RE: Soudough Bread

August 31, 2005

Phil,

> Has anyone made the sour dough bread recipe in NT? If so how was the

> bread? I thought I'd give it a try for my other family members to eat.

>

*********

I tried the NT sourdough recipe some time ago and found the bread it

produced to be very...sour. It also isn't the best bread to use for

sandwiches, especially if you have young, picky eaters to please. The most

successful sourdough bread I have ever made was by following directions in

NN post #965 (go to the NN webpage and you can search by post number). The

post is long, but packed full of great info and an excellent basic bread

recipe that tastes wonderful and slices well. I have a printed copy of the

post stuck inside my copy of NT.

HTH,

Vivian

September 1, 2005

Does anyone mind if this is re-posted? I have difficulty searching on my

computer for some reason and would love to read this post.

Nanette

Re: Soudough Bread

Phil,

> Has anyone made the sour dough bread recipe in NT? If so how was the

> bread? I thought I'd give it a try for my other family members to eat.

>

*********

I tried the NT sourdough recipe some time ago and found the bread it

produced to be very...sour. It also isn't the best bread to use for

sandwiches, especially if you have young, picky eaters to please. The most

successful sourdough bread I have ever made was by following directions in

NN post #965 (go to the NN webpage and you can search by post number). The

post is long, but packed full of great info and an excellent basic bread

recipe that tastes wonderful and slices well. I have a printed copy of the

post stuck inside my copy of NT.

HTH,

Vivian

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September 1, 2005

> Does anyone mind if this is re-posted? I have difficulty

searching on my

> computer for some reason and would love to read this post.

>

> Nanette

Here it is. It's really long (sorry digest readers).

***

I had sent most of this info to some other friends of mine, and

decided to go ahead and post it here too, so those of you on lds-uc

can just ignore this, it's mostly a repeat.

A few months ago we were talking about bread here on this list, and

I just couldn't let go of the idea that it should indeed be possible

to have good, healthy bread available for us. So I started

researching, and researching and researching some more. And then I

started cooking.

I am so beyond excited! We are eating EXCELLENT bread here, as well

as every bread related product you could possibly think of (I just

pulled some yummy biscuits out of the oven, and the cinnamon bread

is on its way in).

All of this is done using a sourdough starter. BUT, I now know that

a properly cared for sourdough is NOT sour!!!!! This bread is so

incredibly good, and my kids are gobbling it up like there is no

tomorrow. I have an autistic child, and if she gets even a crumb of

gluten, we have hell to pay for at least a week, but she is eating

this bread with NO negative reactions what-so-ever, and in fact, is

making a lot of progress. We have not changed ANYTHING else with

, and since starting all of this sourdough stuff, the child is

growing mentally in literal leaps and bounds. A few days ago,

(who is TOTALLY non-verbal) was playing APPROPRIATELY with the

blocks from my 3 yr old's birthday party. She was stacking them, and

counting to 10 clear as a bell as she stacked them. When they would

fall, she would begin stacking them again, and start counting at one

again. Now, those of you who do not know probably have no

clue how big this is, but let me just tell you, it is HUGE!!!!!! I

KNOW it is because her body is being fed and actually ABSORBING

nutrients it never has before.

Anyway, this will be long, and I apologize in advance, but I wanted

to share some of the health info I have found about these wonderful

breads, and some recipes too.

Enjoy! :-)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Simple & Healthier Breadmaking

By Jacques de Langre

The nutritional and better absorption/assimilation of whole grain

bread made with natural starter (sourdough) leavener instead of

commercial yeast are numerous and of great importance to the health-

seeker.

In many technical and medical writings, the two techniques of

baking: natural sourdough leaven and commercial bakers yeast are

often confounded and contradicted.

It is the aim of this paper to clear up this confusion.

All of the benefits of natural starter and all of the clearly

detrimental effects of commercial yeasted bread are thoroughly

exposed and discussed in the forthcoming 1981 edition of " Breads

Biological Transmutations " . Many of these findings are quite recent

and supported by scientific evidence and clinical studies.

Baking By Principle.

The aim of breadbaking is to transform the various nutrients

obtained from fresh-milled whole grain flour in a way that best

facilitates their absorption. To do this effectively, life's laws

must be respected through all of the transformation of matter that

affect our nutrition. It is important for the bread to retain the

vital and dynamic qualities that animate the grain throughout its

life: Germination, growth and maturity.

