otherwise know as All Hallows Eve, seems like the right time to talk about someone who has died recently. When someone dies it is difficult for the family and close friends, both because they miss the departed, but also because there really isn't much you can do to comfort those closest to them. You can send flowers and cards, call and give hugs, but nothing lightens the grief for long. That is not a bad thing, really. Grief is one way we honor the dead. How sad if you depart this world and no one grieves for you.

Ray G led a long and full life. He and his wife, my dear friend and sister-of-the-heart W, had over 60 years together and were blessed with children, grand children, and great grand children. None of that helps right now. Ray was the sweetest guy...loving, generous, with a great sense of humor, gentle, quiet, intelligent. He will be greatly missed.

One of the things that we can do is to bring food...always appealing to a food blogger. For the gathering at their home after the funeral we've been asked to bring finger foods. I'm making two cookie recipes from the cookbook I created after my Dad died...making the cookbook was my way of grieving for Dad. It's called Family Food and has lots of the recipes from my childhood. The first cookies, Saucepan Fruit Bars, is really easy, makes a lot and is a wonderful, buttery, lightly spiced bar cookies with dried currants and raisins. There is a yummy lemon glaze on top. They work well for receptions because they can be cut in little squares or bars, they don't crumble, but are moist and very tasty. The recipe is from my Mom, Nancy.

The second recipe is for rolled sugar cookies which have just a hint of nutmeg. The recipe is from Mrs. Johnston, a good friend of my Mom and Dad's. They can be cut with any cookie cutter shape and iced or sprinkled with colored sugar, or even left plain. This would be a great recipe for Christmas cookies because the cookies are the perfect canvas for decorations.

I used a heart cutter and a star shape. I iced the hearts with a lemon juice, confectioners sugar glaze & sprinkled them with colored sprinkles. It was fun seeing the random way the colors landed on the glaze. For the stars, I mixed some unsweetened cocoa into the lemon glaze...I love chocolate and lemon together...then sprinkled chocolate sprinkles over the iced stars. Usually I don't enjoy cutting out cookies and decorating them, but today it was rainy and it was a fun project. Hope the folks coming to honor Ray tomorrow will enjoy them.

Saucepan Fruit Bars
Possibly also called Dundee Cookies

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs (or use egg substitute)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups sifted all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon EACH cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup currants

1 cup raisins

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add sugar and the eggs, beaten, stir well to blend.
3) Add sifted dry ingredients and buttermilk. Mix well.
4) Stir in fruit. Mix well.
5) Spread in greased pan 15” x 10” x 1 “
6) Bake about 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Brush with glaze of a mixture of 1 cup confectioners sugar, 4 teaspoons lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon lemon rind.
7) Cool in pan. Cut into 2” x 1” bars. Makes about 45.



Rolled Sugar Cookies
Cut out sugar cookies, a recipe from I. Johnston

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and egg and mix well.
In another bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and nutmeg. Add that mixture to the butter mixture and mix to blend thoroughly. If dough is too sticky to roll, chill until firm enough to roll.
Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 400 degrees until lightly browned, about 7-8 minutes. After cookies have cooled, can be frosted & decorated as desired

When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie...

The scarecrow, comfortable in the waning veggie garden on a farm in the Land of St. Honore’, looked in the kitchen window and wondered.

He had noticed the recipe a few weeks ago, all spread out on the counter. He has seen her face light up with excitement and it looked like she was thinking hard…maybe about making the recipe.

Last night as the full harvest moon rose over the far hills, he saw the light on in the kitchen, flour clouds in the air, and on the counter what looked like dough. After a while he had seen her take the dough out of the bowl, divide it in pieces, shape the pieces in balls, dip the balls in oil, then put them into plastic bags. What on earth was she doing?

Tonight she took the pieces and then floured her hands. She held one of the pieced by an edge and moved around the edge, shaping a sort of flat circle. Then she put the circle on her hand, moved her hand and the dough slid off onto the floor. What crazy thing was she up to?

