Just Make A Batch of Sourdough Bread!

I am calling this post, Just Make a Batch of Sourdough Bread, because sometimes you need a little encouragement. We all need it sometimes.

I have been running low on some granules of Valentina's and Babo's San Francisco Sourdough Starter. My last post was of a batch of bread using Valentina's because I reactivated her and once ready spread the starter on a large plastic tray to dry and since Valentina's was now active I also made a couple of batches of bread and made pancakes too a few times.

Next I activated a batch of Babo's. In fact, right now I have four loaves baking in the oven and it smells oh so good. 

Valentina's and Babo's both come from San Francisco but they are different. Babo's needs a little more care after making the dough. I let the dough rest for twelve to fourteen hours in a cool environment of about 60-65 degrees F before dividing into loaves. I then let the loaves sit at 80 to 85F for a couple more hours before placing in the oven.

I use the same basic recipe for all of my sourdough starters:

1 Batch of Starter doubled in size 
3 Cups room temp water
1 to 2 Tablespoons Salt*
8 or 9 Cups Unbleached Flour

I combine all the ingredients in my Bosch mixer and let the machine run for ten minutes after the last of the flour is added. Pour 90 percent of the starter into the mixing bowl. You only need a little starter left in the jar when feeding it. I am not of the school that says to only use half. In my opinion that is ridiculous and can lead to weak starters. By using all but some scraps in the jar you are promoting healthy vibrant sourdough starters.

Then I remove the dough and place in a large plastic Tupperware bowl that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Then I place the lid on top but not sealing it and let the dough rise overnight. The next day I divide the dough into 4 or 5 round loaves and place on a tray that has been lightly oiled and sprinkled with a little corn flour. 

In my oven I have a Travertine tile from Lowes that I pre-heat to 450F. I also have a small cast iron frying pan that I pour in 2 cups of boiling water. Wear large oven mitts for this because you may burn yourself at this stage. Always be careful. 

I either transfer the loaves to the travertine directly or I just lay the tray I am using on top of the stone, add the boiling water and then close the door and reduce the temperature to 400.

Making your own homemade sourdough bread is very rewarding. If you would like to order one or all of my starters you can click here.

* Use of Salt for those on a salt restricted diet. Check out Chef Don's Megaheart.com site for his sourdough recipes.

Pictures of today's batch of bread are coming.

Babo's SF Starter

35 Minutes in the Oven so far

Three New Sourdough Starters

I now have three new sourdough starters. All are from California. They are:

Sierra Gold 
Made from wine grapes from a vineyard southeast of Sacramento, California in the the Sierra Foothills. Has a Mild sour taste and gives a lively rise to any sourdough recipe.

Chef Don's Megaheart.com Sourdough Starter
This is from grapes grown near Auburn, California. I would call it a medium sour and it too has a good lively rise action. I recently made pancakes with this starter and they were delicious.

Quinn Hartley's Kern County Sourdough Starter
The south central San Joaquin Valley is home to some of the largest table grape growers in North America. Quinn Hartley's sourdough starter comes from some of these grapes grown up against the Sierra Foothills. It has a nice sour smell and taste and is very active.

These starters have now been added to the Order Page.

Enjoy. 

My Sourdough Method is Different - It's Not A Wet Process

My style of making sourdough is different than what some might think of when they envision a loaf of sourdough. I would love to make sourdough the wet method way but it requires space in the fridge and frankly that is something we just do not have right now so instead I do it the dense loaf method. For me it works.

If you want the large holes throughout your loaves then you will need to go that route. My starters will work just fine for either method because many of my customers are doing just that. 

Wasatch Willy's Sourdough - A Fresh Loaf

The only thing missing is the most wonderful sourdough smell. But for that you can order your own starter and try it for yourself. I suggest ordering my Wasatch Willy's Great Salt Lake Sourdough Starter and Best Darn Old Alaskan Sourdough Starter. It is only $5 for the two in the USA or $5.70 in Canada. When you order you get recipes and activation instructions. 

When making bread with my sourdough starters do not use bread flour. Use unbleached all purpose white flour only. You can also use wheat flour as well. Keep in mind wheat flour intensifies the sourness of the bread and you may want to shorten the fermentation period of the dough. White flour fermentation is normally about 12 hours between 65-70 degrees F.

San Francisco Sourdough Starter

A true San Francisco Sourdough Starter is unique because it contains two organisms that contribute to the unique flavor associated with San Francisco Sourdough. One organism thrives at a lower temperature and the other at a higher temp which means it requires a long fermentation at around 60-65 degrees F and then a rise at 80-85 degrees F for about two hours.

If you are feeling bold and daring you can try Babo's San Francisco Sourdough Starter otherwise any of my other starters will produce excellent results as well. My other two favorites are Wasatch Willy's and Best Damn Alaskan Sourdough starters. 

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I have seven starters in all at this time. You can try any two for $5 if you live in the US or $5.70 if you live in Canada. Or you can order all seven as so many do. 

A Comment From A Recent Customer

Hi Bill,

I just got started with your sourdough starter in June 2014.  I received two, and have only used one so far, the "Best Damn Alaskan" starter.  I'm having a lot of fun with it!  It took a few attempts of not so pretty loaves to get the knack of it (I think I was overproofing it so it wasn't getting much oven rise) but now I am getting taller loaves.  The toast is awesome--beautiful sourdough flavour!  I have this starter going in two jars, so I have a backup in case of a problem.  I also made sourdough pizza dough with it, which was delicious!

