How I make sourdough bread

This is a recipe in pictures. Well, really, it's a method. I create bread in a way that is time- and labor-saving for me and also pleases my family. Sourdough has wonderful health benefits. I have been making sourdough bread from this starter since May of last year. I bought the San Francisco style starter from Cultures for Health.

It is rainy and cold here today. So, I was planning to let the dough that I prepared yesterday rise for two days. Sourdough is very slow to rise, and even slower when it's cool. By letting it ferment for two days, it also becomes more sour, which is nice. But, my 13-yr-old son was standing in the kitchen hollering, "Bread, bread, bread, bread...." So, I relented.

Here is the dough I made yesterday in its happy home--an Anchor Hocking batter bowl that I bought at Walmart for $7.

I am going to cook the bread on my Chicago baguette tray, so I pull hunks of dough out of the bowl in thirds. I usually, just form the dough into a long loaf-like hunk in the air. Today, I rolled the thirds on the counter in some flour. My son was not pleased when he ate it because he got white stuff on his hands. He just tears pieces off like the French do. The loaves come out looking the same whether I form them in my hands or on the counter.

After I get the loaves on the pan, I use a sharp knife to create slits in the top. I usually go down the entire length in the middle once. I've found this works the best with my recipe as the loaf will not split anywhere but the slit. You can also slit diagonally, as is traditional. When the loaf rises some more in the oven, it needs a bit of room to grow.

I preheat my oven to 475 degrees. While that is heating up, I prepare the dough for the next day.

You can also make the bread in a Lodge 3 Qt. Combo Cooker. I just take the dough out of my mixer and let it rise in the Lodge pot with the lid on (instead of putting it in the batter bowl). It's so easy because you just place it in the preheated oven the next day. Here is a picture of what is left of the bread I made the other day in it. My family calls it "bread pie" because of its shape and how we cut it into wedges.

Here are my sourdough-making tools. I am so happy with all of them. First, there is the refurbished Kitchenaid Artisan mixer. It's gone up in price since I bought it, but it's still a great deal. You don't get the pouring shied, but that didn't bother me--one less thing to wash. I kneaded my bread by hand until November, when I couldn't deal with it any longer. I have a lot of pain in my elbows, and that was impeding my ability to get bread baked on a regular basis.

I'm using a couple of measuring cups (1 cup and 1/2 cup) and a measuring spoon (1 tsp) that are great. It's OK to use stainless when creating the dough. But, be careful when using it when feeding or storing your starter. Metal does not make your sourdough happy. The salt cellar by Miles Kimball is one of my favorite things. Oh, the flour is from Walmart. You can buy much better flour. But, this is affordable. We go through a lot of flour baking as much bread as I do. I like the re-closeable packaging on it too.

So, let's get started. Scoop 3 Cups of flour (scant) loosely and dump into your mixing bowl.

Add 3 tsp of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. (The recipe comes out better with Diamond Crystal brand than with Morton.)

Add 1 Cup of purified water. Now, the water you use is important. We had to switch from well water to city tap water this past October (not our choice). So, I bought a Propur G2.0 Big to filter out the chlorine and flouride--both of which can kill off your starter (not especially good for humans either!). Later, I ordered the stand, which is a really nice item to have. Be nice to your starter; use pure water.

Now, add 1/2 C of fresh sourdough starter. "Fresh" means that you have fed it in the last day or two. Take a look at it; see the little bubbles? That's happy starter. I love the Kitchenaid measuring cups because I can see the measurements on the inside of the cup. That means, I only need to use one measuring cup for making my dough--flour, water, and sourdough all get measured in it. This sourdough is so happy, it's even bubbling in the measuring cup.

Oh, my oven is ready. Time to stick the baguette pan inside. I place a pan with just a bit of water on the shelf below to help hydrate the bread. I don't need to do this when using the Lodge Combo Cooker because the lid helps keep bread moist. If using the cast-iron cooker, take off the lid the last 5 to 10 minutes to brown the top. I usually go for 20 to 25 minutes with the cast-iron pot. But, for the baguette pan, I cook the bread for 15 to 16 minutes, depending on how brown I want the tops.
Cook bread for 15 to 16 minutes at 475 degrees.

Now that I have the bread in the oven, I will turn on my mixer to the #2 setting for dough with the dough hook.

I don't really pay attention to how long I mix the dough. I turn off the mixer after I'm finished feeding the sourdough starter. So, that's just a few minutes.

Here's how to feed the starter:
I keep the starter in a quart-sized Mason jar. Every few days, change out to a clean jar because starter will stick the to side when you pour it and turn to an icky flour cement.

Add 1/2 Cup of flour to the jar of starter. I use a canning funnel for the small-mouthed jars so I don't end up with flour all over my counter.
Now, add 1/2 Cup of purified water to the jar.
Stir with a non-metal utensil. This is pretty important as the starter is alive and sensitive to metal objects. I use a plastic knife. Oh, and when you are done with the utensil (or anything else that touches the starter, like your measuring cup in the dough section), immediately rinse it off. You will not be happy when it is time to wash your dishes if you let starter sit on anything because it turns to flour cement. When stirring, try to incorporate plenty of air into the starter. The starter seems to like that.

Now, cover your jar of starter with a coffee filter and secure with a rubber band. I reuse the coffee filter while it still looks clean. We are all about reusing items at our house. The filter lets air in but keeps everything else out. Believe it or not, you actually have some wild yeast in your home. Some of that yeast will get through the coffee filter to your starter. (By the way, this is also a good reason to keep your kombucha and kefir on the other side of the kitchen.) So, each starter has a slightly different taste, even when beginning with the same package of starter culture. Set your starter in a calm place out of the way and not in direct sunlight. I place mine over in the corner of my kitchen counter. My starter is fed and put to bed.

It's time to turn off the mixer. I spray the inside of the batter bowl lightly with olive oil. Now, I take the dough out of the mixer and pull the top off the dough around to the back to form a gluten cloak. I place the dough into the batter bowl top down to smear a bit of oil on it. Then, I turn it right-side up and cover with the plastic lid.

I'll be back tomorrow or the next day to do this all again. I am grateful to be able to provide fresh, healthy bread for my family.

My method developed over a period of about five months. It is not fancy. I am confident you could create a prettier loaf. But, here's my situation: I do farm chores in the morning; I teach homeschool until 5 pm; then, I make dinner and do the dishes; After dinner, I do more farm chores and then go to work. I copyedit books for Elsevier until midnight or later. One last check on the animals, and it's time for me to read my Bible and get some shut eye. Rinse and repeat 7 days a week. The only break I get is that I don't have to teach school on the weekends. Freelancing and farm chores don't take a day off though. So, I read all kinds of recipes and such until I had gathered the kind of information I needed to come up with my own way of doing things that fit into my busy schedule. And, here are the results:

San Francisco sourdough baguettes cooked at 475 degrees for 15 minutes.