After that she took another ball and did the edge thing, then laid it out on a board and pushed and pulled until it was a large circle. Very curious!

Next she spread some yucky looking red stuff over most of the circle, added thin slices of something red, sprinkled on a whole bunch of some shredded white stuff & shoved the whole thing in the oven.

Too bad the window was open. He smelled what came out of the oven…it was hot, freshly made pizza! The crust was golden and Sweetie quickly sliced it up and put it on plates. Soon they both were enjoying the pizza. The black dog came flying out of the dog door. He had some pizza crust and was enjoying it, too. The scarecrow was envious…no pizza for him.

He hopes that you will visit the Daring Bakers all over the blogosphere to see all the variations of pizza that can be imagined. Just go to the Daring Bakers Blogroll here. Thanks go to Rosa of Rosa’s Yummy Yums at http://www.rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com/ for this great recipe and for a second month of savory Daring Baker joy!


BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.
The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).
NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.
NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.
NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil (a few tablespoons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO
8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).
NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan or pizza peel with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.
During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.

In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.

You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan or pizza peel, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.
NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.
NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.
If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

The basic recipe from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread”, by Peter Reinhart can be found above, but once you have visited some Daring Baker blogs, you will probably be inspired to go way beyond the basic pizza I made. My sauce was a tomato based sauce with Italian sausage bits. My toppings were coppa slices, sliced tomatoes, and shredded Italian cheese mix.

Sourdough - Woot!

One hot, hot morning a few summers ago in Seattle, after spending the night in my daughter's temporary corporate housing apartment directly under the living room fan...on couch cushions no less, I rose at dawn to go outside for, hopefully, cooler air. Since Seattle is supposed to never have heat waves, no one seems to install air conditioning. Too bad for us because it really was a heat wave, so even making coffee seemed unreasonable in that sweltering apartment.

I walked down toward Pike Market and was delighted when I came across Macrina Bakery. Coffee? They had wonderful coffee. Something to go with the coffee? The choices at Macrina early in the morning are daunting. I chose a couple of breakfast sweets and a sourdough roll. Christmas before last we were back in Seattle and, in Elliots Bookstore, I found Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook.

Now I could make some of their goodies for myself at home.

One of the things that caught my eye right away was their recipe for Sourdough Starter made with organic grapes. What an intriguing idea! It was too late that year for my own grapes, and last year I was in the throes of a brand new job, so this year I finally tried out the recipe! One of the differences between regular bread made with commercial yeast and artisan bread is the use of starters, sponges, and bigas which help develop more complex flavors in the bread. The version I'm making is the simplest, using only unbleached white bread flour. For the loaves I added a little whole wheat flour, too, for flavor.

After two weeks of faithfully feeding my sourdough starter, made with my own grapes, last night I started some bread and today I baked it and we ate it. Exciting!

Since the yeast in the sourdough was provided from the skins of the grapes growing near the mailbox, plus whatever is lurking in the air, I wasn't sure how it would taste or if it would rise. This is the first time I've tried to make sourdough, so I was a bit nervous about my levain (starter)...would it really taste a nice sour or a bad sour flavor...had the fluctuations in temperature at the beginning killed the yeast? I really wanted it to have a sour flavor, a good crumb, and a nice crust.

After mixing and kneading the dough, oiling it lightly, and setting it in a large mixing bowl with a light, loose wrapping of plastic wrap on top, I let it sit overnight over the fridge to rise.

This morning I saw that the recipe on OrganicToBe.org that I was using (with no added yeast) wasn't going to do the trick, so I plopped the dough back in the KitchenAid mixer, attached the dough hook, and in another bowl proofed 1/2 teaspoon of yeast in 1/2 cup water. Once the yeast got fuzzy looking, I whisked in another cup of bread flour, then added that to the dough in the mixer. After a bit I decided that the dough still needed some flour, so, bit by bit, I added about a tablespoon at a time. I think I added about another 1/3 to 1/2 cup.