Attached please find some pics.  (The last picture is my best loaf yet, lol!) I have a batch going right now, will be baking bread tonight!  Can't wait... (7/14/2014)

Sincerely,

Laurel Harrington

Brechin, ON  Canada

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Click to see the book that Laurel is using. This is the updated version.

My Sourdough Starters Are Super Easy To Activate

There is a link at the bottom of the page for more info regarding my seven different starters and how to order them. I offer a Super 7 bundle pack at a nice discount and also a single order starter pack that includes any two starters of your choosing. You can also click here for more info as well.

March 5, 2015 - Activating one of my Sourdough Starters can be done one of several ways. There is this method (below) that works or the method that is now included when you order a starter package. Either one is ok.

All of the starters offered here are very robust and are super easy to activate. When you order one of my Sourdough starters you get a packet of dried starter granules, a jar label and instructions with recipes. Six of the seven starters are actual sourdough starters and one is a natural yeast starter that is not sour and is meant for making bread and rolls.

What You Will Need

• When activating a Sourdough Starter you need a large wide-mouth jar such as a quart Mason jar or I like to use a re-purposed 40 ounce peanut butter jar because the lid is wider.
• You also need something to stir the starter with and I like to use the blunt end of a chopstick. 
• Bottled Water

Step One:

In the morning, place half a cup of lukewarm bottled water into your quart sized jar. Pour the packet of Mister Sourdough Starter into the jar. Swirl the starter around in the water and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Step Two:

Pour half a cup of flour into the jar and stir. Later that evening, before you go to bed, add another ½ cup flour and water and stir. Place a lid on the jar but do not tighten because it is best to allow the starter to breathe. Place in a warm location. In the oven with the light on and the door closed will work as long as you do not forget it is there. A counter in the kitchen will work just as well as long long as the temperature is not colder than 72F. 75-80F is ideal.

Step Three:

The next morning, dump out half of your starter and add a cup of flour and  3/4 cup water, stir. Loosely cover the jar and place back in a warm spot. Repeat this step on a daily basis until the natural yeasts in the starter are thriving. This can take 1-3 days. For a normal feeding once the starter is doubling I usually leave half a cup of starter in the jar and add 160 grams water and 160 grams flour and stir.

Scroll down for a description of each starter with PayPal buttons for ordering.

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New Packaging Example - Front

New Packaging - Reverse w/Instructions

To Order:

So as to simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.

A Delicious and Simple White Bread Recipe

We cannot always eat sourdough bread, there are occasions when we need a break from sourdough and this recipe is a great choice.

The Masterful Ingredients

In a bowl combine and set aside:
3 and 1/3 Cups Warm Water
3 Tablespoons Yeast **
a little sugar

In the mixer bowl combine:
9 Cups Bread Flour
1 Tablespoon Salt
9 Tablespoons Sugar
3/4 Cup Powdered Milk
3/4 Cup Dry Instant Potatoes
3 Tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten
3 Tablespoons Powdered Lecithin

In the microwave melt:
12 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter*

Slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and add the melted butter. Adjust the dough with either a little more water or flour to get the right consistency.

Run the mixer on medium speed with the dough hook for 15 minutes.

Prepare four bread pans. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the dough is ready, divide into four loaves and place on top of the stove and cover with a damp cloth. Place the bread in the oven when the side of the loaves are equal to the sides of the pans. Bake for 25-35 minutes.

Wait 20 to 30 minutes to cool down before slicing. Enjoy!

* You may chose to use salted butter.
** Instead of yeast you might try substituting Tara Natural Yeast but keep in mind that rise times will be 4-6 hours. Click on the Sourdough Bread link above.

Simple - Easy to Make Sourdough Hamburger Buns

A Simple - Easy to Make Sourdough Hamburger Buns

Last night I baked a ginormous loaf of bread using Valentina's San Francisco Sourdough Starter. I have been doing that a lot lately, making different things all with the same Starter. A change of pace is in order and I decided to make something with our latest starter, Alaska Sam's Sourdough Starter. Got it from a friend up in Alaska, of all places. Imagine that.

A friend of mine, Donald Gazzaniga of Megaheart.com, had made hamburger buns using Valentina's and his turned out really nice. Click on the link to see his recipe.

Don's Valentina Buns

NOTE: If you are coming here from Megaheart.com, please note: Chef Don used our Valentina San Francisco Sourdough Starter. The above link has the recipe for Don's bun recipe and should be followed for no sodium cooking. 

Sourdough bread rises faster when salt is omitted. Salt is usually added to sourdough as an inhibitor to slow down the process.  Lack of salt may reduce the sour taste somewhat due less time fermenting.

The following is my recipe.

Our Sourdough Hamburger Buns


Ingredients:

2 Cups Sourdough Starter (bottom of page)
1 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
5-6 Cups Flour

In a mixer bowl combine all ingredients except the flour and mix well. Slowly add the flour until the dough cleans off the side of the bowl. Knead the dough for ten minutes.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover loosely until doubled. Remove the dough from the bowl after doubling and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 18 pieces or flatten to about 1/2 inch and cut out as many buns as you can. 

Place the buns on a greased cookie sheet and let them rise until double again.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes until light golden brown on top.

Optional: Egg wash last 5 minutes and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

And here are the results of our buns. Formed by hand.

Here's a recent recipe posted on Mother Earth News.

Buns! Fresh from the oven!

Owen! Grampa made hamburger buns! We're having hamburgers for dinner!

Grampa's Burger (Mine)

Dad's

To simplify the updating process of my blog entries I have created a single ORDER page you can go to by clicking here. As the blog slowly grows in size (a few posts each month) it becomes an arduous labor updating each and every one of them so hopefully this will make the pages easier to peruse and more enjoyable. Thank you.