From Sourdough Starter to Bread:

SOURDOUGH BREAD

Today’s posting is part of Real Food Wednesdays.

Hosted today by Ann Marie @ Cheeseslave.com. Please take time afterwards to go over to Cheeseslave and read more of the blog carnival participants postings.

@ Last Wednesdays Real Food I shared my adventure in Wild Yeast Sourdough Starter @ Kelly the Kitchen Kop. If you never saw last weeks Real Food Wednesday go to Kelly the Kitchen Kop - head on over  to read the many other great postings shared in the blog carnival that week if you haven’t already seen them.

BEAR with me - this is going to be a long posting.

Last Wednesday I began withmy Wild Yeast Sourdough Starter – how I began last spring, then to where I was that day in my venture to create a viable strong starter. The recipe I used is HERE. Today I will talk about the days following as the starter brewed right on up to Monday’s bread baking day success.

The Wild Yeast Sourdough Starter I followed using pineapple juice as the inoculant was a huge success. If your looking for a reliable starter this is the one to make. The recipe starts out with using Rye and Whole Wheat Flours. On Day 4 you are free to use which ever type of flour you like to continue. I chose to continue on with Organic Whole Wheat. Each day as I followed the recipe the starter continued to bubble. Day six is when the recipe suggests that if there is no action to add apple cider vinegar. My starter was bubbling fine but I thought it could be better, so chose to use the cider vinegar. I do not buy the standard vinegars at your local grocery store – Heinz / or store brands. I buy my vinegar at our local health food store or at a Dutch Bakery we shop at once or twice a year in Missouri.

Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar - main site. The qualities of Bragg’s Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar are found on their site.

Because I wanted to end up with more than the end result of a smaller batch of starter I started doubling up on the ingredients. When I make bread I prefer to make a lot of loaves at once over just one or two at at time.

I proceeded with the recipe as follows: Please read the original recipe first before starting…either follow it as it is written or if you want to end up with a larger quantity of starter you can follow what I did.

1. Day 1 – 2 T. organic rye flour / 2 T. organic whole wheat flour / 4 T. pineapple juice ( be sure there is no sugar in the juice ). Put this in a clean glass jar or bowl / cover with washed double thickness of cheese cloth. Set aside in a warm area for 24 hours.
2. Day 2 – to above mix add the same amounts of flours / juice / cover and let sit for another 24 hours.
3. Day 3 – repeat day 2 exactly the same.
4. Day 4 – Instead of removing / discarding as the original recipe says to do; I transferred the full amount into a larger 1 gallon wide mouth glass container. I had a total of 1 cup of starter so far. At this point it is when you switch over to which ever flour you so choose and you stop using the pineapple juice. Like I said I chose to make a 100% organic whole wheat starter. So to this 1 cup of starter I added – 1 cup of organic whole wheat flour / 1 cup of water ( I use our clean pure deep well water ). Stir this in with either a wooden spoon or a stainless wire whip. Cover again and set aside for another 24 hours. The style of glass container I bought for keeping my starter in is a cookie jar clear glass style. It has a glass cover for when I keep it in the refrigerator. I found one at Wal mart of under $7.00. Though a gallon size glass jar like what pickles come in works fine.
5. Day 5 – I continued to keep to keep the full amount of starter ( no removal or discard yet ). Total amount of starter at this point was a over 2 cups. At this point I added – 2 cups organic whole wheat flour / 2 cups of well water. Stir in well, cover again and set aside for another 24 hours.
6. Day 6 – Bubbling action up to this point was good. Though I thought it could be better. So I followed the recipes advice to add apple cider vinegar to it to wake up the starter. To my total amount of starter I added into the jar 4 cups of organic whole wheat flour / 4 cups of well water / and 1 tsp. of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar. You continue to add the vinegar with the daily feedings. You can read about the why’s of the vinegar to balance the pH balance at the starter recipe site mentioned above. Stir together once again / cover and set aside for another 24 hours.
7. Day 7 – Day 7 showed the bubbling action I was wanting to see. The scent of the starter really woke up -what you would call hooch, a liquid produced during the making of sourdough starter. Day 7 was this past Sunday …….I got to the removal / discard point mid afternoon. Since the starter was smelling so good and action was going to town I removed 4 cups worth of starter and set aside for making my first loaves of sourdough bread. To the remaining starter in the jar I replenished it with 4 cups organic whole wheat flour / 4 cups well water / 1 tsp. Bragg’s apple cider vinegar. At this point I covered the jar with cheese cloth and let it sit out for a few more hours, then stirred it down, then put the glass cover on and put it in the back of the refrigerator. You can keep the starter out indefintely in a warm spot doing the daily feedings with removing / then replacing with equal amounts back in. In the refrigerator it slows the fermentation. When your ready to make more bread you just remove the amount you need for the recipe you are to make. Replenish the supply – cover with cheese cloth / set aside in warm spot of another 24 hours to wake the starter then put back into the refrigerator ( the main recipe does not mention this but it is what I remember doing years ago when I made sourdoughs ).

Sourdough starters can be used for more than just breads. Muffins, pancakes to name a few are just some of the many other ways you can put it to use.

With the 4 cups of starter I set aside I to turned to one of the bread recipes I have used over the years to convert it into a 100% sourdough bread with out the added use of commercial yeast to boost it as so many over the years have called for. If you have a vigorous starter there should never have to be that need. This starter proved it’s self well.

I’ll share my Sourdough version of the recipe I have made so many times over the years in it’s original form following the photos.

