Bread is a dietary basic in many cultures, be it flatbreads like pita, tortilla, or naan; or raised bread like croissants, quickbreads, French, sourdough, and the list goes on! Years past, I made almost all the bread our family consumed, but with a career to juggle, bread making fell by the wayside. Recently, I decided to go back to bread making and started a search for something that could be made in segments.
Refrigerator doughs are very time-forgiving and sourdough gives bread a unique flavoring, so I launched off a batch of sourdough starter a month ago using a recipe from allrecipes.com. Very simple, consisting of a package of yeast, 2 cups of warm water and 2 cups of flour mixed well and placed in a large glass jar with a loose lid. Set in a warm place, the starter will be bubbly and ready to use in less than a week. To replenish, add equal amounts of warm water and flour and a pinch of sugar. You can also use milk as your replacement liquid.
I have a 1991 Sunset book,
Breads: Step-by-Step Techniques, that has a nice selection of recipes, including sourdough. I jumped on the Super Sourdough Refrigerator Bread (page 84) because you can mix one day and bake the next. I have actually held this dough in the fridge more than the recommended 24 hours and it has baked up nicely. It's a basic white bread, nice texture, great for sandwiches or eating by the slice.
Yesterday afternoon, I planned to make some bread for a fire department potluck that evening. I had barely started the bread (yeast + warm water in the bowl),when my pager went off for a medical call about 10 miles away. I figured the bread would be lost by the time I got home, but thankfully our cool kitchen kept the batter in check until I got home. I jazzed up the basic bread recipe with some additions and came up with two nice big round loaves. So here goes, as best I can remember:
1 pkg regular dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
pinch of sugar or dollop of honey
Place these ingredients in the mixing bowl, swirl it around and drive to the fire station, jump in the engine with the guys and drive halfway to Fiddletown and get cancelled. Then come home (about 45 minutes) and pick up where you left off:
Come home, peek in the bowl -- hey, looks pretty good!
Add another cup of warm water
1 cup room temperature sourdough starter
2 eggs
1 Tbl salt
1/3 cup sugar or honey
1/3 cup olive oil
4-ish cups of whole wheat bread dough flour (I used Moore's Mill stone ground from Redding, CA)
I use one of those larger Kitchen Aid mixers with the dough hook, so get it mixing and add in:
another 4-ish cups of white bread dough flour (depending on weather, elevation, other factors)
1 small can drained sliced black olives
a handful of chopped red onion (probably about 1/2 - 3/4 cup)
Knead with the hook until the dough comes together well.
At this point, the dough
should have gone in the refrigerator for 1 - 24 hours, but I didn't have time, so I just let it raise to double right in the mixing bowl after I sprayed some olive oil on top.
After first raising, punch down, cut in half and shape loaves, place in greased pans (round or loaf). Sprinkle some sea salt on top
Raise again about 30 minutes, pop in the oven at 350 for about 30 - 35 minutes.
Grab it from the oven and run to the potluck.
Be sure to replenish your start with 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of milk and a pinch of sugar.
