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Sourdough Bread

 

Sourdough Bread | Homemade Dutch Apple PieNow that I have a sourdough starter, I need to use it! My first experiment was the obvious…sourdough bread. I got the recipe from Nourishing Traditions.

The recipe makes a LOT of bread. I only did a half recipe to try it out. Especially since I had no idea if my starter was even good. I didn’t want to waste 13 cups of flour on something that might not work 😛  Plus I didn’t have 8 cups of starter.

After making quite a few loaves of sourdough bread now I have adjusted the recipe for making one loaf.

This is another plan ahead baking project. Sourdough bread has to rise for a long time. I mixed the dough in the morning (got the dough in the bread pans around 6:30 am). I didn’t end up baking it until about 6 pm! This works well if you want fresh bread for dinner.

Prepare the dough in the morning. Then pop it in the oven about 90 minutes before dinner.

For many people making traditional sourdough sounds intimidating. But it is actually so much easier than making a yeast bread.  You don’t have to worry about whether or not the yeast is working. You don’t have to get water temperatures just right. Sourdough is very forgiving. Plus it only takes three ingredients – flour, water and salt. Just mix, knead and bake.

Sourdough bread has a wonderful, mildly sour taste. It goes well with scrambled eggs or a bowl of soup. In my opinion the best way to eat it is plain with lots and lots of butter!

Sourdough bread is also great if you are pregnant or nursing.  The fermentation breaks down most of the gluten, if that is a concern (you must still avoid it if you have celiac). And sourdough bread helps with milk production. It is a great source of carbohydrates for a nursing mom.

Traditional sourdough is healthy and easy on your tummy. My whole family enjoys it even with our allergies and sensitivities. We seem to tolerate sourdough fine.

You can use a variety of flours when making sourdough. I always use rye for my starter. Then I usually use spelt for my baking. You can also use kamut or einkorn. Whole wheat works as well, but it may be harder to digest.

If you’ve never tried traditional sourdough bread you’re missing out! Get your sourdough starter going and whip up a loaf of fresh bread. Your whole family will enjoy it.

Once you’ve mastered sourdough bread you can try other delicious recipes like english muffins, honey walnut bread, granola muffins, crackers, breakfast cookies, pizza dough and even graham crackers!

Do you enjoy sourdough bread? What is your favorite way to use sourdough?

Sourdough Bread
makes 1 large loaf

2 cups sourdough starter (at room temp)
3 cups spelt, kamut, einkorn or hard winter wheat flour
1/2 Tbsp. course sea salt
3/8 cup cold filtered water

The day before making the bread feed your sourdough starter (be sure you have at least 3 cups total) and leave it at room temperature.

Place the starter, salt and water in a large bowl (a stand mixer bowl works well) and mix with a wooden spoon until the salt has dissolved. Slowly mix in the flour (with a dough hook in a stand mixer). Add extra flour if the dough is too wet. Let it knead for 15 minutes.

Without pressing down the dough, cut or shape loaf into the desired shape and place it in a greased loaf pan. Cut a few slits in the top of the dough, cover and let rise from 4 to 12 hours.

Bake at 350 for about an hour. Allow to cool before slicing.

The bread will keep for up to a week without refrigeration.

Crispy Walnuts

I made a batch of crispy walnuts this week. Yum!!! And so simple. It’s the exact same method I used for the crispy pecans. Just note that walnuts can go rancid faster than pecans. So they should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

Crispy Walnuts

4 cups (1 lb.) walnuts
2 tsp. sea salt
water

Mix walnuts with salt and water (I covered them loosely with plastic wrap.) and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours or overnight (I soaked them for close to 24 hours.). Drain. Spread walnuts on baking pan. Place in oven on lowest setting (150 degrees) for 12 to 24 hours, stirring once in a while, until completely dry and crisp. Store in an airtight container in the refigerator or freezer.

