Snow storms are for sourdough baking
I love baking while snow piles up outside. And it’s even more fun this time with my sourdough starter! Over the last few months, I’ve actually been able to replace almost all of our bread products with yummy homemade sourdough recipes. We are almost store-bought free, save a few products that I haven’t had time to experiment with yet. It’s certainly more time-consuming than picking up loaves at the store, but I can pronounce all the ingredients and I really enjoy baking. It’s so satisfying to bake from scratch and watch as my children delight in every bite. I’m still working with white flour, but my goal is to start experimenting with einkorn flour over the next few months! Although my sourdough bread is a winner, they especially love my sourdough crackers!
Here is the recipe I use that yields 2 sandwich loaves:
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cups sourdough starter
- 3 1/3 cups organic white flour
- 1/2 tbsp sea salt
- 1/2 - 1 cup water (depending on hydration of starter)
Instructions
- Grease two 9x5 loaf pans. I grease with butter and use glass pans.
- Mix sourdough starter, flour, and salt together.
- Then add enough water to make a sticky bread dough (the dough should be just moist enough that you can knead it, but not too dry that it doesn't stick to your hands at all). I always start with my KitchenAid to get the dough mixed, though this isn't necessary.
- Knead dough for 20 minutes on a floured surface to activate the gluten.
- Cut dough in half and shape into 2 loaves. Place each one in a separate greased loaf pan. Cover lightly with a towel and allow the dough to rise for 4-24 hours.
- There is a "sweet spot" where the dough rises just high enough without creating a gap in the top crust and the bread. When proofing in my oven with the light on, that's about 7-8 hours for me.
- Bake at 400°F for approximately 30 minutes until the internal temperature reaches at least 190°F, but no more than 200°F. (Use a meat thermometer inserted into the bottom or side of the loaf.)
- Cool completely before slicing. I've actually found that placing the loaves in a plastic ziplock bag overnight makes the loaves easier to slice.
