Sourdough Wheat Bread

I have been having so much fun making bread lately. I have so much in my freezer and I have no idea when I will get around to eating it! Maybe I need to host a giveaway were the winner will receive a loaf of bread!! (Sorry the pictures are so small - I had trouble uploading them.)



Ok here is the recipe. In order to make a sourdough bread you first have to create a starter. There are recipes all over the Internet but here is what I need. About 11 days before I made my first loaf I started the starter. First take about 1 cup of flour (I used whole wheat) and 3/4 cup of water. Make sure the water is bottled or does not have chorline in it - this will mess everything up. Mix the two items together in a non-metallic bowl, cover the bowl (I used a plate) and let it sit on the counter. The next day add more flour and water. It does not need to be another cup just a few huge spoonfuls. (You can look online to get a more exact recipe but this is what I did). After about a week it is time to cook.

Here is a picture of the starter.

I found this recipe here, Jan's Dough. She has a starter recipe if you want more direction than I gave above. Yeast Mix I have found that what kind of yeast you use is one of the most important ingredients. I use to buy the cheapest stuff (yellow package) but a few weeks ago at the store the more expensive yeast was on sale and I bought that instead. It more expensive yeast was awesome. I have made four huge loaves out of one package . It is the Red Star, Quick Rise Yeast in the silver package. Okay - back to the recipe. First - get the yeast going, mix 1/2 cup of warm (not hot) water, 1 TBS of sugar and 1 package of yeast. Mix so the yeast dissolves and let sit. If the yeast does not start rising and activating within 5 minutes, start over. While the yeast is activating, add 1 egg, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp of salt (I have forgotten this and it is not too big of a deal), 1 cups of flour and start the mixer. Then add the yeast, 1 to 1.5 cups of the sourdough starter and 1 cup of water. At this point I really don't follow the recipe - I keep adding flour until it is the correct consistently. Doughy but not sticky. I also let the kitchen aid to the kneading.

After the dough is ready to go put it in a greased bowl and let it rise. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a towel. Let it rise until it doubles in size (about 2 hours) and then punch the bread down, knead for a couple of minutes and let is rise again for another 2 hours. Then punch the bread down again and knead for a couple of minutes. Shape the bread into the size you want and let the bread rise on a cooking sheet or a loaf pan for another 1 to 2 hours.

Here is a picture of the bread after it has risen.

Mikayla's job is to punch the bread down and she loves it.

Baking the bread - pre-heat the over to 350, once the oven is fully heated cook the bread for about 30 minutes, let cool and enjoy. Any questions - please see email me or see Jan's Dough website.