Friday, January 28, 2011

Simply Sourdough

"She seeks wool, and flax, and works willingly with her hands"
~Proverbs 31:13

One of my favorite rooms in our farmhouse is the kitchen! The counter is frequently buried under cutting boards, flour, bowls, mixing utensils, pots, cooling racks and most recently: Sourdough starter.

Photo Credit: Aunt Emily

The past two months I have been trying my hand at making some delicious artisan Sourdough, the no-knead method...I have made English muffins, Pancakes, Cranberry Sourdough, Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough, Steel Cut Oat Sourdough, plus failed attempts at many other recipes:)

When I first tried my hand at this, I was sure that I killed my starter within the first week of it sitting on our counter, so I threw it out and tried again...I can now say with a little experience behind my belt that this stuff is hard to kill. During the week and a half of Josh's play, I didn't feed the starter at all and it just sat on the counter while developing some nasty looking liquid on the top - it smelled wicked too:) After scooping GENEROUS amount of it off the top and then some, I fed it 2-3 times a day for a few days and it is now back to normal and producing delicious sourdough.

This science experiment has been a lot of fun...I still laugh when I find myself stirring the starter and saying that it looks really "healthy" and "happy", so beware if you decide to try your hand at this. On the other hand, it makes for a great addition to a yummy homemade meal or little gift to someone.

A special thanks to Mrs. G. for her inspiration and expertise as well as the wonderful "Breadtopia"  website that has all the information that you need plus videos, recipes and a wealth of advise for us beginners! 

Do you have any No-Knead Sourdough recipes or experiences to share?

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again"!

Yes, Sourdough making IS an exercise of patience:)

15 comments:

Amber Noella said...

YUM!

Farmgirl Cyn said...

I have made sourdough bread off and on for many, many years. Just recently Mrs. G and I have been trying new recipes...english muffins being one of our favorites! It is true, the stuff is hard to kill. But sadly,...I have done it.
Yours looks wonderful!

Julie Wasson said...

I would love your starter recipe! I have just started making bread and will soon be branching out.

juliewasson@yahoo.com

Christianna said...

This bread looks really good! What recipes do you use? and do you work much with whole wheat? Just looking at the pictures makes me hungry for it! =)

Johanna Nimmons said...

I love sourdough! I haven't had a whole lot of luck with it, but I'm going to try again! I would love you recipe for that delicious looking loaf in the picture! :)

Love,
Johanna, at: kidsonthefarm.blogspot.com

Brenda said...

I love this kind of bread. Someday, I'm going to try my hand at it. Yumm!

Naturally Blessed Mama said...

My dear, you are my hero! I have been combing the internet trying to find a simple no knead sourdough! Thank you so much! I love that, as a young lady, you are so excited about trying new recipes, and working on your home-keeping skills! It's so rare to find girls nowadays who want to do that!

Blessings,
sara

Anonymous said...

I have a receipie for sourdough but I have never seen any receipies that calls for it. Could you post some of the ones you use?

Tabby said...

Just started following your blog. I like it!

Michelle (She Looketh Well) said...

YAHOO JENNA!!! I am soo excited for you! We should get together and do sourdough stuff. hoping you have an absoulutely magnificent week!!! love Victoria.

Elizabeth said...

I love sourdough, but have not baked any for a very long time. Do you know if it can be done with wholewheat flour? Mine with wholewheat seemed to rot rather than sour.

Elizabeth

MrsSM said...

Hi, Jenna;

I left a comment over on your mom's blog about the chocolate cranberry sourdough bread. I would be really interested in that recipe. Back in the fall I began a "starter", hoping to be up to sourdough bread to give as Christmas gifts. Well, I wasn't quite ready at the time, but I did have this wonderful recipe for sourdough crackers. My family devours these and they are pretty easy to make.

http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2010/03/08/sourdough-recipes-galore-whole-wheat-crackers/

I'm working on a sourdough bread recipe from Breadtopia, too. It helps so much to have the video.

Best regards,
MrsKM

Tabby said...

Would you be opposed to giving me your recipe? I understand if you would rather not

Jenny Trask said...

I love sourdough! I did it for about a few months. I was wondering did you start your own starter or what? I would love to hear what you did. I have heard you can do it your self but have never been that adventurous. My daughter loves your blog, keep up the good work and keep following the Lord!

queenbeaz said...

I too would love all of the recipes you mentioned. I haven't made bread from scratch in forever but would really like to start again! Thanks for such a wonderful blog!

http://thebeazhive.blogspot.com