The Feeling When Baking Bread

I started my sourdough adventures after I moved to Perth.  I had been baking my own bread for a very long time as I wanted my kids to be eating quality not quantity if they were going to eat bread.  Sourdough has been on my list of 'to do's' for a long time so I was excited to give it a go when we finally unpacked.

My early sourdough breads were a bit hit and miss ~ always with great flavour but never with enough bubble and oven burst.  Anyone who has ever tried their hand at sourdough can testify to the frustration and disappointment when your loaf doesn't turn out the way you want.

I have gone on recipe hiatus for the past month while I deal with the usual life up and downs and have been studying and practicing my sourdough making.  I have been concentrating lately on white sourdough with either a pure white flour starter or half whole wheat and half white.  I also have upped the hydration of the starter and now am maintaining 100% hydration ~ that's equal weight in flour and filtered water.

I had three loaves on the go a couple of weeks ago ~ two sourdough whites and a garlic/parsley loaf for my garlic bread loving oldest daughter.  The garlic loaf is a new loaf type for me and I was pretty happy with the results.  I gave a loaf to my neighbour for lending me her car one weekend when mine wouldn't start.  Thank you, Mary!

My lovely sourdough divided
and resting before the final shape.

There is no feeling like when I pull back my homemade cloche of tinfoil ~ yup, it is a pretty funny tinfoil mound but it works ~ and I see the oven spring in my loaf; slicing the loaf to find beautifully formed holes brings tears to my baker's eyes.  This feeling of triumph never goes away! Check out the pictures on my latest endeavors. 

The garlic loaf slashed and ready for the oven.

My tinfoil cloche working its magic for my baking bread.

Two of the loaves hot out of the oven.

The Sourdough Journey Continues...

The kids have been on school holidays over the last couple of weeks so my posts have slowed considerably.  Despite the hustle and bustle of having kids at home twenty-four seven, I have been making sourdough with a focus especially on white sourdough. My bread making has taken a turn for the better as I have moved into the realm of weighing my ingredients now instead of using cup measures.  I felt like too much of a beginner to weigh things early on and stuck to cup measures but as my starter takes strength, I am ready for the next stage of my sourdough journey.

Here are some pictures of my latest efforts using the same recipe but shaping a little differently each time. While not my recipe, these loaves were made all by my hands.  Yay me!  New recipes will be up soon for the blog especially since hubby is away on business and I hope he will use this website to keep to healthy eating.  Until then, enjoy the pics!

Alaskan Sourdough 66% hydration.

Sourdough white in bread tins.  So fluffy and amazing!

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

Wow, I feel my sourdough bread journey has been epic so far!  I can't remember making so many loaves of bread in such a short period of time in my quest to successfully achieve a good sourdough loaf.  All my loaves to date have had a different amount of lift but all with very good flavour.  My early loaves were dense and chewy ~ the family loved them but I found the crust too heavy and I knew they weren't rising the way they should.

While some brag that sourdough making is very easy, I  have found that it is a delicate balance of a good sourdough starter; rising times; and kneading methods to achieve the perfect loaf.  On most of the sourdough chat forums, many have experienced the same hit and miss progress while they chased the flavour, texture, and crumb that are considered ideal in the world of sourdough bread.  I know I have far to go, but after many failures with others recipes, I have settled on this combination of my own that has produced a great flavoured sourdough with a beautiful rise of more than double and a very nice crumb.

A sourdough starter fed with pretty much all organic rye flour has given me the most consistent results.  White, whole wheat, or a combination thereof for feeding has ended with a sickly starter smelling of nail varnish.  The starter appears to need more frequent feeding with these types of flours and since I only like to feed my sourdough once or twice a week, I prefer to store my starter in the fridge; keep it to a stiff paste consistency; and feed it rye flour only when I bake or once a week ~ whichever comes first.

This loaf is made without a larger pre-ferment made the night before. I mix it up with a portion of sourdough starter ~ straight out of the fridge ~ first thing in the morning and form it into a loaf at about the 6 or 7 hour mark and then leave it for a second rise an hour or two more.  My recipe will make one large sized baguette or two smaller loaves.  Try making single batch instead of doubling the recipe so you can practice and modify your techniques.  I now only knead my bread using the slap and fold method which is easier to use with wet doughs but also incorporates more air into the dough and has resulted in a much nicer crumb.  This kneading technique was another breakthrough moment for me and I encourage you to try it.  I have provided a link at the bottom of the page should you wish to see it in action.

