Sourdough Bread

I've heard and read lots of different things about homemade sourdough, my favorite bread of all times.  And until now, I've never experimented with it.  Mainly, because I'm pretty lazy and from what I've read, sourdough is a commitment.  And, it is - at least, at first.

The starter and the pan loaf.  And yes, I know our oven is filthy...

You can buy starters off the internet or from your local grocery store (if they sell them), or you can get one from a friend, or start your own.  I started making my own starter last week.  I used a fairly simple recipe from The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City.  I rarely purchase books these days, but Willis and I purchased this while we were on vacation in California last year.  The authors contribute to Root Simple, a blog about simple living.  If you wish to support and purchase books about self-reliance, then I'd recommend it, but honestly, most of the concepts can be found on the internet or in many books from the library. 

The starter is basically flour and water in a jar.  Everyday, you have to pour some out and add some more back in.  This is the commitment part.  It's also not as "neat" of a process as I'd like, but I'm sure I'll figure out a way to do things better as I go along.  I've been composting the part that I pour out, which makes our countertop compost tub a little messier than normal.  The book says to "feed" the starter every day for two weeks before you can put it in the fridge and only feed it once a week (or as you use it).  But at week one, you can experiment with the part that you pour out.  So I did.

I used a combination of the recipe from the book and this recipe.  Mainly because the book's recipe called for wheat bran and a "proofing basket," neither of which I had.

It was a 2 day process with the risings, but the steps in between were fairly simple.  I put some of the dough in a bread pan, because I like to make grilled cheeses and used the left over bread on the baking stone.  So far, I've cut into the blob from the baking stone, and it's not that bad!!

I plan to put the pan loaf in the freezer until we finish the blob and the other bread we purchased from the store last week.

Irish Brown Bread

It's St. Patrick's day, so I thought I'd try my hands on making some brown bread. I've never made it before, but have consumed enough to know what qualifies as tasty. Most places around here sell "irish soda bread" during this time of year. Most of the time, it's a sweet white bread with raisins and carraway seeds or something bizarre like that. Little do they know that they are missing out on the deliciousness that is brown bread.

My aunt Siobhan always had the best brown bread in her house. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, perfect when when smothered in golden creamy butter and enjoyed best with a nice cuppa tea.

I found that plate as part of a set at a local Salvation Army during a half off sale.  It was made in Arklow, Ireland.

I combined a few different recipes for this bread. It turned out pretty good, for my first go. It's a little salty, so next time I will cut back on the salt.

I've also been trying to cut down on my purchasing of packaging this month so I tried to use a lot of what I had on hand. However, I did purchase some Kerrygold butter, because there is nothing like it. You're supposed to use really coarse whole wheat flour, but I just used what was in the fridge but mixed in some rye flour and coarsley ground oats. I also made my own buttermilk, which is basically just milk and apple cider vinegar. I've never really experimented to see if there is a difference between using real buttermilk or making your own, but I've never had a real issue with it.

1 1/3 cups whole milk
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup ground oats
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp cold butter

Mix the milk and apple cider vinegar together. Mix the flours, oats, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Cut in the butter. Add the "buttermilk" mixture and stir together. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 4-5 times. Shape the dough gently into a round loaf and place on a baking pan. Cut a cross into the top. Bake at 350 for 30 mins. Rotate and bake for another 30 mins. Let cool. Smother with butter and enjoy!

this week's menu #4

I took a break from the weekly menu posts due to us being on vacation.  But rest assured, we ate plenty of deliciousness overseas: chips, jam donuts (berliners), maultaschen, chicken man, etc.

This week's menu has included:

Saturday:
Winter Squash Nachos  - Willis made a delicious mix of winter squash, beans, and cheese to eat with nachos.

Sunday:
Focaccia & Seitan - Willis loves making focaccia.

Monday:
Seitan, Kale, and Baked Parmesan Potatoes

Tuesday:
Leftovers

Wednesday:
Pinto Beans & Rice w/ Kale & Hushpuppies w/ Almond Honey Butter

Thursday:
Frozen Pizza

Friday:
Pasta Dinner @ a friend's house.