Starter Leaven-A Definition.

True starter leaven is obtained from the wild or spontaneous

ferments that exist in the air. This micro-macro-flora consists of a

multitude of micro-organisms in symbiosis - a mutually beneficial

association.

False Leaven.

In attempts to make sourdough bread - for its characteristic taste

and to please customers who request natural leavened bread, -

professional bakers and bread process researchers have often begun a

primary starter with minimal amount of commercial yeast to get it

going, or simply by holding back a certain quantity of yeasted

sourdough from the previous days baking. This, in no way, duplicates

the health benefits of true benefits of true natural sourdough

leaven and is actually injurious to health is the same way yeasted

bread is.

Easy Method for First Starter.

Making a true leaven First Starter is much easier and failproof than

most beginners and long-time yeast bakers imagine. The myths that

surround starter-type breadmaking fall apart when one bakes by

principle.

RULES:

1.Use only fresh ground flour from organic sources.

2. Grind the flour fairly coarse and only on natural stones.

3. Milling of the coarse flour should be controlled so that the

temperature within the flour does not rise above 96 degrees F. (To

preserve the heat-sensitive delicate enzymes).

4. Use untreated well or spring water. Fluoride, chlorine, ionized

or distilled will not promote ferments.

5. Mix 1 cup of cold water to 1/2 cup of fresh coarse ground flour.

Do not add salt, oil or least of all: yeast. Knead the mixture until

a smooth consistency develops.

6. Place the resulting mixture in a clean (scalded) wooden bowl or

earthenware crock covered loosely with a clean cotton cloth in an

area that is well venhilated but free of draft, cool and dark but

not not refridgerated unless inside building temperature is above 90

F. Stir mixture with with a scalded spatula every day for three

days.

7. After three days of cool storage, starter will have acquired a

beer-like fragrance, display some bubbles or if dry will show

superficial fine cracks.

8. From this point on, the starter may be kept in an airtight closed

jar and refridgerated. It no longer requires air in order to live.

The starter does require periodic feeding with fresh flour or usuage

in bread along with refreshing or renewing.

Deep Freeze:

For inactive storage periods up to 3 or 4 weeks, it is possible to

store the starter in a deep freeze. In any prolonged periods of

inactivity, the only danger is that the starter will acquire an

excess of acidity or that the acid will turn to acetic acid instead

of lactic acid. (Lactic acid is friendly to our organism, acetic is

not.)

Thawing out and Use of Deep Frozen Starter.

It is important to completely thaw out out the starter before use in

bread and to avoid rushing the process. Under no circumstance should

hot water be used to thaw it out as this would destroy the enzymes

and kill the starter action. Be sure to feed and remix the starter

every time it is thawed out.

Starter Functions.

Definition:

A starter is a bread leavening agent that contains a wide spectrum

of wild biological ferments, mold and digestive enzymes, all

contributing to the health of the intestinal flora.

Primary Function:

The starter serves to change the raw elements of wheat and other

cereal grains into ready nutrients, more easily absorbed by the

body.

Auxilary Role:

The combined action of the wild ferments and enzymes maintained

within the starter added to the enzymes existing in the freshly

ground whole flour are creating heat and energy that will aerate and

leaven the bread harmoniously.

Bonus Benefits:

Among the multitude of elements present within the starter-leavened

bread, some combine to insure the breads keeping qualities while

others serve to improve its taste during the aging. (While yeated

bread loses its taste quite rapidly after baking and actually

becomes toxic*, the natural leavened bread increases its healing

powers as well as its flavor and taste.)

*For a complete discussion of this important difference, the reader

is invited to consult " Breads Biological Transmutations " published

by Happiness Press 14351 Wyclif, P.O.Box DD, Magalia, CA 95954.

Making Starter Bread.

Dissolve 2 cups of the starter in 1 cup of cold spring water, add 2

to 3 cups of fine ground flour and mix until a smooth consistancy is

obtained. Store this batter for 12 hours in a wood or earthenware at

a low temperature (68degrees F. - 16 to 18 degrees C.). Cover with a

clean cotton cloth and keep away from drafts. The above is called

the Chef, it is an intermediary step between the starter and the

final bread dough.

