Laura requested this recipe. It is my variation on a sourdough recipe from my King Aurthur cookbook. If you've never made sourdough before, it's a good place to start. I've been experimenting with it for a few weeks and plan to experiment some more. The original recipe doesn't call for any whole wheat flour, but it is healthier, and I think it tastes better to use some in the sponge. The starter will rise the bread very slowly, so if you want to speed up the process, add the optional yeast. Also, I usually double the recipe, but still use 1/2 cup of starter.
Have fun bread-making, and experiment with it yourself. Let me know what you try, and if it works.-Tricia AnnYield: 2 small loaves or 1 big loaf
Prepare the following sponge 8-24 hours before you plan to bake.
Sponge:
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 1/2 -2 cups stone ground whole wheat flour (or unbleached white flour)
Pour starter into a large bowl and add water. Stir to loosen. Add flour and mix well. Let this mixture sit in a warm place for 8-24 hours. The longer it has to work, the more sour the finished bread will be.
Bread:
- 3-4 cups unbleached bread flour
- 1 TBS salt
- 1 TBS sugar
- 2 tsp. yeast (optional)
Mix the flour, salt, and sugar. Set aside. Add yeast to the sponge, if you are using it. Add the flour mixture to the sponge, stirring well. Add remaining flour, a half-cup at a time, until you have a soft, slightly sticky dough. Knead by machine or by hand for about 8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Let the dough rise for 1-2 hours (1 if you used yeast, 2 if you did not). Shape into loaves or baguettes or whatever shape you like, and proof (rise) for 1-2 hours again, depending on whether or not you used yeast. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. It is delicious eaten straight out of the oven!