Soaked Granola

Last week I made a batch of soaked oats and crispy pecans. Then I used them to make homemade granola. I used my usual granola recipe. But I added coconut oil instead of another kind of fat. Maybe next time I’ll try butter too. This turned out really well. Although I did let it bake a bit longer than I would have liked since I was busy with other things. It is crunchier than the granola you make with unsoaked oats. But I like that. I’ll be making my granola like this from now on to make it easier on my tummy. I’ll repost my granola recipe here.

Mary’s Soaked Granola
*this can be gluten free if you don’t use wheat bran and if you tolerate/use GF oats

12 cups soaked and dried rolled oats
2 cups dried fruit (any mix or just raisins)
2 tsp. cinnamon

optional mix ins:
1 1/2 cups ground flax seed
1 1/2 cups wheat bran or wheat germ
1 cup chopped nuts (crispy pecans, walnuts or almondsl)
1 cup seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, etc.)
1 cup coconut (sweetened or unsweetened…whatever you prefer, I used organic unsweetened)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted butter or EVOO (or a combo)

Heat oven to 325. Mix all dry ingredients, except fruit and crispy nuts, in one or two large bowls (however it is easiest to stir). (Mix a small amount of safe (oats, coconut, wheat bran, coconut, rasisins), dry ingredients in a smaller bowl for a toddler to mix and eat:) Pour honey, syrup and oil over dry ingredients. Mix well. Spread granola onto baking sheets (you can do all of it on 2 sheets…they’ll be very full. Or you can do it on 4 sheets (2 batches) so that it bakes a little more evenly. You may have to cut the baking time down a bit if you do it on 4 pans). Bake 20 – 30 min., stirring 2 or 3 times throughout. Add fruit and nuts during the last 5 min. or after granola is done baking. Let cool. Store in sealed container or bag. Freezes well. I generally freeze it in gallon freezer bags then just take out a little at a time as we need it. It can even be eaten directly from the freezer. You can scale the recipe down if you don’t want to make a large batch. I make a ton and freeze it so that I don’t have to make it all the time.

Homemade Poptarts

cinnamon brown sugar

I recently found a recipe for homemade poptarts (my MOPS group posted a link to the recipe…from Smitten Kitchen). I had to give it a try! So I made them for breakfast today. I made the dough last night and assembled and baked them this morning. In hindsight I think it’d be easier to do all the assembly the night before and then just bake them in the morning. There was still a fair amount of work to do this morning and I was quite rushed. They were fun, though. And taste great!! I made a few with a brown sugar cinnamon filling, a couple with peanut butter and chocolate and a couple with cashew butter and chocolate. I’d like to try them with my homemade cherry jam sometime too. We tried the cinnamon sugar today. Mmmm. That was always my favorite flavor poptart. (Side note…I now can’t believe I used to eat them…so bad for you…all chemicals and processed junk). Of course I couldn’t make them totally according to the recipe…I wanted to up the nutrition. I compromised for my first attempt…I didn’t soak the grains, but I did use whole wheat flour (white whole wheat). Next time I’ll experiment with soaking the flour first. I’m so glad I tried these! A fun breakfast to have once in a while. And so many filling possibilities. And it just dawned on me that I’ve been wanting to replace Justin’s Saturday morning toaster strudel with something homemade for a long time…and this is exactly it! So you could call them homemade poptarts or homemade toaster strudels. Justin says they are breakfast pastries 🙂  Either way they are so much better for you than anything you buy in a box. We’ll be trying the peanut butter chocolate ones tomorrow. And I have a couple packs of homemade poptarts in the freezer now for easy breakfasts. I didn’t use any glaze, but you could. I just haven’t figured out a healthy way to do it yet (need to replace powdered sugar somehow).

cashew butter chocolate

Homemade Poptarts (or Toaster Strudels or Breakfast Pastries)

Pastry

2 cups (8 1/2 oz.) all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 Tbsp. sugar (I used organic cane sugar)
1 tsp. salt (I used sea salt)
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 oz.) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. (1 oz.) milk (I used whole milk)
1 additional large egg (to brush on pastry)

Cinnamon Filling (enough for 9 tarts)

1/2 cup (3 3/4 oz.) brown sugar (I used orgainc brown cane sugar)
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, to taste
4 tsp. all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat)

Jam Filling

3/4 cup (8 oz.) jam
1 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp. cold water

Alternate fillings: 9 Tbsp. chocolate chips, 9 Tbsp. Nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut paste or 9 Tbsp. of a delight of your choice, such as salted caramel or a nut paste

To make cinnamon filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.

