Sourdough Crackers

These were easy to make and had an amazing taste.

Here is the recipe for you.

Sourdough Crackers (from I'm Naturally Simple)

1 Cup Sourdough Starter
1 Cup(ish) Flour
1/4 Cup Melted Butter (I substituted coconut oil the second time I made these and it worked beautifully)
Salt and/or Spices of your choice
... Melted Butter or Olive Oil (your choice, I used olive oil)

Combine flour, starter, and butter. Add enough flour to form a stiff ball. Cover and let sit aside for at least 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes has passed roll dough out very thin. Baste with melted butter or olive oil, sprinkle with salt and/or spices to taste. Cut dough length wise then cross wise to create cracker shapes. Transfer to baking sheet. Prick the top of each cracker with a fork.

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes has passed begin checking your crackers. Depending on how thin you rolled them will depend on how quickly they cook. My batches average 14 minutes. You want the cracker to be crisp and lightly browned. These burn quickly so pay close attention.

Remove from oven and let cool. Leave them on the cookie sheet as they continue to crisp as they cool. Cool completely before transferring to storage container.

Enjoy!

Don't forget to try these with our South African (whole wheat culture) or our Polish or New Zealand (rye culture). 

Please share with us your twist on this recipe!

One of our employees, Margie, tried out our sourdough to make cinnamon rolls.  They looked fantastic.  We are now trying to convince her that she needs to have a taste sampling of them at work.  Don't you think that is a great idea?  Here is the recipe that she used. 
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls (printed from cooks.com)
1/2 cup starter
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups flour
1/4 cup butter
3 tbsp. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour (approx.)
1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped nuts
Melted butter
Combine starter, milk and flour (2 cups) in a large bowl.  Cover and leave at room temperature overnight.  Next morning, beat together the butter, sugar and egg.  Blend into sourdough.  Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, soda and baking powder and mix with other mixture.  Turn out on floured surface and knead until shiny.  Add flour as needed.
Roll out to an 8 x 16 inch rectangle.  Brush surface with melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and nuts.  Roll up dough, cut roll at intervals, dip in butter and place in 9 inch square pan.  Let rise about 1 hour and bake at 375° for 30 to 35 minutes.
Icing: 
1/2 stick butter melted
3 tbsp. evaporated milk
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Her family went nuts for these cinnamon rolls.  Even the sourdough skeptic husband (who said he never eat sourdough is now converted). 
Happy baking and please send us your stories, pictures or ideas!!!

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE BREAD!!!!

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE BREAD!!!!

Cranberry-Blueberry Rye

If you are so fortunate as to have them, fresh blueberries or huckleberries are even better here than frozen. The blueberries and cranberries, along with a light touch of rye, make for a fabulous sourdough. Makes two 1 1/2 pound (680 G) Loaves

2 cups (480 ml) Culture
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (60 g) sweetened ...dried cranberries
1/2 cup (75 g) frozen blueberries or huckleberries (fresh if you have them)
2 cups (200 g) light rye flour
2 3/4 cups (385 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

Dough Proof-
Pour the culture into a mixing bowl. Add the water, salt, cranberries, and blueberries to the culture and mix well. Add the rye flour and mix well. Add the all-purpose flour a cup (140 g) at a time until the dough is too stiff to mix by hand. Turn out onto a floured board and knead in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and satiny.
Proof the dough overnight (8 to 12 hours) at room temperature, about 70°F (21°C), in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap. During this time, the dough should double in size. After the proof, use a spatula to gently ease the dough out onto a floured board. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. If marked flattening occurs during this time, knead in additional flour before shaping.

Loaf Proof-
After the 30-minute rest, divide the dough in two. Flatten each half slightly, then lift a portion from the periphery and pull it toward the center. Continue this around the dough mass to form a rough ball, then pat and pull into the loaf shape you desire. Place the shaped loaves, seam side down, on a baking sheet or in bread pans and proof for 2 to 4 hours, until they double in bulk or reach nearly to the tops of the bread pans. For a good combination of sourness and leavening, proof the loaves for the first hour at room temperature and then at 85° to 90°F (29° to 32°C) in a proofing box.

Baking-
Place the pans or baking sheet with the shaped, proofed loaves in a cool oven, then turn the temperature to 375°F (190°C) and bake for 70 minutes. When the loaves are baked, remove them from the pan and let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.

Great recipe for the 4th. Have a safe and happy holiday!

My employee Jodi made pizzas with her 13 year old daughter last night.  She used the pizza recipe from our Classic Sourdoughs Revised A Home Baker's Handbook.  She put all the ingredients in the bread machine and let it do its work.  Then when it was done, she put some olive oil on the cookie sheet, patted out the crust, put olive oil on the outer edges of the crust and piled on the goodies.  She then baked it at 400° for 20 minutes (she did not pre heat the oven).  It depends on how many goodies you add to your pizza, you might need to increase the baking time.  This is an easy way to do pizzas if you are in a hurry.  Enjoy!!!