Note that it contains no salt and no oil or other additives. For

smaller quantities, the proportions can be halved. To 1 lb. Of Chef,

add 1 to 2 quarters of water and 4 to 5 pounds of fresh ground flour

(Fine Ground).

Begin to knead without salt. Weigh the amount of dough being formed

and add 1 per cent of that weight in unrefined salt, either in

crystals or fine powder.

Continue to knead for 15 to 20 minutes so as to completely dissolve

and absorb the salt. Allow the dough to rest one half hour. Separate

the dough into loaf-size pieces. Keep in mind that the bread pans

should only be 1/2 - 2/3 full.

Lightly oil the pans using either corn or sesame oil. Roll the dough

balls in flour, mold them into the pans and cover with a clean

cotton cloth. Place the covered bread pans in a moist area at a

temperature of 75 to 80 F until they double in size (3 to 6 hours).

Baking:

The purpose of the heat of baking is to transform the starches into

dextrin. A sufficiency of heat must be available to accomplish this

purpose fairly rapidly without scorching or burning the bread

loaves.

Preheat the Oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the cotton covers make

sure that the room in which the oven is located is free from drafts

or cold air. Place the bread pans without delay in the center of the

oven and close the door tightly and quickly. After 15 minutes, lower

the temperature to 325 F. After hour, open the door and check the

color of the crust. At this time it should be possible to quickly

remove the the bread from their pans and place them alone on the

wire racks for better browning. (If they should stick, disregard

this and oil & flour them better the next batch around.)

Cooling:

When the bread is correctly baked, it should have an even color on

all surfaces, underside as well as on top.

The shade of brown is near fresh-sawed redwood. This bread will keep

without refridgeration up to one month. But to accomplish this

quality, the bread must be cooled in an energetic draft and all

surfaces exposed to the air. This is best done on a wooden rack with

the loaves standing on edge. When completely cooled, wrap in kraft

brown paper or in white paper sacks. Do not use plastic bags as the

bread must breathe. If mold (green spots) develop during storage,

these are the children of the bread and consist of natural

penicillin, and will disappear when bread is placed in a warm oven

for a few minutes.

Question:

Why does the Natural Leaven Bread taste Sour?

Answer:

The action of the ferments of life bring the naturally leavened

bread within the optimal biological zone, which is slightly acid.

If the bread has acquired a decidedly strong acid taste, it contains

acetic acid. This often happens in commercial sourdough breads and

is detrimental to the health. The mild sourness, however, belongs to

the beneficial lactic acid and is characteristic of the true leaven

bread. This taste stabilizes itself after a few hours and thus

should not be thought of as stale bread too old for consuming.

Question:

Bran rich bread is known to deconstipate immediately. Why does

natural leaven bread appear at first not to effect the same quick

deconstipating action?

Answer:

Much of the popularity of whole grain bread is due to its roughage

and its power to quickly scour the colon. When the whole grain bread

is of the yeasted variety, most of this roughage -being undigested

by fermentation- is still in its abrasive state and stimulates

elimination by mechanical scouring action. The very abrasiveness

which has temporarily relieved the problem soon creates another one:

inflamation of the colon. True starter leavened bread owes its

permanent regulating action to the biological action of its ferments

that alone possess the power to regenerate the intestinal flora.

These same ferments also restore the peristatic action and the

flexibility of the colon. While this cure is not as spetacular as

the non-predigested high-roughage diet, it has a much more lasting

and beneficial biological quality.

Question:

Why does Naturally Leavened Bread appear not to contain any bran

particles and yet retains a dark brown color within the inside crumb

as well as the crust?

Answer:

The micro-organisms of the natural leaven have in effect digested

the bran flakes to such a degree that they totally disappear. All

the nutrients of the bran coats have been retained, however, and

this accounts for the dark coloring inside the loaf. This color is

the evidence of the use of natural leaven: that of creating a

physiochemical tranformation of the elements within the dough, in

order to obtain a predigestation of the nutrients. This results in a

total assimilation of these nutrients by the human organism.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yeast Free Bread...Real Food For Health

By Lynn Gordon

What are yeasts? Willard Rippon, PH.D., said in his book

Medical Mycology: " Yeasts (including Candida albicans) are mild

mannered creatures incapable of producing infection in a healthy

individual. They only cause trouble in persons with weakened

defenses.. ..the severity of the disease will depend on how weak a

persons resistance is, rather than any disease-producing properties

exhibited by the fungus....because of its rapid ability to make

itself at home in mucous membranes (the medical term is colonize)

and take advantage of many types of host alterations, the clinical

manifestations of candida infection are exceedingly

variable....Candida albicans accounts for the vast majority of

diseases caused by the yeast. " . Crook ,M.D., defines what

yeast is in his book The Yeast Connection:

" Yeasts are single cell fungi which belong to the vegetable kingdom.

