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Sourdough Bread

We make sourdough bread multiple times per week here at Castle in the Country from a starter that began life on April 15, 2005. We used it here for French toast, croutons, picnic baskets, dinners, breadcrumbs…very little goes to waste. On of the things I like is the simplicity of the ingredients: flour, water, and salt. I like the complexity of the flavors brought on by the biology of the microorganisms used here. Additionally, I like being connected to a process that is as old as civilization. I like eating the bread all by itself, chewy and, firm, structured; this is the exact opposite of that bane of our modern existence: Wonder Bread.

I will not go into a lot of detail about the starter other than that I followed the instructions of Peter Reinhart in his book, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, using raisins as the source for the wild yeast. There are basically three ways to get started, either purchase a “kit” from some famous strain such as San Francisco starter, you can follow a recipe in a book or by using Google, or can take a part of a friend’s starter and call it your own. Your starter basically becomes a pet that you feed and care for; in fact, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, many people have a name for their starter, such as “Happy” or “Steady Eddie.”

Equipment Needed

1. A stand mixer. Unless you like the zen experience of kneading the dough by hand. Remember, you will be making a batch of this bread weekly, so the Zen aspects of kneading by hand can quickly lose their appeal. That is why I recommend a sturdy stand mixer. Be sure to check the manufacturer’s recommended maximum batch size. Kneading bread with a dough hook is very hard on the motor and gears of a mixer. Most of the heavy-duty mixers max out at about a 4Cup batch size. Don’t push the capacity of your equipment unless you really wanted a new mixer anyway. Before I bought my used Hobart, I burned out a Kitchenaid about every 12 months.
2. Room in your refrigerator to store the dough on a baking sheet prior to baking.
3. A pan you don’t care about to use as a steam tray in your oven.
4. Cooking spray, oil, or butter for coating the bowl when the dough is rising. (This can be omitted if you are a purist.)

Note: Make sure your starter is healthy. Basically, if it is gray, slack, and runny. You should refresh it before using it for bread. You waited too long between refreshings. Pour off any liquid (called hooch and indeed containing ethyl alcohol) that may have accumulated on top. You will be refreshing the starter as a part of this procedure.

A doubled batch is pictured above.

Diet: Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy-free