Here is another recipe for you. Sounds like a great one for summer!!! Please try it and let me know what you think.

MALT BEER BREAD

Makes two 1 1/2 pound loaves

Experiment with different beers for making this bread. I've used dark beers from Germany and Scandinavia to complement the rye flavor, but many of the local beers now produced by American microbreweries are as good.

2 3/4 cups white... flour
2 cups rye flour
2 cups cold liquid culture
1 1/4 cups malt beer
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Combine the flours and mix well. To make the working culture, mix the liquid culture with 1 cup of the flour mixture and 1/4 cup of the beer in a large mixing bowl. Proof 12 hours at room temperature (68° to 72°) or 6 hours in a proofing box at 85°.

Mix and knead 1 cup of the flour mixture and 1/2 cup of the beer into the culture. Proof 8 hours at room temperature or 4 hours in the proofing box. After proofing, this is the fully active culture.

Punch down. Mix together the salt, sugar, butter, and the remaining 1/2 cup beer. Add to the dough and mix well. Reserve 1 cup of the flour mixture for flouring the board. Mix and spoon knead the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour mixture into the dough 1 cup at a time. When too stiff to mix by hand, transfer to the floured board and knead in the remaining flour.

Form 2 pan loaves, and proof at the same temperature used above until the dough rises about 1 inch above the pan tops (2 1/2 to 3).

Bake in a preheated oven at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool on wire racks.

Enjoy and have a great summer!!!

Summer is here!!! The flowers are blooming so what a better way to celebrate summer than with a sourdough bread. We have a great recipe for you to try!!!

Sunflower Bread

This recipe produces a light-textured yet dark and nutty bread. Use raw sunflower seeds, not roasted, for best results. Makes one 1 1/2 pound loaf.

1 cup (240 ml) Sourdough Culture
1 cup (240 ml) milk, plus more as needed
1... teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon (15 g) melted butter
1/2 cups (50 g) raw sunflower seeds
1 1/2 cups (210 g) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups (210 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

Dough Proof~ Mix (knead) all the ingredients for a maximum of 25 minutes in the bread machine, until the dough is smooth and satiny. Watch the dough form for the first 3 or 4 minutes and adjust the consistency as needed with more milk or flour, added 1 tablespoon at a time.
Proof the dough overnight (8 to 12 hours) at room temperature, about 70° F (21° C), in the machine pan (taken out of the machine and covered with plastic wrap secured by a rubber band). It should rise to the top of the machine pan.

Loaf Proof and Baking~ To bake in the machine, mix the proofed dough for 30 seconds and allow it to rise in the machine for 2 to 4 hours, until it again comes to the top of the pan. Start the bake-only cycle and bake for the time programmed in the machine for white bread.
To bake in the oven, knead the proofed dough in the machine for 1 minute to form a ball. Gently transfer it to a floured board, let rest for 30 minutes, and shape first into a ball and then into a loaf. Place the shaped loaf, seam side down, in a bread pan or on a baking sheet and proof for 2 to 4 hours, until it reaches nearly to the top of the pan or doubles in bulk. Proof for the first hour at room temperature and then at 85° to 90° F (29° to 32° C) in a proofing box.
Put the pan in a cold oven, then turn the temperature to 375°F (190° C) and bake for 70 minutes. When the loaf is baked, remove it from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.

This is one of the many wonderful recipes from our Classic Sourdoughs Revised A Home Baker's Handbook.

Happy baking and please share your pictures, other recipes, and your sourdough stories with us!!!!

We get so many questions about the proofing boxes.  It amazes us about what people use.  We have heard of aquariums, stove lights, boxes, buckets, old coolers, storage containers.  I guess if it works...use it.  We use a Styrofoam cooler and get great results with it.  We were sent the plans for a collapsible wooden proofing box and thought that we would share it with you.  This may work for you if you have a small amount of storage space.  Please send us your ideas, thoughts, questions, favorite recipes or just a great bread story.  Have a great weekend and happy baking!!!

Proofing box

·         Top and bottom 14 x 27

·         Top and bottom centers 13 x 26

·         Short sides 11.5 h x 13 w

·         Long sides 11.5 h x 27 w

·         3 sets of 2.5 inch butt hinges

o   Outside at left for door (2)

o   Inside rear for sides (2 at each side)

·         3 inch lockable hasp (Outside, right front)

·         Slide type rheostat with sealed back (so needs no box)

·         Cord from a discarded appliance with plug intact

·         75 watt incandescent bulb

·         Williams-Sonoma Digital Thermometer SKU#6700488

 

Top and bottom are not attached; when sides are assembled they stand on top of the bottom using the center as a set of stops for the sides.  Top simply drops into the box made by the sides using its center as a guide.