And like their cousins the molds, they live all around you. And one

family of yeasts, Candida albicans, normally lives in your body and

more especially in your intestines and other parts of your digestive

tract. "

Yeast germs normally lives on the mucous membranes, along with

billions of friendly germs. The dark recesses of the digestive tract

and the vaginas are the perfect environment for yeasts. Unfriendly

bacteria, allergens, and viruses also find their way into these and

other membrane-lined passageways, including the respiratory tract.

However, when the immune system is strong, these unfriendly bacteria

arent able to penetrate into the deeper tissues or blood stream.

When the system is weak and vulnerable, the opposite occurs thus

creating illness.

When yeasts multiply in the body, the put out toxins which circulate

through the system causing hundreds of symptoms which often times

lead to serious illness. When the yeast multiplication occurs, this

weakens the immune system. Other factors such as nutrition

deficiencies caused by poor diet and/or inability of the body to

absorb essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, complex

carbohydrates, vitamin minerals also weaken the immune system.

Common symptoms of a weak immune system are fatigue, depression,

headaches, and the development of yeast or fungus infections on the

nails, skin, or vagina. Allergies and becoming more susceptible to

infections such as those of nose, sinus, ear, throat, bronchial

tubes, and bladder are also common symptoms.

Twentieth century diets which are rich in sugar, bakers yeast, and

birth control pills encourage yeast growth. Naturally leavened

bread, commonly referred to as yeast-free bread, is easily

assimilated by the body and does not promote yeast growth.

Yeast-free breads are growing in popularity due to the fact that

they are being recommended by health care professionals to their

patients that have yeast-connected health problems as described

previously.

Bread is The Staff of Life, our daily sustenance. What are the

characteristics of this alternative yeast-free bread? Natural,

traditional bread must be leavened in a natural traditional way.

Bakers yeast is not a natural and traditional leavening as is

generally believed today. The natural leavening process requires a

long fermentation time. By mixing wheat and water to make a dough,

and letting this dough rest at least twelve to twenty-four hours in

a temperature controlled environment, the dough develops from the

exposure to all the microorganisms in the air.

Jacques de Langre, director of the Grain and Salt Society stated

that The natural leavening agents provide a better strain of

bacteria to the human system than the Lactobacillus acidolphilus

which is derived from cows milk. These friendly bacteria help

control candida. On the other hand, bakers yeast is a pro-candida

organism. Why not ignore the leavening altogether?

There are many good qualities of unleavened bread, but there is a

big catch-22 factor. Wheat, the primal grain, contain phytic acid or

phytin- a natural ingredient that is associated with poor digestion,

anemia, and nervous disorders disorders to name a few. The natural

group of leavening microbes (microorganisms in the air) in naturally

leavened/yeast-free breads eliminate 100% of the phytin; breads

baked with bakers yeast contain 90% of the harmful acid.

Unleavened bread leaves even more phytin on hand for the

unsuspecting eater. Natural leavening is a multi-faceted phenomenon.

When the multiple forms of airborne microbial life contact the warm,

moist environment of kneaded dough, processes of fermentation are

initiated.

Complex carbohydrate molecules are broken down into simple sugars.

When these complex carbohydrates are broken down they become very

digestible and can be easily assimilated and properly eliminated by

the body.

The yeast-free variety of bread is also more nutritious. The long

proofing time breaks down the bran of the grain, releasing valuable

minerals which are dissolved in the rich dough, hence producing a

healthful and tasty bread.

150 years ago, microbiological science isolated and cultured one

particular yeast, the special Saccharamyces cerevisae, commonly

known as bakers yeast. It was discovered that this tiny character

caused a rapid and uniform raising of the dough, which was therefore

much more predictable and controllable than the natural leaven

method. This bacteria stimulated unnatural growth. The new cultured

yeast made it possible to to raise a new loaf in 1 hour compared to

the 24 hour process the naturally leavened yeast-fee bread required.

