Recent Posts
Sourdough Starter
To make a sourdough starter, it takes flour, water, and seven days.
Day One:
In a wide mouth quart jar, stir together 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup water. It will be a thick paste. Stir really well to make sure all the dry flour is absorbed. Cover and let sit for 24 hours. I like to use a coffee filter and rubber band. Anything will work as long as it’s breathable.
Day Two:
Discard half the starter and mix in 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup water. Stir well. You can switch to all-purpose flour now if you’d like. Cover and let sit for 24 hours.
Day Three:
Discard all but about 1/2 cup of starter and mix in 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Cover and let sit for 24 hours.
Day Four:
Discard all but about 1/2 cup of starter and mix in 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Cover and let sit for 24 hours.
Day Five:
Discard all but about 1/2 cup of starter and mix in 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Cover and let sit for 24 hours.
Day Six:
Discard all but about 1/2 cup of starter and mix in 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Cover and let sit for 24 hours.
Day Seven:
Your starter should be light and bubbly and doubling in size in 6-8 hours. It is now ready to bake with! From now on, feed it every 24 hours or so with 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup water. I usually transfer it to a bowl now because it’s easier to feed and use than when it’s in a jar. You can cover it with wax paper and a big rubber band or my favorite is to use a beeswax cover.
Tips:
•You can use lukewarm water to feed your starter to give it a little boost, especially in cold weather or if your house tends to be cooler.
•It may take longer than 7 days to get your starter going and that is totally ok! Just keep discarding and feeding it daily and it will get there. Just don’t quit on it!
•If you see 100% hydration sourdough starter mentioned in a recipe, it means that you are feeding your starter with the same weight flour as water. I measured it and it’s roughly 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup water. I like that consistency and it’s what works best with most sourdough recipes.
Happy baking!
~ Rachel ☕️
Sourdough Bagels
Sourdough Bagels
Ingredients
- ½ cup sourdough starter
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3-4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking soda + 1 tablespoon sugar for boiling
Instructions
- Add sourdough starter, water, honey, salt, and two cups flour to a stand mixer.
- Mix until it comes together, about 10 minutes on low speed. The dough will be really stiff and difficult to incorporate.
- Add remaining flour, half a cup at a time. Use a dough hook and knead until it is smooth and pliable.
- Cover dough with wet tea towel, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap and allow to ferment for 8 to 12 hours.
- After fermentation, divide into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll the dough into balls, flatten them down a bit, and poke a hole in the middle with your finger. Stretch the hole a bit to widen.
- Cover with a tea towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot for 1-4 hours or until puffy.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda and sugar.
- Using a slotted spoon, gently add bagels to the water and boil for one minute, flip, then boil for another minute.
- Shake off excess water and dip into desired toppings (optional).
- Place boiled bagels on parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden on top.
Notes
Topping Ideas:
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sesame seeds
Dried onion/dried garlic flakes
Poppy seeds
Everything But The Bagel seasoning
Cinnamon sugar topping Or mix one of these extras into the dough right before forming into bagels:
Fresh blueberries
Cinnamon and raisins
Chocolate chips
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sesame seeds
Dried onion/dried garlic flakes
Poppy seeds
Everything But The Bagel seasoning
Cinnamon sugar topping Or mix one of these extras into the dough right before forming into bagels:
Fresh blueberries
Cinnamon and raisins
Chocolate chips
Mamaw’s Homemade Bread
Mamaw’s Homemade Bread
Ingredients
- 5 cups lukewarm water
- 4 tbsp sugar or honey
- 4 tsp salt
- 4 tsp active dry yeast
- 5 tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil
- 10-12 cups flour as needed to make a smooth dough
Instructions
- In a large bowl put the water, sugar, and salt. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Add the oil and stir in flour. Continue adding flour and kneading until a smooth elastic dough is formed. Knead for about 6-8 minutes.
- Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Oil hands and bowl and punch down dough. Cover and let rise until double.
- Divide dough evenly between four bread pans. Punch down dough to get rid of any air bubbles, form loaves, and place in oiled bread pans. Cover and let rise for 30 minute. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
- Butter tops of loaves if desired.
Notes
Add 10 cups flour and mix and then keep slowly adding flour and kneading until dough is smooth and elastic and not sticky. Pinch off a small ball of dough and roll it in your hand. If it’s sticky and gets stuck on your fingers, add more flour. If it’s not sticky and just rolls around nicely, then you’ve added enough flour.
This recipe is easy to scale to the amount of loaves you want to bake. However many loaves you want, use one more measurement of water and oil and then use the same measurement of the rest of ingredients. For example, for two loaves of bread use 3 cups water and 3 tbsp oil and then 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp yeast, and flour as needed.