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• 1 1/2 cups of warm filtered water
• 1/2 cup of warm soy milk or any milk of your choice
• 1 Tbsp. honey, maple syrup, or natural cane sugar
• 1 cup of sourdough starter
• 2 1/4 cups of white bread flour
• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

In the morning mix the water, milk, honey and starter and blend well.  Next add the white flour and mix well and then finally add the remaining flour and salt.  The dough will be incredibly sticky and you will want to add more flour to it but don't.  Next, turn out the dough on  an unfloured counter and use the slap and fold method of kneading which consists of scooping up the dough on either side; flipping over and slapping it down quickly followed by stretching it toward you with your thumbs; then folding it over  on itself away from you.  Repeat these steps (see link below for more info) for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Make the dough into a ball and place in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, then set aside for 6-8 hours until the dough has doubled in size.

Dough after kneading.

When the dough has doubled, gently scrape it out of the bowl onto a lightly floured countertop.  Don't punch down as the idea is to keep as much air in the dough as possible.  Gently form the dough into a square and then fold the dough by 1/3 toward you and press down on the seam with the heel of your hand.  Repeat this fold again on the opposite side bringing the seam to the centre and press down.  Now fold the dough tightly in half and gently roll and shape as desired in a tin or in a banneton/ proofing basket.  Leave to rise again for another two to three hours.

Second rise in my baking cloche.

When the dough has doubled again, bake the loaf at 425F /220C for 35-40 minutes in a bread cloche, bread tin or on a pizza stone. However you choose to bake the bread, make sure the seam side is down for baking.  The baked loaf should  make a hollow sound, when knocked on the bottom, if it is done.

Whole wheat sourdough hot out of the oven. Yes, my scoring
technique needs some work or a much sharper knife!

Tutorial : Richard Bertinet's slap and fold method of kneading.

Sourdough Chocolate Cake

I always make chocolate cake for birthdays and occasional lunch box treats and I wanted to try a sourdough cake since I currently have three sourdough starters with which to experiment.  My birthday came and went just recently and this was the cake my kids made me for the festivities.

The process of fermenting the ingredients is reputed to breakdown the mixture in a way that makes the final baked product more easily digestible and have a lower glycemic index (GI) which is the effect food has on a person's blood glucose level.  If digestion and low GI isn't a concern of yours then using a variety of sourdough recipes is also a convenient way to use up your discarded portion of sourdough when you must feed your starter ~ so the more recipes you have on hand then the easier it is not to waste a drop.  Fermented baked goods also are supposed to have a longer counter life and stay moist for longer.

This recipe was adapted from a bunch of sourdough cake recipes floating out there in cyberspace.  King Arthur Flour has a recipe that is pretty similiar to this but makes a larger cake.  Feel free to double this for a larger sheet cake or a double layer cake.  The cake is really easy to make and stays moist and yummy for days depending on what you use for icing.  When I have made it for lunch boxes, I don't ice it at all.  In cool weather, I like a homemade coconut butter for an icing with a touch of maple syrup for a bit of sweetness; it hardens like a ganache but isn't crazy sweet and is easy on the digestion.  In hot weather, any icing is in trouble stored on the counter especially in Perth heat.

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• 1/2 cup of soy milk
• 1 Tbsp. of apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of strong coffee
• 1/2 cup of sourdough starter
• 1 cup of whole wheat or white flour
• 1 cup of natural cane sugar
• 1/2 cup of melted coconut oil or any other oil of your choice
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. of Dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 egg or 3 Tbsps. water mixed with 1 Tbsp. of ground flax

In a medium-sized mixing  bowl, mix together the soy milk and cider vinegar.  Once the milk mixture has thickened then whisk the coffee and sourdough starter and then add the flour and mix until smooth.  Cover and set this aside from 3-8 hours.  The mixture will get somewhat elastic and rise a bit.

After fermentation

Once the mixture has suitably fermented, mix sugar, oil, egg/flax egg, salt, vanilla, cocoa powder and baking soda.  After thoroughly mixing, add to the fermented mixture and mix well.

Finished batter waiting for the oven to heat up.
See the bubbles?

Pour batter into a greased and baking paper lined 8 inch square pan or equivalent sized cake tin and bake at 350F or 180C for 35 minutes.  Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely.

Sourdough Coastal Cracker Crisps

After living for two years in Vancouver, British Columbia, I came away with a love for Raincoast Crisps made by Lesley Stowe Fine Foods.  They are so delicious and go well with savory dips and spreads like hummous or baba ganoush.  I had never heard of them before until I hit the West Coast of Canada and have never seen them since moving to Australia.

