So I dove into a few bags of flour.
Ricotta and Provolone Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pizza
on a Sourdough Crust
Coq Au Vin-In The Blonde stuffed
Cumin Infused Pot Pie
Sourdough Staple
Rose's Special on Sourdough Crust
And finally, dessert-
The Crumbly Crisp (Apple Style)
So, over the next few days, I will be catching you up on these interesting time spenders.
I gotta tell ya this, kids, we are no longer grabbing take out pizza, and my two picky eaters are supping right along with Mom and Dad!
Let's Get It Started
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
3 Cups WARM Water (Just a tad warmer to the touch)
2 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
Pinch of Sugar or a drop or two of a yummy White Wine
That's it! In a small bowl, place 1/4 cup of warm water, stir in yeast and add pinch of sugar or wine.(You can also substitute a drop of Honey. Basically, the sweetness is just to feed the yeast and help it bloom and develop.) Agitate just slightly to ensure that all of the yeast saturated, and allow to sit for about 5-10 minutes.
Place flour in large plastic or glass bowl and make a well in the middle. (This will be your storage bowl, so be sure it is a bowl you A. won't miss, and B. will fit in your fridge for storage.)
Once yeast has become frothy, add into the well. In 1/2 increments, add the remaining warm water, mixing completely after each addition. This is going to be a sticky mess, but don't worry, it's going to come together.
Lightly cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel, and place in the oven, and turn your oven light on. Should this not be available, you can place bowl on a counter or table in a warm spot in your kitchen.
Allow this mixture to rest and rise for 18 hours. YES 18 HOURS! Trust me, you are not going to get San Fran Sourdough out of this starter, but after this initial rise, you will get a really fabulous loaf. After about a month, you are going to have your very own line of Sourdough! (The yeast in every location is different. Hence, San Fran Sourdough!) Once this has proofed and you are ready to store in your fridge, covered, be sure to replace each cup you remove from starter with equal amounts of Flour and water. Stir to incorporate flour, cover and fridge! Use again within the week, or it will grow out of your fridge...scary stuff!
The next day, uncover your starter, and begin-
Using 2 cups of Starter and 2 cups of your favorite bread flour, combine with a pinch of salt. (Make sure you replenish your starter: 2 Cups APF and 2 Cups Water.) If you find that this combo is too dry, feel free to add a tablespoon of water to loosen it up a little. Once you have formed a ball with dough, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10-15 minutes BY HAND!! After a few tries at this, you'll begin to feel when your dough gets a good gluten strand that you like. You can easily do the "Window Pane" test to check if you've properly kneaded. Pinch off about 2-3 Tbsps of your dough, make a little ball, flatten it out and stretch it as thin as you can and hold it up to the light. It should look opaque with a gel-like almost veiny look. Once you have achieved this, make a smooth ball, by gently rolling the ball until all of the seams are worked out. Lightly oil the bottom of a large bowl with about a Tbsp of olive oil and place dough in bowl rotating completely so that all of the dough has been coated. Cover with a warm damp dish cloth and allow dough to rise for about an hour or until doubled.
Now that your dough has become a big giant glob of goopy goodness, poke it down! Be gentle, this is your little loaf of loveliness, no need to be brutal. Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface, again, and cut the dough in half. At this point, you get to decide if you'd like to make two loaves of bread, or save a ball for pizza dough..your call, but I'd go with 1 loaf, 1 pizza. (For the Pizza option, tuck the cut seam to the bottom of the dough, lightly coat a piece of plastic wrap with a non-stick spray, and tightly cover your little pizza to be. Store in the freezer until day of pizza goodness, at which time you can flatten dough in plastic wrap, while chilled, and place in fridge until about 5 minutes before making your pizza.
..and breathe
Back to your loaf. Once you have cut the dough in half, tuck seams under the ball, form into desired loaf, being sure to tuck any seams, and cover with a damp kitchen towel, on a parchment lined baking sheet, and allow to rise for about 45 minutes to an hour. While your dough is proofing, place your top oven rack in the middle position, and preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place a loaf pan on a bottom rack of your oven, and heat up a teapot full of water. After your second rise, place your loaf in the oven, and fill loaf pan with heated water. This creates a steam effect that most home ovens don't produce. Cook your lovely loaf for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the crust is golden brown enough for your liking. After removing from the oven, transfer loaf to a cooling rack for about 15 minutes, and then wrap with plastic wrap to ensure soft crust. For crispy crust, allow to cool on rack for an hour and then store as desired.
SHEW! Should have rethought that whole giving up my dough process! Until next time, go have some fun with some flour, and enjoy!
