My Sourdough, from scratch

[anutcanfly]

No, it wasn't hard, just flat.  You could tell working with it that structure that holds bread together, and allows it to rise, was gone.  It's get up and go, got up and went! The flavor wasn't good enough to make me forgive it either! On the bright side, it's so easy to make bread this way that occasional flops aren't too painful.   Now I know how far I can push an extended fermentation.    

[Crystal]

Thats true! Its always a shame to throw out food because you stuffed up. I dont even have chookies to give it too! Mine goes to the compost!

[anutcanfly]

Yeah, I know what you mean.  I have great difficulty wasting anything!  So having critters is a godsend!  Compost works too!

[Crystal]

yeah, i dont mind giving some things to the compost, i know it will feed my garden for a long time! Tho, i do need a bigger compost... i have tomoatoes popping up everywhere i used the last batch, guess it didnt kill the seeds, meaning its not getting hot enough!

[anutcanfly]

I ran another batch of 9 grain bread with the intent of reducing the sweetness (I used too much honey on the last one) so it could be used with cheese.  I inadvertently erred in the reverse direction.  I added a 1/2 cup of buttermilk and reduced the honey to 1 tablespoon.  I completely forgot to knead in baking soda after fermentation.  It went wild and rose to twice the volume of the other batch in my fridge.  I decided to finish it on day 5 and oh my.... can we say SOUR.  This bread has a serious pucker factor. I've never been able to get this kind of sour with traditional methods of breadmaking, and I wasn't even trying for sour.   I think the addition of buttermilk caused the extra over the top sourness to develop.  So now I know what to do for me occasionally, as I love sour.  The extra flavors and texture of the 9 grains and whole wheat are a real added bonus for this loaf. My sweet won't be too happy about it though.  He hates sourdough. 

I've really been having a lot of fun with this.  I'm so glad you started this thread Crystal!

[Crystal]

Me too! I make so much bread that sometimes it gets boring, and you often forget that even something as simple as that cold be interseting to others! Its been a lot more fun since i started this. I did do some american dinner rolls the other day and a big loaf of honey and oat bread, which is DEVINE as toast with extra honey! We've done a few more of the ham and cheese picnic loaves, damn they are good! Another favourite is foccacia with sun-dried tomato pesto brushed on before baking. We just slice it up warm and eat it as is...

I do have a question though: Here in australia we have a thing called a 'Finger Bun'. Its a sweet bread that usually has pink icing and coconut or sprinkles (100's & 1000's) on top. A lot of the time it has sultanas in it too. Now ive been looking for a recipe thats similar but havent found it yet. Does anyone here make any kind of sweet buns that i can trial?

[anutcanfly]

Yes, taking the work out of it, put the fun back into it!     It's easy to forget things and my note taking is terrible, which can make it hard to recreate a total success!  I just make it up as I go!    I'm going to do a roll up bread with butter, sharp cheddar and apples for Valentines Day, and I'm really looking forward to trying one of your picnic loaves.

I've never heard of a finger bun. 

[boothrf]

Hey Crystal, I love finger buns too, but not with coconut, must be 100's & 1000's or cinnamon with pink icing! Here is a photo.  Plenty of recipies on the net, try Taste.com.au or Food.com and search for "finger buns".

[anutcanfly]

Sometimes you get lucky!  I overstuffed this bread to the point of certain doom!  But this time I got away with it!  This is as tasty as it looks.  It's a delightful marriage of apples, caerphilly cheese, pecan, and plenty of butter!  Brush a small amount of the sweet, buttery, lemon, and cinnamon topping and life is truly good!    I confess, I did end up have to do some kneading on this one. 

[Crystal]

yes bob, thats them!! Maybe im doing something wrong with the recipes, cos mine are always quite firm, not as soft and fluffy as the shop ones... Will look and try one today.

Anut: THAT BREAD LOOKS AMAZING!! OMG, i dont even like cooked apples but i WANT that bread! Can you share the whole recipe for me pretty please??

[anutcanfly]

Thanks Crystal,

Sure, I'll post it after I get it down in print.  This was another "make it up as I go along special". 

[DeejayDebi]

Mmmm I would be all over those breads Anut!

[anutcanfly]

Here's what I did.  I would suggest cutting through the middle  to make sure it's cooked all the way through.  If not just pop the two halves back in the loaf and cook longer.

Bread swirled with fruit, cheese and nuts.

Bread:
¾ cup cottage cheese
1 egg
½ sourdough starter
¼ to ½ water (just add water until you get the consistency you want.)
2 tablespoons honey
16 ounce whole wheat flour
¼ cup powdered milk
1 ½ tsp salt

Knead only long enough to mix ingredients and any adjustments of flour or water.

Leave out for 2 hours, then put in refrigerator for 4 days.

Pull out and let warm up for an hour.  Knead in:
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
Add flour or water as needed to get a good consistency.

Filling:
½ cup butter (2 tablespoons of this are for the glaze)
8 oz sharp cheddar
2 cups apples peeled and chopped
1 cup pecans chopped
½ cup sugar

Roll out dough into a rectangle and brush both sides with butter. 

Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.  Spread filling over surface of the bread, roll it up carefully, and tuck the ends down into the pan.  You will need a scraper or something similar to help you roll the dough.

Let rise for 2 hours.

Cook and 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes.  Part way thru you will want to put foil over the top so it doesn't brown too much.

Glaze:
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon butter
½ tsp cinnamon

Mix and spread over top of warm bread, or keep separate and brush on each slice separately—less messy that way.

[Crystal]

Wonder bread lady!! This is definatly something i will be trying very soon! Thanks so much for writting it down anut!!

[DeejayDebi]

Oh GOD! Even even looks better with the recipe listed!