I don't buy commercially prepared crackers anymore.  After some uncomfortable reactions from the seasonings and preservatives in store-bought crackers,  I began to make my own crackers so I know what is in them.  It isn't really a big deal to make your own crackers.  You kind of develop a taste for homemade and I find they fill you up faster.  There are a few versions of Raincoast Crisp recipes on the net and I have adapted this recipe from a compilation of these.

If you don't want to ferment the cracker crisps for easier digestion and a lower GI rating then leave out the sourdough starter and mix to bake immediately.  It think the fermentation process is worth it and it is easy to mix the batter before bed, let it stand overnight, and then bake in the morning.  I mixed mine in the morning and then left the batter to ferment for the day before baking, slicing and then toasting in the evening.

Please give these cracker crisps a try because they are so delicious!

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• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 1/2 Tbsps. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of sourdough starter
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup of dried cranberries or raisins
• 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup of hulled millet
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1 Tbsp. of fresh rosemary, chopped

In a medium sized mixing bowl, gently whisk soy milk and apple cider vinegar to achieve a thickened sour milk.  When mixture has thickened add honey and whisk to combine.  Next whisk in 1/2 cup of sourdough starter and then the whole wheat flour.  Finally add the last of the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir.

The batter is fairly runny at this stage.  Next add your favourite dried fruit -I prefer cranberries but use whatever you like; pumpkin and sunflower seeds; flax seed, hulled millet, and rosemary.  Stir until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Coastal Crisp batter.

Coastal Crisp batter after 8 hours.

Set aside the batter for about 8 hours and then pour into a greased loaf tin and bake at 350F degrees or 180C for 35-40 minutes depending on your oven.  Cool for about 10 minutes and then remove from tin.  Allow the loaf to cool completely; you can expedite this by placing in the fridge.

Batter in a bread tin and left to
raise for an additional hour

After baking.

Once the loaf is cool to cold, cut into thin slices and further toast/ dehydrate on a cookie sheet in a preheated (350F degrees or 180F) and then turned off oven or place in food dehydrator to achieve a crispy cracker.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 months.  Makes about 45 cracker crisps depending on the shape and size of your loaf pan.

Sourdough English Muffins

Sourdough everything is still on the brain here in my house.  After a couple of loaves of mediocre sourdough bread, I decided to scale back and rethink my sourdough strategy.  So far, I have had amazing sourdough flavour in all things sourdough but the rise and crumb of my loaves and cake have been a little hit and miss.

In a quest to improve my baking endeavors, I decided to buy some organic rye flour to super boost the friendly bacteria in the starter and moved it into permanently into the fridge.  Organic rye flour is reputed to be the best thing for sourdough feeding and the starter responded to the switch up from whole wheat flour to rye in a very positive way.  Because I intended to take a sourdough break, I fed the starter with rye flour but added less water to make it much thicker and borderline paste in an effort to go longer until my next feed.

After about two weeks or a little less in the fridge, I decided to feed my sourdough beast and use the discarded sourdough starter portion in my usual yeast bread recipe.  I followed my normal bread recipe and simply exchanged a half cup portion of flour with a half cup of sourdough starter.  I usually leave my yeast bread dough on the counter to double for two to four hours but surprisingly the dough doubled within an hour.  The sourdough starter seemed to super boost my bread with the end result being an incredibly light and delicious loaf of bread minus the sour flavour - as it didn't have time to develop.

Sticky dough

The key to sourdough is to have a powerfully active sourdough starter and a very wet and sticky dough. Just mix your dough so that all the ingredients are combined but ensure the dough is way too sticky to handle.  The long rising time will deepen the flavour and allow the dough to become more manageable and elastic without kneading.  I only kneaded this dough with a tiny bit of flour for a few seconds before dividing and shaping so it is really easy.  

~ Please take note:  to identify if your sourdough starter is active enough, it should be full of bubbles and have doubled in its container before using.  When you spoon the starter out to use, it should basically deflate. These are good signs that your starter is very active.  The starter should smell very sour but not like nail varnish.  If it does smell strongly of alcohol or of varnish, discard at least half to two thirds and feed with flour and water to form a wet paste and place back in fridge for at least a week while it recovers then evaluate again. ~

The dough after an 8 hour rise.

