Breads

Classic Sourdough Bread

  • 1 Cup Amish Sourdough Bread Starter (BREADS)
  • 1 1/3 cups Warm water
  • 5 to 6 cups All purpose Flour or a combination of
  • ~ All-purpose and whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon Sugar
  • ~ Cornmeal to sprinkle on pans

    • THE SPONGE:

    Pour 1 cup of starter into a large ceramic mixing bowl. Feed and then refrigerate the remainder. Add to the starter in the mixing bowl, the warm water and about 3 cups of flour. Beat vigorously with spoon or wire whisk. Cover this sponge with plastic wrap and putit aside to work. This time period canbe very flexible, but allow at least 2 hours and as many as 24. The longer it has, the more yeast there will be for the second rise and the more pronounced the sour flavor of the bread will be.

    THEDOUGH:

    After sponge has bubbled and expanded, remove plastic wrap. Blend salt,sugar and baking soda into 2 cups of flour. Mix this into sponge with large spoon. When dough begins to hold together, turn it out onto a floured board and knead it for 3 to 4 minutes. Add flour as needed. Continue kneading for another3 to 4 minutes. Place the dough back in the bowl turning it to grease the top. Cover and let rise for 2 to 4 hours. If you want, you can skip the second rise in the bowl and proceed directly to the next step.

    SHAPING AND BAKING THE LOAVES:

    Knock down the dough and shape it into 2 long loaves. Place them on a cornmeal sprinkled cookie sheet, cover and let them rise for another 2 hours or so.

    Toward the end of the rising period, preheat your oven to 450º F and begin heating a kettle of water on your stove. Just before you put them in the oven, slash the tops of your loaves diagonally with a knife 1/4-inch deep every two inches and brush with cold water. Place a baking pan on the oven bottom and put in 3 to 4 cups of boiling water. Put the loaves on the rack over the steaming water, close the oven and bake for about 25 minutes.

    Makes two loaves.

    This recipe courtesy of the From My Kitchen Cookbook. 

    Contributed by Ronald Walton of New York, New York. 

    Visit http://www.frommykitchen.net and get your copy of From My Kitchen: Internet-ready recipe software.  Your kitchen will never be the same!