Sourdough experiments

My sourdough starter came with my Great-aunt Helen from California. She made kept her starter alive for years and shared it with my mom, who turned it over to my brother, Matt. He has shared it with various family members for years now. I think it's probably safe to bet that my brother has never bought a loaf of bread. He was making this recipe when we were in high school and is quite the sourdough bread expert in the family.

Recently I have been experimenting with my sourdough starter to make it a little more "healthy". The variation in recipe that I have come up with, I think tastes really good.

The original recipe included the following directions:

Evening 1 - Remove the starter from the refrigerator and feed

Add: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup warm water, 3 tablespoons potato flakes

Stir well and sit out uncovered and unrefrigerated overnight

Morning 1: In large bowl mix: (I use my mixer with dough hook)

• 6 cups Better for Bread flour (for whole wheat bread use 5 cups bread flour and 1 cup wheat flour)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup starter - stirred thoroughly first
• 1 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup corn oil

Dough will be somewhat stiff. Cover starter jar and return to refrigerator. Grease a large bowl and turn dough into this bowl, turning several times to cover dough with grease. Cover bowl lightly with wax paper (or a towel) and put in a warm place to rise during the day. Dough will rise slowly.

Night 2: Dough should be doubled in size.

• Punch down, kneading a little.
• Divide dough into thirds, kneading each portion on a floured board 8-10 times.
• Place in lightly greased loaf plans
• Brush lightly with oil
• Cover pans with wax paper
• Place in a warm place and let rise over night

Morning 2:

• Brush loaf tops lightly with melted butter
• Place in 350 degree oven, baking for 35 minutes or until done
• Remove each loaf immediately onto a wire rack
• Brush lightly with melted butter
• Wrap and store in refrigerator - freezes well

Feed starter every 3-5 days. If not making bread, feed starter anyway - leave out over night and dump a cup the next morning.

My variation:

Night 1 - follow the directions above

New Morning 1 directions

In mixer stir to combine:

• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 1/2 cup wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oats (quick cooking kind)
• 4-6 tablespoons ground flax seed (I grind mine in a coffee grinder)
• 2 tablespoons whole flax seed
• 1 tsp salt

In a medium microwave safe bowl combine:

• 1 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons light buttery spread (like Smart Balance)
• heat for 1:30 minutes and then stir

To mixer add:

• 1 cup starter - stirred well
• microwaved water/brown sugar mixture
• stir on low until dough has formed and is springy - add more flour if needed - the sides of the bowl should come "clean" of the dough

Transfer the dough to a large bowl prepped with cooking spray, cover and let rise all day in a warm place

Follow original Morning 2 and Night 2 directions after this point. You can make three loaves - or I have found that today's loaf pans are much larger than loaf pans were 20 years ago. I usually only make two loaves with this recipe - or I make hamburger buns and small baguette type loaves.

Hamburger buns work best if you divide dough into 3 oz portions and roll into balls -place on a cookie sheet prepped with cooking spray 1-1/2 inches apart - wait about five minutes - then lightly press them down - bake at 350 for about 18 minutes

I have found the links below very helpful:

Check out:

Homecooking at About.com link includes directions for how to "start" your starter - the recipe looks the same as the one we have been using for years - so my guess is - it's a good place to start....

LA Times - Food: "Whole wheat sourdough boules" includes baking directions for getting a great crusty loaf of bread by using a baking stone and higher temperature - see steps 8-12 specifically

Farmgirl Fare: Fresh Tomato & Basil Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread Recipe I haven't tried this specific recipe yet - but there are great directions for how to make a couche using parchment paper and towels to get that great baguette shape

15 Bean Minestrone Soup

This was a variation of the Borlotti Minestrone soup from Cooking Light March 2008. It is very filling.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag 15 bean blend - if it comes with a seasoning packet - discard the seasoning packet
• 1 tbls olive oil
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 1 cup fennel bulb chopped
• 3/4 cup carrot chopped
• 3/4 cup celery chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Basil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups chopped zucchini
• 6 cups kale chopped
• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 14 oz cans fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
• 1 14.5 oz can petit-diced tomatoes - undrained
• 2 5.5 oz cans Hot and Spicy V8 juice
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Sort and wash beans
• Place in a large bowl and cover with water two inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours -OR- follow the directions on the bag for the quick preparation which involves boiling water and allowing to stand for at least an hour
• Place beans in a large saucepan, and cover with water to three inces above beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 1 1/2 hours or until tender. Drain.
• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat. Add onion, fennel, carrot, celery, basil, garlic and a dash of salt and pepper - saute 4 minutes or until onion is tender
• Add zucchini - saute 3 minutes
• Add kale -saute until kale wilts (about 2 minutes)
• Add 3 cups water, tomato paste, broth, tomatoes, v8 juice, red pepper flakes and bring to a boil
• Cover, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes
• Add beans; simmer - uncovered 30 minutes (until beans are tender - if they weren't already)
• Taste and adjust seasonings to taste