With my confidence boosted that my sourdough starter, Beastie, was showing signs of being super charged up; I fed him some more rye flour and rested him for a couple of days in the fridge and then pulled him out for an attempt at sourdough English muffins.  My first batch was halved - just in case I failed.  I began by mixing the dough in the morning and covered with plastic wrap and left in a warm spot until suppertime.  By this time, the dough had doubled so I dumped out the very sticky dough, kneaded it a few times with a bit of flour until I could gently handle it.  Finally, I rolled it in a log and sliced into about 10 pieces.  I shaped these up and then let rise on my baking tray until double and after a couple of hours, baked.  These English muffins were so light and so perfectly risen with a gentle sour taste, that I jumped for joy.  Not a speck of yeast was used to achieve greatness and it is this recipe that I share with you today.

The English Muffins after a two - three hour rise after shaping.

Sourdough English Muffins after baking.

I have now completed a few batches of multi-grain sourdough English muffins.  This recipe produces light, tangy and perfect English muffins that are delicious with your favourite topping.

They freeze exceptionally well and I guarantee they won't last long on the counter as they will get gobbled up for breakfast, lunch or snacks.  My kids like them instead of buns for a sandwich and they are awesome toasted too.   Enjoy!

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• 1 cup active sourdough starter
• 1 cup warm filtered water
• 1 cup soy milk or any milk of your choosing
• 2 Tbsps. honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or your choice of oil
• 2 1/2 cups of white baking flour
• 2 1/2 cups of multi-grain or whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. salt

In a medium sized bowl, combine sourdough starter, water, milk, honey and oil;  whisk gently until combined.  Next stir in the white flour.  Then slowly add the last 2 1/2 cups of multi-grain flour and salt ensuring that the dough is very wet and sticky.  Hold back on the last 1/4 cup of flour if it is starting to feel like it is getting too dry.  Whole wheat flour tends to absorb a bit more liquid so so be prepared to adjust the flour by a small amount if it is a bit dryer than you want.  Sourdough dough likes to be very sticky.

Now, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in a sheltered spot on the counter and let it rise until double for about 8 hours.

Once dough has doubled, punch down and scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a floured counter.  With a sprinkle of flour, knead a few times until dough is a bit more manageable.  This dough should still be very wobbly but more elastic.  Flour and roll out to about 1/2 inch thick and cut out in circles about 3 inches in diameter.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper to set aside for a second rise until double.  This may take up to three hours.  When ready, bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius for ten minutes.  Makes 20-24 English muffins.

I mixed in the morning, punched down dough at supper time and shaped for second rise to bake at about mid-evening which produced a very mild sourdough flavour.

Seriously Delicious Sourdough Pita

Sourdough starter - Day 9

Who doesn't love a good flatbread?  The Italians serve focaccia; naan bread is enjoyed with a good Indian takeaway; Arabic bread is available daily in every Middle Eastern grocery store; and warm pita bread can be found on virtually every Greek restaurant menu.

Pita and hummus are especially a favourite in our family; I prefer a pita stuffed with hummus and veggies over a luncheon meat sandwich any day.  I am also partial to my Asian Beef & Veggie Meatballs with a bit of crunchy lettuce & daikon fermented pickle laced with a slather of sriracha mayo - all rolled up in a pita for a flatbread Bahn Mi-type sandwich.  Nom, nom!

My sourdough pita dough ready to be covered
 and set aside for proofing.

Since starting my sourdough adventure, I have been faithfully feeding my sourdough starter pet beastie each day.  On day nine of beastie's life it was bubbling and boozy, so I thought it was okay to use the discarded portion of my sourdough after the feed.

This week, I made pita bread as we are clean out of bread and we need something for lunch tomorrow. Mixing up pita dough is pretty easy.  This recipe takes about 10 minutes to mix up including kneading time.  After proofing for a couple of hours to a day, give yourself another 10 minutes to shape into disks and then while the dough is resting, heat your oven or barbecue.

Cooking the pita on the barbecue cast iron griddle or pizza stone was my first choice since my oven heats our kitchen up to boiling; but a cast iron skillet on the stove top or a pizza stone in a super hot oven also will also get the job done.  I think I like the pizza stone, inside or out, the best but the griddle will work too.

I used unbleached all-purpose flour and feel free to use half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour if you are aiming for more fibre.  My first batch of pitas were whole wheat.  They puffed up really nicely on the barbecue but got gobbled up before I could take a picture!

The pitas will keep in the freezer for a month or two and are good stored on the counter top for a couple of days. I prefer to make this recipe in small batches and eat them up fresh and I doubt they will last long after you plate them hot out of the oven or off the barbecue!

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• 1/2 cup sourdough starter
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 3 Tbsps. filtered water

In a medium sized bowl, mix the sourdough starter, coconut oil, and sea salt.  Add flour and water; using one hand, mix to combine.  Turn the dough out on counter; knead for five minutes.  The dough should be stiff and shouldn't need any additional flour to prevent sticking.  Don't skip the kneading step as the texture of the dough will change and become more elastic within this five minute knead.

