Homemade Sourdough Bread:

Well this lady requested some sourdough starter. Approximately a year before that another I had worked with had given me a recipe for sourdough starter and bread/rolls, so I decided to search for it to help this lady out.

Upon tearing into every crevice of my house, I concluded that it had been hidden by our local 'ghost'. We jokingly kid around here that anytime something gets 'lost' and cannot be found not matter how much you looks for it, it has been hidden by 'the ghost'; just a family joke.

Anyways, since I had not found this recipe, I was determined to still help this lady so I went on the internet and searched for sourdough bread and sourdough starter. Low and behold it was all over the internet; but one in particular caught my interest. Of course, if you know me, like my family and friends do, you would know that I NEVER leave a recipe the way I got it. I always have to tweak it and turn it into my own creation. I really dislike using measuring spoons or cups unless absolutely necessary and ALWAYS believe that all recipes are meant to be changed in one form or another.

So, in my own version of changing things, this is how I make our sourdough bread, from 'starter' to finish:

You have to start with what is called a 'starter'. The starter I started with is one cup of warm water and one cup of flour. I used self rising flour, which is not necessary, but for me, it seemed to form the 'starter' much faster than using bread flour. If you do use bread flour, expect your starter to take a few days longer than if you do use self rising flour, to 'sour up'.

I let my flour mixture to sour for two or three days, in a bowl, uncovered. I mix it up a few times a day. That is not necessary for you to do, but I felt it kept it from forming a hardened 'top' on it as it was becoming sour. After two or three days, once your 'starter' is now bubbly and bubbling. It is really very neat to see how it starts to create something, a yeasty formation, out of nothing but water and flour.

Now we're getting into the fun part! The very FIRST starter I made, I poured half of it out and then put in another cup of warm water and another cup of flour into it, self-rising. Now some places on the 'net' say add yeast, while others say to be 'true' sourdough to 'not' add yeast. I preferred to add a 'pinch' and by pinch I mean just that; an itsy bitsy, little, tiny pinch of yeast to that mixture. I put that mixture into the refrigerator and let it set in there for a few days. Some recipes suggest for the mixture to stay in the fridge for a week, some for a few days and some for much longer. As I mentioned before, I like 'tweaking' my recipes as I go along and so I did.

Another suggestion I have read is for one cup of flour and one cup of warm flour to be added to your starter every week to 'feed' your starter to help it continually grow. Your starter will 'separate' as it sets in your fridge. There will be some 'liquid' that comes to the surface that may end up smelling a little like an 'alcohol', beer even; a yeasty beer smell, but don't fret or worry too much, all is not lost and it is actually okay. You can either pour off this liquid OR you can mix it back in. It won't hurt your mixture at all and in fact it might even add a more 'sourdough' flavor to your bread if that is how you like it. You can experiment and try it one way and then the other and see how you like it and go from there.

I personally started adding the flour and water mixture to my starter within a day or two of beginning it, being overly excited and anxious about getting on with this new experiment of mine. So that is what I did. About two or three days after having started my starter, I added a cup of flour and a cup of warm water. Two days later I did it again and it seemed to be progressing nicely. Now I was getting ready to start making some sourdough bread/rolls.

What I had read said that most recipes called for two cups of starter per recipe, so that is what I did. I took out two cups of starter out to 'sponge'. To sponge, you need to leave your starter out sitting anywhere from a few hours to overnight and it will get real bubbly and yeasty smelling. Oh yeah, now we are cooking!!

After letting my starter set for overnight, to be extra sure it was ready, I was ready to make me some sourdough rolls! The recipe called for a couple teaspoons of salt and a couple tablespoons of sugar a couple of tablespoons of oil or soft butter and 3 cups of unbleached flour per 2 cup starter mix.

Well personally, I think the couple of teaspoons of salt are too much...the first batch made like that seemed 'too salty', so I pared that down to a pinch or two in my palm. The sugar was fine as long as you stick to no more than 3 tablespoons per 2 cups or so. Anymore than that and you are making a 'sweet' sourdough and that sort of defeats the purpose of it being sourdough bread now doesn't it?

The oil, I just use any old oil, nothing in particular. I reckon you could used different flavored oils and have your sourdough have additional flavors to it if you are as experimental as I am and have different tastes. Hey, I say go for it! I personally like to use at least 3 tablespoons of oil per two cups of starter. Seems to make it moister and have it raised more, or so it seems.

Lastly, I do NOT use 3 cups of flour. I may use 2 cups of flour in the mixture and use the third cup to rolls the rolls and dough in but not to actually work into the bread. To me, personally, it seemed like the bread was too dense and didn't rise as much when I used more flour. Also, I only use bread flour, unbleached, for this part. Seems to make the best bread, although this last batch I used self rising with it and I could not tell much of a difference in my bread texture or raising, than without it, so do what you got to do with what you got. It is all an experiment and a fun one at that so go for it!

Once you have rolled out your dough and cut your biscuits, you must let them rise for at least 2 to 4 hours till doubled or close to it. When it is getting close to time for you to start cooking them, turn the oven on approximately 325 and have your biscuits sitting on the stove so they have an extra added 'boost' to raise. When it is their time to cook they should take approximately 10 to 20 minutes to cook. If you like your biscuits somewhat 'doughy' then I would only cook them for approximately 12-15 minutes and then turn on the broiler and get them ever so lightly brown on top. If you like them like we do, done but not over done, you would cook them approximately 15 to 20 minutes, making sure they get lightly browned, ever so lightly. There you have it, sourdough biscuits, yum!

Now, on another note; anytime I take out two cups of starter out of the starter I have in my fridge, I replace it with one cup of water and one cup of flour (self-rising). Sometimes, two each if I am trying to get my batch built up so I can take more out of it, if I know I will be leaving it in the fridge for a week or more, give or take.

I have noticed that for us, our family of four plus (and usually others are here for supper more often than not), that only using two cups of starter is no where enough for us. I usually have to take out 4 cups of starter. For us that makes approximately 16 to 20 biscuits. If you want more or less, just adjust the starter you start out with accordingly.

Once a week or so, I make a new starter batch that will sit out for a few days to add to my starter in the fridge. I feel it gives my starter and added 'oomph' that it might not otherwise get, or maybe so, if I didn't make the rolls so often, which is at least 2 to 3 times a week. Also on a last note; I DO use a 'pinch', a tiny, tiny, 'pinch' of yeast, every time I add to my starter AND when I sit my starter out to start my 'sponge'. Some agree, some don't, but for me, it has been a raging success and I always being told to make more, so I guess for us, it works. Do what works for you. Test drive out the recipe, tweak it to be 'yours' and ENJOY!!