Eventually it was time for more kneading, oiling the dough again, back into the bowl, plastic wrap over again, then the rise.

This time, after about 4 hours, it had risen to double in bulk, so I punched it down, formed round loaves and set them on oiled parchment paper on a a baking sheet. A damp tea towel went over both loaves, then more rising time...about another 4 hours. At that point the dough had spread more than it had risen, but I really wanted to bake 'em and see what happened. I followed the directions in the OrganicToBe.org recipe (below) for baking.

It took longer...closer to an hour 15 minutes than 35 minutes...but they baked up with a nice crust, a firm but moist crumb and....tah dah!...a nice sour flavor. The first loaf was almost finished off at dinner...and there were only three of us. Yummy!

Next time I plan to knead it longer by hand, to shape the dough for a bread pan instead of the round boule, and mist the top with water for a different crust. I loved the flavor and texture and look forward to a long, happy relationship with my levain. Let's see, sourdough pancakes, sourdough muffins, sourdough baguette, sourdough bread with apricots and pecans.....

Natural Sour Starter
Makes about 13 oz. of starter
For the Starter:
6 ounces organic grapes
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups filtered water, at room temperature

For the Feeding Formula
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup filtered water, at room temperature

It takes about two weeks to create a starter, but the time involved each day is fairly short. The starter you end up with can be used to bake with for years if you take care of it. Once the two weeks are up, you only feed your starter once a week.

Creating the Starter
• Day One: Place the grapes in the center of a 10-inch square of cheesecloth. Gather up the sides of the cloth and tie with string, creating a sachet.

Leave a tail of string at least 10 inches long. Whisk flour and water together in a medium bowl until all lumps are fully dissolved and the consistency is like pancake batter. Using your hands, crush the sachet of grapes and lower it into the starter. Tape end of string to outside of bowl so that it doesn’t fall into the mixture. Set the bowl, uncovered, in a warm room, about 70 degrees F., and let sit for 2 days.
(Elle’s note: I had trouble finding a warm room. Even over my fridge, the warmest place in my home, was only warm now and then. We have a solar home & no central heating, so the temp varies by 20 – 30 degrees most days/nights. Eventually I put the starter in the microwave because the temperature stays pretty stable there, if not exactly warm.)
• Day Three: Small bubbles will appear on the starter’s surface. Remove and discard the sachet of grapes. Now the starter is ready for its first feeding.

• FEEDING THE STARTER
• Note: you will need to make a new batch of feeding formula every time you feed the starter. Combine flour and water (amounts listed above) in a medium bowl and whisk until flour is dissolved. Stir this initial batch of feeding formula into the starter and let sit in a warm room for 1 more day, uncovered.
• Day Four: Stir the starter with a whisk and discard half of the mixture. Stir in a batch of feeding formula and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Then place the starter, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 1 day (Starters need oxygen, which is why they are usually left uncovered.) Store the starter on one of the refrigerator’s highest shelves to keep objects from falling into it.
(Elle’s note: I found that my dog Xam loved to eat the discarded starter, which made me feel better about discarding it.)
• Day Five through Fifteen: Remove the starter from the refrigerator, stir it with a whisk, and again discard half of the mixture. Stir in another batch of feeding formula, let the starter sit at room temperature for 2 hours, then return it to the refrigerator. Repeat this process for 10 more days, feeding the starter at about the same time each day. Be sure to let the starter sit out for 2 hours after each feed before returning it to the refrigerator. After these 10 days the starter will be ready for baking and will require less attention.
(Elle’s note: I found that feeding the starter right after dinner and then putting it into the refrigerator two hours later before I went to bed worked really well. Since we had just finished washing up from dinner, it didn’t seem too hard to wash up the mixing bowl, whisk and measuring cups that were used each time the starter was fed.)

