September 19, 2011: Sourdough Angel Biscuits

Here’s another recipe I took from Rita Davenport’s Sourdough Cookery. I made these biscuits for my women’s Bible study in addition to the rolls because I thought they would be perfect with my homemade peach butter. They’re called Angel Biscuits because they are light as a feather!

One of two pans with biscuits rising before baking.

Sourdough Angel Biscuits

1 t. yeast

2 T. lukewarm water

1 cup sourdough starter

1 t. sugar

4 T. shortening (try butter flavored Crisco)

½ t. salt

1 t. baking powder

1 ½ cups flour

4 T. butter, melted

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Add sourdough starter and sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine salt, baking powder and flour. Cut in the shortening until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the sourdough starter mixture and mix well. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead gently, adding more flour if necessary. Roll dough out to about ½ inch thickness. Cut into rounds. Dip in melted butter and place rounds, sides touching, in a greased cake pan.

Cover pan with a towel and place in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12 to 14 biscuits.

Note: Next time I make these biscuits, I will double the amount of yeast to make them rise faster and lighter. Use 2 t. yeast dissolved in 2 T. water and proceed with the recipe as written.

September 18, 2011: Sourdough Dinner Rolls

This week I’m hosting my women’s Bible study class at my house. We’re going to combine the lesson with a potluck in celebration of a couple of the ladies’ birthdays. As usual, I was asked to provide the bread. But rather than make something I’ve done over and over again, I decided to turn to Rita Davenport’s Sourdough Cookery for a couple new recipes. These sourdough dinner rolls are one of those recipes I tried. This particular one didn’t call for yeast but I’ve found that sourdough starter just performs far better when you add a bit to the recipe.

Sourdough rolls during the second rising, before baking.

Sourdough Dinner Rolls

1 t. yeast

1 T. warm water

1 ½ cups sourdough starter

2 T. sugar

½ t. salt

3 T. butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

2 – 2 ½ cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the sourdough starter, sugar, salt and melted butter. Add the beaten egg, then about one and a half cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead until smooth, adding flour as necessary to make a stiff dough.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turn to cover all sides. Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about one hour.

Punch down dough and break off pieces to form rolls. Depending on their size you will get anywhere from 18 to 30 rolls. Place them on a greased cookie sheet and cover with a cloth. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Tip: Don’t forget to take your sourdough starter out of the fridge the night before and feed it with at least 2 cups water and 2 cups flour.

March 22, 2011: Sourdough Pancakes

Did you make a sourdough starter back in February when I gave you the recipe for sourdough starter? If so, how’s your starter doing? You didn’t let it die, did you?

If not, this recipe for pancakes, courtesy of my friend Kathy who also gifted me with my sourdough starter, is just amazing. A couple years ago my husband and I won a trip to Chicago to see Jason Michael Carroll. Before we left, we stopped at the Original Pancake House in downtown Chicago. This recipe is much like their pancakes – very light on the inside, crispy on the outside, and filled with fantastic flavor. If you’ve never had a sourdough pancake, you are in for a real treat! They are especially good topped with jam, a fruit spread, or a fruity syrup.

Tip: You have to take our your starter the night before, so plan on having these pancakes for breakfast ahead of time – a weekend morning is a good choice.

Sourdough Pancakes

Take sourdough starter out at night and pour into glass or plastic bowl. Add 2 cups flour and 2 cups warm water. Cover lightly with a cloth and put in a warm place overnight (your oven – not turned on, of course – is a good location during colder months).

The next morning:

Take out 1 cup of the mixture and pour it into a clean container. This is your new batch of starter.

To remaining batter add:

2 T. sugar
1 t. baking soda
2 eggs
2 T to ¼ cup oil (or melted butter)

Mix just until all ingredients are incorporated. Let it sit for a few minutes, then cook on a greased griddle as you would any other pancake. Watch these pancakes carefully; because they are a bit thinner than normal pancakes, they cook very quickly – and bubble a LOT!

Enjoy!

February 21, 2011: Sourdough Starter Recipe

While winter is still upon us and the temps outside continue to be cold, there’s no better time to create sourdough starter.

I was lucky enough to get my starter from a friend who got it from a friend who had kept this particular formulation going for 50 years! So I didn’t have to create my own starter, but it’s not difficult to do and it’s incredibly cheap, requiring only flour and water - no yeast necessary. That's why "Cookie", in charge of the chuck wagon during an Old West roundup, used sourdough as the basis for his bread.

Sourdough starter is a living thing – somewhat like a refrigerator pet. So once you get it started, remember to occasionally give it some care and feeding.

The first thing you need is a clean container with a lid. I use a canning jar but you can also use any type of glass or ceramic jar. Some people use plastic containers but I don’t recommend it because it is very hard to get them, and keep them, sterile. Don’t use metal – and don’t use metal utensils to stir the starter when using it in a recipe.

The recipe is:
1 cup warm water
1 cup flour

Just mix these ingredients together in your jar. If you want to boost the growing process, you can add a bit of yeast (1 packet) to this mixture, but it won’t be a purist sourdough starter and won’t have the same distinctively sour taste in baked goods.

Place your jar in a warm place (70 to 80 degrees is ideal). Too hot and you’ll kill the yeast present in the flour; too cold and it will take much longer to get your starter growing.

During the growing process, you will need to feed your starter every 24 hours. Discard half of your mixture and add a half cup of water and a half cup of flour to your container. Do this until the mixture gets bubbly throughout (as in the photo on the left) and smells yeasty, about three days to one week. Then you’re done! Just make sure the lid is attached loosely and then place it in the refrigerator.

At this point, some people recommend feeding your starter weekly as described above but I’ve never done this and y starter has done just fine. It may be that after a certain period of time (several times or so) that feeding is no longer necessary. If anyone has insight into this, please let me know.

At any rate, every time you use the starter, you will need to replace what’s missing by adding in at least one fresh cup of water and one cup of flour then allow it to “proof” in a bowl overnight. When it’s frothy, you will take one or two cups of the starter to add to your recipe then add another half cup each of flour and water to what’s left and store it back in your refrigerator.

Often the sourdough starter will develop what is called “hooch”. This is a grayish liquid that forms on top of the starter. It’s completely harmless. You can choose to pour it off or stir it back into the mixture.

Once you’ve gotten your starter created, you can make some lovely, crusty bread or some incredibly tender pancakes. I’ll share those recipes with you soon!