So, on Saturday, I decided I was in the mood for sourdough bread, we all know that sourdough takes more than a day notice to be done right. I mixed up the starter and put it in a smallish bowl, and came back an hour later to have it all over the side of the bowl and the counter, I won't disturb you with photos of this mess. I had planned on giving a co-worker half of the starter as she had some problems with a recent one, and this hasn't ever failed me. So, when I cleaned up the bowl, and the counter, I went on and divided it up as it was obviously growing right. Guess what, it overflowed both bowls this time! I need to learn to use a larger bowl when I do this.
Short story long, yesterday was my husband's birthday, and decided to do the spaghetti, salad, bread dinner. I pulled the starter out of the fridge and made a sponge, then noticed that in the original recipe it suggests leaving it out 24-48 hours before mixing into dough (for baguettes). So on to another recipe! I used a basic white dough recipe and put 2 Tbsp Italian herbs and 2 tsp garlic powder in it to dress it up a bit.
Basic White Bread
2 cups warm water 2 pkgs dry yeast
2 TBSP granulated sugar 2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive)
6-6 1/2 cups bread flour
Put water in large bowl, or stand mixer bowl, add yeast and stir to dissolve. Let stand 5-10 minutes, or until foamy. Add sugar, salt and oil; stir to mix. One cup at a time, add 5 cups flour, mixing thoroughly each time. Work in enough of remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in large, oiled bowl, turn to coat and cover with a clean towel. Let raise in a warm draft-free place, about an hour, or until doubled. Punch dough down, divide into two balls, I usually make a free form loaf, or you can put in two loaf pans. Let raise for about 30-45 minutes or until nearly doubled. Bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from pans immediately, and let cool on wire rack.
I added 2 TBSP Italian herbs and 2 tsp garlic powder to wet ingredients. Or roll into two rectangles and spread your favorite pesto on and roll up like cinnamon rolls, cut into approx. 24 rolls. I baked these at 350 for @ 17 minutes.
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That bread looks terrific! You are such a talent in the kitchen. I remember Father Dominic-very tasty.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Greg owes his big brother a birthday call!