To make jam filling: Mix the jam with the cornstarch/water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. Use to fill the pastry tarts.

Make the dough: Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers, pastry blender or food processor until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. If you’ve used a food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk one egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary.

Divide the dough in half (approximately 8 1/4 oz. each), shape each half into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. You can roll this out immediately or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Assemble the tarts: If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. [You can use a 9″ x 13″ pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough into thirds – you’ll form nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.

Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.

Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F. (You can refrigerate them at this point and bake them later (i.e. the next morning). Or you can freeze them at this point…wrap in plastic wrap, parchment paper or wax paper and place in freezer bag. Thaw in fridge slightly before baking. Follow same baking instructions.)

Bake the tarts: Remove the tarts form the fridge, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Cool in pan on rack.

Charming tip from King Arthur: Sprinkle the dough trimmings with cinnamon-sugar; these have nothing to do with your toaster pastries, but it’s a shame to discard them, and they make a wonderful snack. While the tarts are chilling, bake these trimmings for 13 to 15 minutes, till they’re golden brown.

Crispy Pecans (Soaked and Dehydrated)

I soaked and dehydrated some pecans the same time I soaked my oats. It is a similar process except you use salt instead of yogurt. But the soak and dry times were the same. And I had them in the oven together. Very efficient. The soaking and drying process for most nuts and seeds is the same. But there are some variations of times.

I did pecans for my first attempt. These are great!!! I love eating nuts plain. But they are even better like this (in flavor…almost a sweetness to them). Plus they are so much better for you! Love it. And now they are all set to use in  my granola. I’ll just post the recipe for pecans here. As I try different varieties of nuts I’ll post them separately. My hope is to start making all of our peanut butter/nut butter from scratch…using soaked nuts. Then maybe I can finally eat nut butter without worrying about how it will impact my tummy 🙂  I wish someone had told me a long time ago there was a way to  make your food easier to digest 🙂

I got this recipe from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. But you can find it many places if you do a search on soaking nuts. These are great for baking, sprinkling on salads or pasta or just for a snack!

Crispy Pecans

4 cups (1 lb.) pecan halves
2 tsp. sea salt
water

Mix pecans with salt and water and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours or overnight (I soaked them for close to 24 hours.). Drain. Spread pecans on baking pan. Place in oven on lowest setting (150 degrees) for 12 to 24 hours (I did bout 15 hours.), stirring once in a while, until completely dry and crisp. You can also dry them in a dehydrator. Store in an airtight container.

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa

For breakfast this morning I made a new recipe that I found on 101 Cookbooks a long time ago. I had never thought of eating quinoa for breakfast. But I’m so glad I tried it. This is really good! And super easy too. And…I soaked yet another grain! While I was thinking about what I had to get out/prep for meals yesterday it dawned on me that you might be able to soak quinoa. So I looked it up. Sure enough. Same idea as soaking flour, etc. I put the quinoa in a bowl with water and a little plain yogurt last night. Then rinsed it this morning and followed the recipe from there, using a little less liquid. Hardly any hands on work required to make this breakfast. You just have to wait a few minutes for the quinoa to cook. We added raw honey, blueberries, flax seed and a mix of almonds, walnuts and pecans. Such a healhty start to the day. It’ll be fun to try it with different toppings too. Anything you can do with oatmeal you can do with quinoa. I only made a half recipe. A perfect amount for Justin and me.

*Edited 2/9/11 to be NT compatible and adjusted to 2 serving recipe.