Little did they know that they were causing an unnatural imbalance

in the intestinal flora of all who consumed their daily bread.

The rising popularity of naturally leavened yeast -free bread is not

only for health reasons but for reasons of quality and taste as

well. To lovers of good bread, there is nothing to compare with

naturally leavened whole grain breads. Yeast free breads have a good

keeping quality (1 month refrigerated) and when bread is warmed it

tastes as though it was just baked.

For centuries man has been nourished on naturally leavened (yeast-

free) bread. In the search for health for ourselves and our

families, let us seek out this true bread - Bon Appetite!

Transcribed from the Sept/Dec 1994 Mountain Ark Catalog.

Lynn Gordon runs the French Meadow Bakery in Minneapolis, Minnesota

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When I started this obsession, I searches for everything I could

possibly find on the internet. Then I got two books, _Breads from

the LaBrea Bakery_ by Silverton and _World Sourdoughs From

Antiquity_ by Ed Wood. Both of these books had a lot of excellent

info, but I just could NOT find recipes that used only whole grain

flour. Even the 'whole wheat bread' recipes I found used quite a bit

of white flour. So I decided that I just needed to get my hands

dirty and start experimenting on my own. The process that has

finally turned out a great (I would say almost perfect) loaf of

bread has been a mixture from the two books, as well as some

generous input from my dh, who is a professional chef and a graduate

of the Culinary Institute of America in New York.

First of all, it is absolutely possible to create your own starter,

but I would seriously suggest getting some from a good one that has

been going for quite a while. Think about it. There have been

countless starters started over the centuries, but not all of them

still exist today. The ones are still around are because they are

GOOD. Someone on a message board had an anology that I liked " If you

wanted to learn to surf, would you insist on building your own

surfboard first? " For the record, I did grow my own starter ala

instructions from _Nourishing Traditions_, and while the bread

looked good and rose well, it was SOUR!!!!!! I just couldn't bring

myself to make more, and let the starter die out. Fortunately, now I

understand why it was so sour, and I believe that I could grow a

good starter now, but I have no interest as I already have an

excellent one.

Two good sources for starters are Sourdoughs International

http://www.sourdo.com/ (the owner is Ed Wood, author of the

previous book I mentioned).

Here you will find about 10 different starters to choose from. I

chose the Russian Starter, as it was supposed to work well

with 'heavy Russian wheats' and not be very sour. This is a very

fast starter (I never knew before that there are different speeds in

starters - a fast starter consumes the nutrients in wheat faster,

thereby requiring less time to make the bread) I REALLY like this

starter. It is $10.50 if you order it from this company. I would

also be more than happy to send some of mine, but it might take

longer, as I would need time to dry it, get to the post office and

mail it etc. But if your budget is really tight, it's an option.

The other source is to send a #10 self addressed stamped envelope to

Oregon Trail Sourdough

P. O. Box 321 Jefferson,

MD 21755 USA

This one is free, but it may take awhile to receive it, as they wait

untill they have built up a few requests before sending it out. This

sourdough is one that was originally offered by Carl Griffith, but

he died recently, and some of his friends are keeping the offer

going for him. This sourdough starter came across the Oregon Trail

with Carl's family in 1847, and no one know's how long it had been

going before that. I have not yet received mine yet, but all of the

reports I read about it were very glowing.

Like I said, it is free, but they certainly won't turn down a

donation ;-)

Ok, once you get your starter, follow whatever directions come with

it to get it revived. Once it is going, most people say to feed it

once a day, but according to Silverton (and I found this to be

very true also), this is just too long and why a lot of sourdoughs

are so sour. If you feed it first, you can leave a starter in the

refridgerator for up to 6 months before feeding again, but it will

take 3 days of feeding it 3 times a day for it to be really good and

healthy before using it. It only takes one day of 3 feedings to get

it up to par after a week in the fridge, but any longer than 2

weeks, and it will need 3 days. I have a back-up starter in the

fridge, but I have never gone long enough between baking to worry

about all of this. So basically, I save 1/2 cup starter everyday

from the sponge, feed it with another 1/2 cup flour and water (so

now it equals 1 cup), feed it another about 1 1/2 cups of flour and

water in about 6 hours (so now it is 2 1/2 cups), and then mix all

of that with the sponge overnight, saving back 1/2 cup again in the

morning each day and starting over.

