Sourdough Bread

For the starter:

This is the starter for a wonderful sourdough bread. It is a bread that is a little on the sweet side. It is a 3 step process over a period of days but once you get the hang of it is really pretty easy. Passing this starter and the recipe along after you feed it makes a wonderful gift.

* Keep this in a container that will hold more than 1 quart of liquid. And make sure there are holes punched in the top of the container because the starter ferments and needs a place for air bubbles to escape.

In the 1 quart container that I described above, dissolve yeast in the 1/2 cup of warm water. Then “feed” it the 1 cup warm water, sugar and potato flakes. Let mixture stand on your counter all day, then refrigerate it for 2-5 days.

After 2-5 days, take it out of the refrigerator and feed it again with 1 cup of water, 2/3 cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of instant potato flakes. Let it set out again on the counter all day or overnight. Now you are ready to use 1 cup of the starter to make your first batch of bread. The rest goes back into the refrigerator.
Repeat the feeding process every 2-5 days. If you don’t make bread every 2-5 days, just discard 1 cup of starter or give it as a gift along with the recipe (instead of using the 1 cup to bake bread).

The morning before you want to make the bread: Remove original starter from refrigerator (make sure it’s been 2-5 days since your last use and feeding) and feed it with the 2/3 cup sugar, 1 cup warm water, 3 tablespoons of instant potato flakes. Mix well. Let it stand out on the counter all day or overnight. It will become bubbly.

For the bread:

Now you are ready to make the bread dough. Take out 1 cup of starter to make bread and return the remaining to the refrigerator (to sit in the refrigerator for 2-5 days and feed again). If you are not making bread after feeding starter, give away or waste 1 cup. It may be fed 2 or 3 times before using any for bread.

In a large bowl make a stiff dough by combining all of the bread ingredients (including the 1 cup of starter). Grease another LARGE bowl. Put dough in and turn it over, placing oily side up. Cover lightly with foil and let it stand overnight. (Do not refrigerate the dough).

The next morning: Punch the dough down. Knead it a little, divide it into 3 equal parts. Knead each part on a floured surface, turning it 8-10 times. Put the kneaded pieces of dough into 3 greased loaf pans and brush the tops with oil. Cover with wax paper while rising. Let them stand for 4-5 hours (all day is best). The dough rises very slowly. Towards the last few minutes of rising, preheat your oven to 350 F.

Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. Remove from pan and brush with butter. Wrap well and store in refrigerator or freezer.

Notes:
This recipe seems time consuming but really it’s not. After a time or two you will have it down pat. Just a few steps at a time and you have the best homemade bread ever. I have never had this fail. Just remember you have to feed it and bake it every 2-5 days or waste 1 cup of starter.

Makes 3 loaves or approximately 24 slices of bread.