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa
serves 2

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup organic quinoa, (I soaked mine in water and yogurt over night – see directions below)
1 cup fresh blackberries, organic preferred (I used a cup of blueberries from our freezer, thawed)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Toppings:
pecans, walnuts or almonds (preferably soaked and dehydrate)
raw honey or real maple syrup
plain or vanilla yogurt
dried cranberries or raisins
butter

To soak quinoa:
Cover the quinoa in water (a couple inches over quinoa) and about 1-2 Tbsp. plain organic yogurt. Soak it over night and rinse it in the morning. Then proceed with recipe.

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in blackberries and cinnamon; transfer to two bowls and top with desired toppings.

Oatmeal Muffins

Last week I had to make some muffins for a church event. And while I was looking through my recipes I found a recipe for oatmeal muffins from my MIL. I had never made them, but they sounded good…and it looked like a recipe that would be easily adapted to soaking grains and replacing the white flour with whole wheat flour. I mixed the flour, oats and buttermilk early in the morning yesterday. And then baked them later in the afternoon. They turned out great! We’ll be having them with our dinner tonight. Rebecca and I tried one right out of the oven. Very good. I added some raisins and ground flax seed for extra nutrition. This recipe works very well as a base recipe. You could add any dried fruit, fresh fruit, nuts, spices, etc. I’ll definitely be making these again. So easy, so healthy and so good! I’ll post the recipe the way I made it.

This recipe is linked to GNOWFGLINS probiotics every meal – breakfast ideas. Check it out for some other healthy breakasts.

Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup cultured buttermilk (I’m guessing kefir or yogurt would work too…I’ll have to try that the next time I make them)
1 cup whole wheat flour (I used freshly ground)
1 egg
4 Tbsp. coconut oil (melted butter would work too)
1/2 cup brown cane sugar (they are quite sweet…you could decrease this if you want to cut back on sugar)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
(a little cinnamon would probably be good in these)
1/2 – 1 cup add-ins (raisins, flax seed, nuts, seeds, fresh fruit, dried fruit)

Mix oats, flour and buttermilk in a glass bowl. Cover and let sit at least 7 hours.

Heat oven to 400. Stir remaining ingredients into oat mixture. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 min. Makes 12-14 muffins.

**If you do not want to soak the grains, mix just the oats and buttermilk and let sit 1 hour. Add egg and oil/butter. Mix dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry. Mix until just dampened. Fill muffin cups and bake as directed above.

Whole Wheat Soaked Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake

I continue to experiment with soaking grains and swapping ingredients. I had some buttermilk and plain yogurt to use up, so I decided to see what I could do with my recipe for yum yum coffee cake yesterday. I replaced the AP flour with half whole wheat flour and half white whole wheat flour. I used organic butter. I replaced all of the sugar with organic cane sugar. I added a few raisins. And I soaked the grains ahead of time. And the verdict…AMAZING! Seriously. It is way better than the original version. So moist and delicious. All 3 of us munched on a bunch right out of the oven even though it was close to dinner time. It was just too good not to. Rebecca kept asking for more. And she walked around saying “mmmmm.” I’m so glad I tried this. I’ll be making it this way from now on. And I’ll feel much better about serving it and eating it knowing that is much healthier. And hooray for my 3rd successful attempt at soaking grains! I think I do notice a difference in my digestion when I do it. So I will definitely keep trying. This was such a treat for breakfast this morning. Still just as moist this morning as it was yesterday right out of the oven. And I’m glad I have a bunch more in the freezer now. I’m going to post this as a separate recipe since it’s quite different from the original.

This recipe is linked to GNOWFGLINS probiotics at every meal – breakfast ideas. Lots of yummy, healthy breakfast ideas.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake

2 cups whole wheat flour (I used half whole wheat and half white whole wheat)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter, at room temp
2 eggs
1 – 1 1/2 cups cultured buttermilk or plain yogurt…enough to get all of the flour moist (I used about half each…what I had on hand) (kefir would work well too)
1 cup cane sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Topping:
1/3 cup cane sugar (regular or brown)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup nutmeats (optional)
———————————————-
To soak grains:
Mix flour, buttermilk and/or yogurt. Cover and let set on counter at least 8 hours.

When ready to bake:
Heat oven to 350 deg. Grease a 9×13 pan.