Starter - how it looked after 15 days

MAINTAINING a Natural Sour Starter

Once your starter has a life of it’s own and has become sour through the 15 day process given above, it is much easier to maintain than to create. Choose a day of the week that works best for you because you will feed the starter that day each week. The process is just like described in day 5 through 15:
Once a week remove the starter from the fridge and stir it with a whisk. If there is a crust, just remove it with a spoon before whisking. Discard half the starter, stir in a batch of feeding formula and let starter sit at room temperature for 2 hours, then return it to the fridge. Note: Never use up more than half of your starter.

Even with weekly feedings, the starter will lose some of it’s leavening power over time. Before you use the starter in recipes it will require a jump-start:
Remove the starter from the fridge 24 hours before you plan to use it to bake. Stir it with a whisk, discard half the volume, and add a batch of feeding formula. Keep the starter at room temperature and feed it again 12 hours later. Let the starter sit at room temperature for another 8 to 12 hours before baking with it. Measure off as much starter as your recipe calls for, then feed the remainder one more time. Let the starter sit at room temperature for 2 hours, then return it to the fridge.

Starters that are fed daily don’t need an extra feeding before being mixed into dough.

• It’s always best to use starter 8 – 12 hours after their most recent feeding.
• Starters should be at room temperature when they are used.
• Always feed the remaining starter when you remove starter to bake with.
• Never use up more than half of your starter.

Now you get to use your starter to bake something! I chose to bake a simple bread:

Sourdough Bread
From OrganicToBe.org blog

The tradition of sourdough bread on the West Coast began with the forty-niners , the wave of prospectors who came west in search of gold in 1849, and it continued into Alaska when gold was discovered there a few years later. But the tradition really blossomed in the late twentieth century, when the artisanal bread-baking movement took root. Places like La Brea Breads in Los Angeles, Acme Baking Company in Berkeley, and Grand Central Bakery in Seattle introduced Americans to traditional breads based on natural levain, or wild starters.

Makes 2 loaves, 1 1/2 pounds each

1 cup sourdough starter - this is how it looked going into the dough bowl:


1 1/2 cup lukewarm (70°F) water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4 1/2 cups organic unbleached white flour (I substituted 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup unbleached white flour)

Put the starter, water, and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to make a smooth batter. Using a paddle attachment for the mixer or a wooden spoon, stir in the salt and 3 cups of the unbleached flour, 1 cup at a time, to make a very soft dough. Use a dough hook or the wooden spoon to add the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour and mix or knead the dough until it is very smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

2. Lightly coat a 4-quart mixing bowl with oil and transfer the dough to the oiled bowl. Turn the dough over once so that the top of the dough is lightly coated with oil. Cover the mixing bowl with a very loosely applied layer of plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature, lightly covered, until it has doubled in bulk, at least 8 hours, and preferably overnight.

3. Press the air out of the risen dough and gently knead it until it is springy again. The dough will have a smooth, flexible “skin.” Divide the dough in half and, working with one half at a time, shape the dough into 2 balls, tucking the cut edges of the dough into the center of the balls and stretching the “skin” over the surface of the dough balls without tearing it.

4. Put the balls of dough on a baking sheet lined with a silicone pan liner or baker’s parchment. Loosely cover the loaves with plastic wrap and let them rise until they are doubled in size, about 4 hours.

5. Put a baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven and put a second rack one position above it. Pour a 1/2-inch layer of water into the baking sheet on the bottom shelf. Preheat the oven to 450°F, and if there is a convection option, use it. Just before putting the loaves in the oven, use a box cutter or a very sharp knife to cut shallow slashes in a cross over the surface of the loaves, about 1/8 inch deep.

Bake the loaves until they are well browned and sound hollow when tapped; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a loaf will register 200°F, about 35 minutes. Transfer the baked loaves to a cooling rack and let them cool to room temperature before slicing.

Don't forget to feed your starter once you have removed the starter for the recipe!