Mixing and Kneading

Shaping and raising the Dough

The Finished Loaves

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Mountain Mama Whole Wheat Bread

4 Loaves / Preheat oven – 350 degrees

From Bread Winners – recipe from Susan Gosar

[ the original recipe calls for water and nonfat dry milk of which I did not use ]

You need to start this recipe the day before in late afternoon or early evening.

• 4 cups starter / 6 cups warmed milk – Raw / 8 cups organic whole wheat flour. In a large bowl stir together all 3 ingredients. Cover with a towel and set aside in warm spot and let the sponge sit for 14 – 16 hours. I actually let it go for almost 20 hours and it was just fine.
• The next day………. Add: 2 1/2 T. salt (I use Redmond’s Real Salt) / 1/2 cup honey – Raw / 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil / stir in well.
• Now add: 8 – 11 cups organic whole wheat flour. Start with 8 and letting the dough rest for about 10 minutes covered. This allows for the flour to absorb the moisture. Then add 1 cup or less more at a time until the dough is at a nice soft pliable texture. Don’t add to much or you’ll get a dry heavy dough.
• KNEAD the dough for at least 15 minutes by hand. The longer you knead it the better textured bread you will have. A technique I learned years ago in kneading is to take the ball of dough your kneading and throwing hard on to the table / counter surface over and over turning it as you go. This really improves the texture.
• Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then divide the dough into 4 pieces. Take each piece and knead and shape into a round loaf for the first rising. I placed each into a round bowl that was oiled. Lightly oil the top of the dough. Cover with a towel and let raise till double about 1 1/2 – 2 hours long.
• 2nd Rising………punch down / knead and shape once more. Cover and let rise again – it will rise a bit faster this time.
• 3rd Rising……. punch down once again / knead and shape / place the rounded loaves onto a large cookie sheet that has been greased cover and let rise till light and puffy. You can shape your loaves into standard bread pans, also.
• Bake @ 350 degrees for around 40 minutes. It could be less time or more all dependent upon your own oven settings. Test to see if the bread is done by tapping the bottom of the loaves for that hollow sound. ENJOY!

Over all I am very pleased with the outcome of the bread. It needs a little bit of tweeking to make sure the loaves come out more light. This first batch is just a wee bit on the dense side, but very usuable and tastes wonderful.

The flavor is definitely Sourdough. A nice Tangy taste. The starter raised beautifully. I couldn’t have been more pleased.

Be sure to check out:

SOURDOUGH HOME under tips & techniques

Sourdough home has the converter for making your yeast breads into 100% Sourdough.

and the

FRESH LOAF

has lot’s of bread recipes and forums on breads

I mentioned in last Wednesday’s Real Food Wednesdays posting the article over at Cheeseslave ” The Top 10 Reasons to eat Sourdough Bread”. I suggest reading this article once again if you have not done so already. It’s the posting that spurred me to get back into sourdough. One observation I have already noticed about eating Sourdough Bread that is made from a good strong viable starter is that the bread is very digestible and gives none of the after effects I find breads can give whether made from 100% whole grains or bread from adulterated flours. I am also now convinced that commercial yeasts cause a lot of the digestive problems many have with breads causing gas & bloating type of upsets. Making Sourdough starter then using it making your breads, pancakes, muffins, etc.. not only will give you a tastey end product to eat, [ and I quote here Sally Fallon from "Nourishing Traditions" - " it allows the enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralize phytic acid. Phytic acid is an organic acid in which phosphorus is bound in the outer layer or bran in grains. When phytic acid is not treated it can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption - leading to the possibilities of serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss. "] All this can lead to many different digestive issues when your body is being robbed of nutrients it needs, that could be prevented and / or healed through fermentation of the foods we eat in various forms…lacto fermenting, soaking, sourdough, kombucha, kefir and so on…so many ways to improve the way we eat.

My recent oberservations on eating Sourdough breads are……..

• Because I had no time to get any bread made before our son got home for a visit I stopped at Wheat Fields Bakery and Restaurant. They make breads that are fermented and baked in a fired hearth. Acutally this was my very first time I’d been in this very popular bakery since they opened many years ago. I bought their 100% Whole Wheat. Not knowing for sure if it was truely sourdough bread, I had my doubts as to whether there was no yeast added. Eating some proved it was definitely 100% Sourdough.
• Then eating some of my finished Mountain Mama Bread……..which of course was 100% Sourdough no commercial yeast.

Here is what I found………….

Whenever I have eaten breads or anything else whether they be homemade / storebought, made from 1 grain or multi grained / white flour whether it be all purpose, unbleached or bread flour….the effects usually are that tired feeling from the carbohydrate over load. Often that tired feeling was such that I felt like I could not function, my energy zapped. And occassionally some stomach discomfort. I know of friends that get a lot of stomach distress or just plain avoid bread with just an occasional slice now and then. And, the older you get the more these issues become pronounced.

Eating some of the bread from Wheatfields a couple days back and then having some of my homemade Sourdough bread Monday evening – I had absolutely no side effects whatsoever. To eat bread with no side effects is a real plus in that you will not be putting any distress on your digestive trac. When your digestive trac is put under constant stress from eating wrong foods over and over – the effects can take their toll on your health.

What an easy way to enjoy bread and get the full health benefits from it.

I’m a convert……no more standard bread recipes with commercial yeast for me. Sourdough from now on. It’s time to expand the use of my new starter with pancakes and much more. French Bread is next on the list. I have a Sourdough French bread that had yeast booster added I made years ago that turned out well – I’ll convert it to 100% Sourdough.

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I’m still working on the Gluten Free Sourdough Starter so I have nothing to report on that yet.

Seeds of the Word:

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Philippians 2: 3-5

“For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29: 11-13