Shape, place in greased bowl, and slash with serrated knife for expansion; cover with plastic wrap in a warm draft-free spot to proof until doubled - a couple of hours should be enough but you can mix it up in the morning and leave for the day if you need more time.

When dough has risen, divide into 8 balls and roll out very thinly into 15 cm disks.  Let rest for 15 minutes and then cook on a hot pizza stone at about 500 degrees Fahrenheit or 250 Celsius ~ or on a smoking hot cast iron griddle.  With the griddle, I usually cook on one side until the pita puffs up and then flip it and brown lightly on the other side.  You have to eyeball the cooking time folks...you will know when they are done.

Store in the freezer for a month or on the counter for about three days.  Makes about 8 pitas.

Raging Raw Sriracha

After saying goodbye to successful chilli growing in our last home state, I was excited to discover a couple of well established chilli bushes in the otherwise empty garden of our new home.

With a little tender loving care, chillies have flowed steadily all summer and I wanted to try my hand at chilli sauce - which is a favourite of my husband.

Finally, after spending some time doing a little research I patched together this recipe that makes a pretty nice tasting hot sauce.  I can't say how it compares to the popular commercial brands of sriracha but it has passed the husband test so that is enough for me.

Use it sparingly or stand back for the fire to blow out your ears!

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• 2 medium sized red capsicum, coarsely chopped
• 100g red jalapenos chillies, coarsely chopped
• 30g Bird's eye chillies, stem removed
• 7 cloves of peeled garlic
• 1 Tbsp. uniodised salt
• 3 Tbsps. honey or maple syrup for vegans
• 1/4 cup of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar with 'Mother'
• 3 Tbsps. of raw unpasteurized sauerkraut juice (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. of guar gum (optional)

Wash, deseed, and coarsely chop capsicum; destem chillies and peel garlic - place everything in a high speed blender.  Add salt and honey to the the ingredients and pulse until chillies start to liquefy.  Blend mixture until smooth.  I added three tablespoons of my homemade sauerkraut juice to kick start the ferment but this is not necessary.

Pour mixture into clean jars with a good few inches of space at the top to allow for expansion and loosely screw on cap.  Place jar in darkened cupboard at room temperature to ferment for 5 days; open and stir each day.  Fermentation takes place when bubbles start to form.  

Taste after day 5 and transfer sauce back to blender, add cider vinegar, guar gum and puree until blended. The guar gum acts as an emulsifier and keeps the sauce from separating but is unnecessary if you don't want to add it.

Transfer sauce to sterilized jars or bottle and refrigerate.  The sauce should last quite some time if fermented successfully.

Salsa Fresca

Salsa is one of the most delicious condiments ever!  We love it for eating with corn chips, as topping on scrambled eggs and heaping it on tortillas on movie night.  I used to make a cooked salsa and can it for our season's worth of salsa consumption but recently I have switched to fresh.

Eating fresh salsa makes me feel like I 'died and went to heaven' and I often catch my oldest daughter mixing it with Greek yogurt and eating it by the bowlful - so it is safe to say, I am not the only salsa fan in the house!.  This recipe was adapted from a Roberto Santibanez recipe in his cookbook Tacos, Tortas, and Tamales.  It is amazingly fresh and is great to eat immediately or ferment to keep longer for a healthy does of beneficial microbes.  If you want to kickstart your ferment then add 2 Tbsps. of whey or unpasteurized sauerkraut juice to get those bubbles going!

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• 9 medium sized tomatoes, diced
• 2 Bird's eye/ Thai chillis fresh or dried,
• 1 medium green pepper, finely diced
• 1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
• juice and zest of 2 lemons
• 1 1/2 Tbsps. Celtic sea salt

Wash and chop all the vegetables and then add the salt, lemon zest and juice.  Mix thoroughly until combined.  Serve immediately or add to sterilized jars.  

If fermenting, let sit with the top of the jar covered with fabric a few hours.  This keeps the baddies out of the salsa while the vegetables release liquid. Ensure the veggies are completely submerged in liquid for fermentation.  If you don't have enough liquid after letting the salsa sit, then top up with a little non-chlorinated spring water and loosely screw the lid on  for about 3-4 days.  Check the ferment daily and unscrew to release any gasses.  After a few days on the counter, tighten jar lids and refrigerate.  The salsa will store indefinitely and will continue to ferment very slowly.

Yield - approximately 2 litres