After much trial and error, I have discovered that the best method

with whole grain flours is the sponge method. Doing it any other way

had the bread proofing too long before it had fermented long enough

for the right acids to do their work, and it didn't taste nearly as

good or rise very well.

I hope this is making sense. I have so much info swimming around in

my head, and am finding it hard to share it all without going into

tons of detail.

It is absolutely possible to make a really decent loaf of bread with

just flour, salt and water, and I would actually suggest that this

be done on the first loaf or two, so you can get a good feel for how

the bread is supposed to behave (it is a little different working

with a living organism, and you really need to get a feel for how it

should be at each level).

That said, here is my FAVORITE bread recipe. It rises really well,

has a good crust and crumb (the part that isn't crust :-) ), and

works really well for sandwiches. It has the characteristic 'tang'

of a natural yeast bread, is slightly sweet, but it ISN'T sour.

Put two cups of flour into a bowl (NOT metal, it conducts too much

heat. I use glass) and add enough water to barely get all of the

flour wet when stirred, kind of like a cookie dough consistency.

Then dump all of the sourdough starter into it and mix well. (It

should all equal about 4 1/2 cups. This is the sponge. I generaly

put this in my oven, as it is about the right temp, and draft free.

This needs to sit for about 12 hours, in order to build up the

lactic acid (lacto-fermentation once again :-) ), but no more than

15 hours. With a fast starter like the Russian, it will have

already consumed all of the nutrients in the flour and be in a

dormant stage, so at about 9 or 10 hours, or 2 or 3 hours before you

want to use it, add another cup of flour to get it active again

(just hold back a cup of flour from the original two).

After 12 hours, take 1/2 cup out and put it into a jar with another

1/2 cup of flour mixed with water like when starting the sponge. Mix

this up real good and put the lid on the jar. I screw it on enough

to keep it on, but leave it loose enough that if the starter rises

too much, it can escape the jar without bursting it. I keep this on

top of my freezer with a dishtowel wrapped around it, and it seems

to be the perfect temp (in old days, they used to keep it in the

cupboard above the woodstove, and goldminers used to sleep with it

in their sleeping bags!).

So now you should have 4 cups of sponge. If you used it all, it

would make 2 loaves of bread. I generally make one loaf of bread,

and make something else with the rest (muffins or pizza dough or

banana bread or pancakes, or a million other things).

Put two cups of sponge in a big bowl (I use my kitchen-aid, but you

can hand mix and knead it too, just mix it in the bowl until it is

too stiff, and then mix and knead it on the counter). Melt 3 or 4

Tbs butter (I use 3, 4 makes an even softer loaf) in a pan, and then

add 1/2 cup cold milk, 4 Tbs honey, and 1 tsp salt. Stir all of this

up and make sure it is about the temp of breastmilk. Add this to the

sponge and mix well. Knead in flour (about 3 cups, I never measure,

I just pour it in until it looks like dough, soft, but not too

sticky to work with). Knead for about 5 minutes, and then let the

dough rest, covered with a cloth, for 20 minutes. This rest period

help the texture of the dough, as well as the taste.

After the 20 minute rest, knead again for about 5 minutes.

I use a bread pan because my family seems to like it better, but you

can free form the loaf too. Form the loaf into the shape you want (I

roll it out in a rectangle, and then roll it up jelly roll fashion

and put into the bread pan, it seems to make a more uniform loaf

this way).

The dough needs to proof now, and the time will depend on the speed

of your starter. With the Russian starter, it generally takes about

3 hours, with others it can take up to 6 or more. I boil a pan of

water and then put it on the bottom shelf of the oven with the bread

on the top shelf. The steam and heat this creates is a perfect

environment (right humidity and temp) for bread to proof (a trick my

dh learned in school). You will know the dough is ready by the way

it feels. When the dough is first kneaded, it springs back when you

poke it with your finger. When it is proofed right and the nutrients

consumed by the starter, it will have a slightly flabby feel to it,

but you should still be able to feel activity in the core (remember,

this dough is alive, it isn't cookie dough). When you touch it, it

will not spring all the way back. If it feels flabby all the way

through, it is over-proofed, and will have no oven spring (when the

bread expands as as it is cooking, it is the yeast rising the dough

in it's last gasp of life), the loaf will possibly deflate while

cooking, and it may be overly sour. If it is underproofed, the dough

will develop too much oven spring and the finished loaf will have a

ceramic-like finish rather than one well blistered with tiny

fermentation bubbles, also an unappealing pallor, bulges or blowouts

on the sides or a lopsided appearance, and a tight, restricted look.

