Make your own Sourdough Bread

   This is the recipe I use to make Sourdough Bread. Last time I forgot to slash the tops of the loafs and it fell in the oven. Not that it's been raising that well lately, I hope that the warm weather will help with that.
  When the bread gets to the half way point during the second raise you'll need to prop the towel up to keep it from sticking to the bread. I had that happen to me; it was terrible.

   It freezes well. Pop the bread into a freezer bag and you're good to go. I had the cut the heel off to fit it in the bag.
 
   Click here for the printer ready version: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OsTFbYIgEztd53zKKzGTzwqT1nVfNlSlHqZwmjsVhcU/edit?usp=sharing
 

                                                Sourdough Bread


   1 package active dry yeast                         1 1/2 cups sourdough starter
  1cup warm water                                       5 cups flour (more or less)    
   2 Tablespoons                                           2 teaspoons salt


     In a large mixing bowl sprinkle yeast over warm water. Leave it to dissolve for five minutes.
Stir in sugar, sourdough starter, four cups flour, and salt. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave to raise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and mix in about one cup flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Knead until satiny, about five minutes. Shape the dough into two loaves and place in a loaf pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or on a cookie sheet covered in corn meal for a flatter, round loaf. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let raise again for 1 1/2 hours. Slash the tops of the bread with a sharp knife so the loaf doesn't fall. Brush the tops with melted butter for a shiny finish. Bake at 400 for 40 to 50 minutes. Set on a rack to cool.


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Make Your Own Sourdough Starter

   I really like Sourdough Bread. But unlike most breads you're going to need a starter if you're going to make it at home. Sourdough starter is strange it's more of a liquid then I pictured when I first thought of making Sourdough and taking care of it is more like taking care of a living organism than anything else. Which is a little creepy when you think about it. Try not to think about it.

  Starter is basically yeast, water, and flour. Dissolve one package of dry yeast in 1 1/4 cup lukewarm water. (It should feel comfortable on your wrist. If it's too hot it will kill the yeast.) Stir in 1 cup of flour put the mixture in a plastic or glass crock, never store it in a metal container, cover the opening with cheese cloth, and store in a warm place. Every day for five days add a 1/2 cup of flour and a 1/2 of water. When it smells sour it's ready to use. You'll need to replenish it by adding the same amount of water and flour you used back to the starter every time you use it.
  
   If you store it on the counter you'll need to feed it or use it every two weeks or so, depending on the temperature. When the starter turns grey you should use it soon-ish. If you store it in the fridge you'll have at least a month.
  If you don't feel like using it you can feed it a 1/2 cup of flour and a 1/2 cup of water or a tablespoon or two of sugar. You can feed it lukewarm potato water, but when I did my starter turned pink. I had to throw it out. It might have been because I forget to use or feed it, but I'm superstition about potato water now.
   
      Somethings to remember about Sourdough starter: 
    - Throw it out if it turns pink. It's poison.

    -It needs to be feed or it will starve to death.

    -It needs to breathe.

    -Always use lukewarm water

    -Keep the container clean. Any bits of flour around the side will grow mold and may contaminate your starter. Plus it's gross. 

   It sounds like a bad science experiment, I know, but the bread tastes really good and it makes a great pizza dough, more on that later.
  
               Thank you for reading Bats Bizarre's offical blog. Have a bat-tastic day!