Mix topping ingredients, set aside.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat well. Add vanilla and mix. Add wheat mixture, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well. Add extra yogurt or buttermilk if too thick. Put half of the batter in the prepared pan. Top with half of topping and all of the raisins. Spread the rest of the batter on top. Top with remaining topping. Bake 35-40 min.

Serve warm or room temperature. Freezes well. Can be served for breakfast, brunch, a snack or even dessert (with vanilla ice cream:)

Ice Cream Cones

Since it was such a rainy day yesterday Rebecca and I tackled another experimental baking project…ice cream cones! I haven’t had much luck finding a recipe that looks all that great. But I found this one from Disney Family Fun a long time ago. Figured I’d give it a shot. The cone is like the cookie style cones you sometimes see at ice cream shops. It reminds me of a mix between a sugar cookie and a fortune cookie. I think I made them a little thicker than I’d like, but it was a first attempt. The really tough part is shaping them. I don’t have a cone shaper (note to self…put on gift list:), so I have to try to do it by hand…while they are super hot, just out of the oven. It’s tough to roll it and pinch the end before it starts cooling. But it was a fun experiment. One didn’t roll well at all, so we used that to munch on. We haven’t tried them with ice cream yet. I’ll update when we do. This is a decent base recipe. It would work well for making ice cream bowls or even making your own fortune cookies. And best of all, no HFCS or hydrogenated oils! I’m glad we tried it.
**Edited 4-13-10: These taste great with ice cream!!

Ice Cream Cones

2/3 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup melted butter

Heat the oven to 400º F (350º F if you’re using a dark-coated baking sheet). In a medium-size bowl, beat the sugar and egg whites with an electric mixer for 30 seconds.

Mix in the flour until smooth, then add the vanilla extract and melted butter. For each cone, scoop 2 1/2 tablespoons of batter onto the baking sheet, spreading the batter into thin 6-inch circles (use a measuring spoon for accuracy). (Try to get it quite thin…I think that is the trick. And I also think it helps to grease the baking sheet.)

Bake for 7 or 8 minutes or until golden, then remove the sheet from the oven (they need to get quite dark to work well, darker than I expected. Otherwise it stays too doughy.). Working quickly, form each cookie into a cone (a parent’s job), pinching the tip to seal it tightly. Allow the cones to cool seam side down on a rack.

English Muffins

A few weeks ago I tried making english muffins. They didn’t turn out very well. They were super dense…not at all the texture of an english muffin. I decided to give it another try yesterday with a completely different recipe. I found this recipe link on my SIL’s blog. The recipe is from Baking Bites. The concept of these muffins is more like a pancake than bread. These turned out great!!! Plus they are way easier to make. No long knead and rise times. And they puff up just like you expect. I’m so glad I tried these. I had one for breakfast this morning. Yum! This is a keeper recipe for sure. I’m anxious to make the cinnamon raisin version and maybe even experiment with adding some whole wheat flour. The hardest part about making these is getting the griddle temp correct. It has to be high enough to make them puff, but low enough that they can be on long enough to cook through without  burning. I had a mix of results as I adjusted the temp. But overall they turned out well. Maybe next time I’ll try my electric skillet so I can be sure to have an even temp throughout. I got 10 muffins out of this.

English Muffins

1/3 cup water, warm (110F)
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup nonfat milk, slightly warm (100-110F) (I used 1%)
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cups all purpose flour

In a large bowl, whisk together water, sugar and yeast and let mixture stand for 10 minutes, until slightly foamy.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 40 minutes.

Heat a griddle/nonstick frying pan over medium/medium-high heat (water dropped on the griddle evaporates very quickly). Lightly grease with cooking spray. Drop dough by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto greased surface and cook until medium brown on the bottom.

The top will look set and the sides will appear somewhat dry. The exact time depends on the temperature of your griddle and the size of your muffins, but expect this to take several minutes. Flip over and cook 2nd side until brown.

Cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes or until completely cool.

When ready to serve, split muffins with a fork and toast.

Serve with butter, jam, peanut butter, etc.
Makes 10-12 muffins.