If the dough feels too firm and if it springs back at the touch of a

fingertip, it is underproofed.

When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 400* Right before you

put it in, slash the top of the loaf (I use a straight edged razor).

You don't want to go much deeper than 1/4 of an inch, and don't go

farther than an inch from either end of the loaf.

When the bread is cooking, there needs to be some moisture in the

oven, or the top will crust over too fast and the bread will not be

able to grow properly. In professional bakeries, they have steam

injected ovens. Ther are 2 ways to mimic this at home. The way I use

is to boil a pan of water, load the bread in and then put the pan of

boiling water in the bottom of the oven. You can also use a spray

bottle and spray the oven right before loading the bread, and then

immediately after, and 3 or four more times in the next 5 minutes

(this way works best if you are cooking the bread directly on oven

tiles). Then, do NOT open the oven door for the next 20 minutes, so

that the steam can do its work. After 25 minutes, go ahead and check

the bread and see if it needs rotated, and remove the pan of water

if you used one. The bread will need about 15 to 20 minutes more to

cook. It is done when you thump the top and it sounds hollow. The

crust will probably appear pretty dark (I SERIOUSLY thought it was

burned the first time) and hard, but it will soften and lighten up

after sitting a while. After it comes out of the oven, you will want

to immediately get it onto a cooling rack, or the crust will be

steamed in the pan, and the crust will be too soft to do its job

properly. A properly made sourdough will last a LOT longer than a

regular loaf of bread. The crust will seem hard, but should be

fairly easy to cut, and the bread inside will be a nice texture. The

thick crust allows the bread to be sliced very thinly for sandwiches

etc. You do not need to wrap the bread, and in fact, it will go bad

faster if you do. Just stand it on end with the cut part facing down

on the cutting board, and the crust will protect the bread from

drying out. When you warm sourdough, it will taste and feel just

like it was fresh baked. It is wonderful!

I know that these instructions have been long, and I apologize. If I

have made it seem complicated, someone please smack me, because it

really is NOT. For just about any other recipe, you follow these

basic instructions, just varying the ingredients.

For a batter bread (I will use banana bread as an example) you first

make the basic batter, which is

2 cups sponge

2 Tbs butter

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp salt

2 Tbs sweetener (honey, sucanat etc.)

approx 3 cups flour

Mix everything but the flour in the same method as before (melting

the butter and adding the milk and other ingredients).

Add in the other ingredients (for banana bread that would be 1 egg

beaten - 1 cup mashed banana - 1/2 cup sweetener (honey, sucanat,

etc.) - and 1/2 cup chopped nuts). After this is all mixed, you add

the flour until it is the right texture, approx 3 cups. Put it all

into a greased pan and proof until the dough rises 1/2 inch above

the edge of the pan. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 45 minutes (no

need for steam or slashing).

Once you've got the basic method down, you can make just about

anything. The other night I made navajo tacos (YUM!) using the basic

bread dough. I divided the dough into little balls, and let it rise

for about 3 hours, Then I rolled them into thin circles, and fried

them. They ended up puffing a bit, and were very soft and yummy with

all of the makings for tacos on top. My kids gobbled them up! I also

made pizza dough the other night using the same recipe (without the

honey), letting it rise and then rolling it out and cooking most the

way before adding the toppings. It was out of this world good, and I

have another in my freezer for a quick meal anytime I am in a pinch.

I hope this helps for those who have been following _Nourishing

Traditions_ and have desperately missed good bread like I did :-)

rochester@...

February 28, 2006

This recipe was given for sourdough bread. It says it isn't all that sour,

which means I would probably like it. But, my question is whether a not so

sourdough bread is as healthy as one that is sour?

jafa (I've included the recipe for anyone who wants it.)

Katy <iowakatybug@...> wrote: