Sunday, February 25, 2024

Mary’s Sourdough Notes

 SOURDOUGH BREAD

You can make delicious artisan sourdough bread at home with only water, flour, salt, and time. And practice! It is part science, part art, part mystery. There are as many approaches to sourdough as there are sourdough bakers, and I am always learning and evolving my technique. Through lots of reading and trial and error, this is the basic method that works for me. I love it because it produces fantastic bread with simple processes and minimal hands-on time. With this method, you can bake bread every day or once a week, all white bread flour or a mix of white and whole grain flours.


EQUIPMENT

  • Quart ball jar with lid, for starter.

  • Dutch oven with lid, for baking.

  • Parchment paper.

  • Razor (lame) or sharp serrated knife, for scoring.

  • Kitchen scale, for measuring (best to use weight!)

  • Small mixing bowl, about 8-9” diameter, for proofing (second rise).

  • Medium mixing bowl, for dough mixing and rise. 

  • Large mixing bowl, if making two loaves at once.

  • Med/large cloth, to dampen and cover dough.

  • Small cloth, to flour and line proofing bowl.

  • Good, sharp, serrated bread knife. Be so careful cutting this super crusty bread!

  • Large plastic bag, to put bowl into for proofing in fridge.


STARTER

  • To feed starter: put 2 oz of starter in quart jar, “discard” any extra (save for crackers or waffles!). Thoroughly mix in 2 oz room temperature water and 2 oz all purpose flour. Cover loosely with jar lid or cloth and let sit at warm room temp (~70-80 degrees) until active: bubbly, doubled in volume, floats in water. Time for this will vary, from a couple hours to most of a day, depending on how healthy your unfed starter is as well as variables like room temp, time since last feeding, etc. Allow at least 4 hours as you get to know your starter and the variables. Note: there are a lot of different approaches to how much and when to feed starter. This is just one basic approach! It is considered “1:1:1” since it is the same ratio of all 3 components. I have also had success with 1:2:2, or not even measuring the starter just add equal parts water and flour.

  • If baking daily, feed starter daily and keep at room temp, covered loosely with lid or small cloth. If baking less often, keep starter in fridge (for maximum of 10 days between feedings), feed at room temperature once or twice to get starter nice and active before baking. 


GENERAL NOTES

  • Temperature of room makes a big difference for time for starter to get active and dough rising time. If room temp cool, put covered bowl near wood stove to keep it cozy. Alternatively, create slightly warm environment (80-90 degrees) by preheating oven for 2-3 minutes, then turn off, then put covered bowl in oven for rise time. Don’t leave oven on, it is too easy to forget!!

  • Always cover dough with damp towel/cloth to prevent drying out. 

  • Wash things like spoons right away because it gets really crusty. Soak bowls for easy washing once dough softens.

  • Get King Arthur bread flour in bulk at Bread Basket (50 lbs is usually about $20, +/-). You can look into their other bulk flours as well when you’re ready to experiment. I get a bunch and freeze half while I use the first half. And/or 

  • Freezing: Sourdough is best consumed on the same day it is baked. To maximize freshness, cool completely and store at room temperature in a plastic bag for up to 1 day. Then slice and freeze, ready to pull individual slices out for toast as needed! (You can do this with leftovers, or slice up and freeze a whole loaf this way). If you want to bake ahead and save, cool loaf completely and freeze whole. Defrost on counter for a couple hours, then warm in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until crust is crisp. Another refreshing technique (whether it’s a day or two old at room temp, or frozen and thawed) is to briefly run water over the whole loaf and then bake at 350 till crisp.

  • For best slicing, especially if still a little warm, slice loaf in half then turn cut side down to slice perpendicular "half" slices. Much more stable this way, less likely to smash loaf.


RESOURCES


EVERYDAY SOURDOUGH BREAD

By Emilie Raffa, Clever Carrot / Artisan Sourdough Made Simple

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 50 g (1⁄4 cup) bubbly, active starter

  • 350 g (11⁄3 cups plus 2 tbsp) warm water

  • 500 g (4 cups plus 2 tbsp) bread flour

  • 14 g (11⁄2 tsp) fine sea salt


INSTRUCTIONS

  1. MAKE THE DOUGH: In the evening, whisk the starter and water together in a large bowl with a fork. Add the flour and salt. Combine until a stiff dough forms, then finish mixing by hand to fully incorporate the our. The dough will feel dense and shaggy, and it will stick to your fingers as you go. Scrape as much as you can. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes. Store starter according to preference.

  2. After the dough has rested, work the mass into a fairly smooth ball. To do this, grab a portion of the dough and fold it over, pressing your fingertips into the center. Repeat, working your way around the dough until it begins to tighten, about 15 seconds.

  3. BULK RISE: Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise overnight at room temperature. This will take about 8 to 10 hours at 70°F (21°C). The dough is ready when it no longer looks dense and has doubled in size.

  4. SHAPE: In the morning, coax the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. To shape it into a round, start at the top and fold the dough over toward the center. Turn the dough slightly and fold over the next section of dough. Repeat until you have come full circle. Flip the dough over and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, line an 8-inch (20-cm) bowl with a towel and dust with flour. With floured hands, gently cup the dough and pull it toward you in a circular motion to tighten its shape. Using a bench scraper, place the dough into the bowl, seam side up. 

  5. SECOND RISE (proofing): For immediate bake: Cover the bowl with damp cloth and let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The dough is ready when it looks puffy and has risen slightly but has not yet doubled in size. For delayed bake: Cover with plastic bag or wrap and refrigerate until ready to use, 6-12 hours. Proceed with step 6 when ready to bake.

  6. Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C). Cut a sheet of parchment paper to the size of your baking pot, leaving enough excess around the sides to remove the bread.

  7. SCORE: Place the parchment over the dough and invert the bowl to release. Sprinkle the dough with flour and gently rub the surface with your hands. Using the tip of a small, serrated knife or a razor blade, score the dough. Use the parchment to transfer the dough to the baking pot.

  8. BAKE: Bake the dough on the center rack for 20 minutes, covered. Remove the lid, and continue to bake for 30 minutes. Then, carefully remove the loaf from the pot and bake directly on the oven rack for the last 10 minutes to crisp the crust. When finished, transfer to a wire rack. Cool for 1 hour before slicing.

  9. Sourdough is best consumed on the same day it is baked. To maximize freshness, cool completely and store at room temperature in a plastic bag for up to 1 day. Then slice and freeze, ready to pull individual slices out for toast as needed!














BAKING SCHEDULES

Cold proofing in the fridge really helps make bake time flexible. Dough can be in fridge from 1-12+ hours at this stage! Cold dough is much easier to score, especially for more complex patterns. Choose simple scoring patterns on short room-temp proofed loaves.


MORNING BAKE with long cold proofing

DAY 1

Morning: feed starter (~8am)*

Midday: make dough (~noon) – Steps 1-3

Late evening: shape dough, put in proofing bowl (~8-9pm) – Step 4

Overnight proof in fridge – Step 5


DAY 2

Morning: Bake – Steps 6-8


* you can get starter out the night before, feed, and let activate overnight. Then feed again in the morning if necessary before making dough (as described above). You can always do the “float test” and if your starter is active enough after the night feeding, just go ahead and make dough first thing in morning without having to feed again.



MORNING BAKE with short room temp proofing

DAY 1

Mid-afternoon: feed starter (~3-4pm)

Late evening: make dough (~7-8pm) – Steps 1-3

Overnight bulk rise


DAY 2

Early Morning: shape dough, put in proofing bowl – Step 4-5

30-60 min later, bake – Steps 6-8



AFTERNOON BAKE with long cold proofing

DAY 1

Mid-afternoon: feed starter (~3-4pm)

Late evening: make dough (~7-8pm) – Steps 1-3

Overnight bulk rise


DAY 2

Morning: shape dough, put in proofing bowl – Step 4

Proof in fridge till mid afternoon - Step 5

Mid-afternoon: Bake – Steps 6-8













OTHER RECIPES


“FAST” 1-DAY SOURDOUGH

Here's my one-day sourdough process, adapted from Brooklyn Sourdough's recipe. It takes a lot more starter and hands-on time, but is much shorter start-to-finish and yields a great loaf. To speed things up even more, especially if my kitchen is cool, I use a barely warm oven like a proofing drawer (turn on to 'warm' for a few min, then turn OFF), for both the starter and dough rising. I also frequently scale up to use 500g flour for slightly larger loaf.


INGREDIENTS

Makes one 750-g loaf

---

100 g whole wheat flour

300 g bread flour

270 ml water

150-240* g mature starter

10-12** g salt


*Note: Original recipe calls for 240g, but I usually use 150-200 and it's still fine. 

***I prefer a saltier dough. Add salt according to taste preference.


Feed starter in morning (even mid to late morning works). When your starter is fully mature, start the dough: in a large mixing bowl, mix 270 ml water, (up to) 240g active starter, and (up to) 12g salt. Add flours and mix thoroughly to form a sticky dough. Let sit, lightly covered, for 1 hour.


Wet your hands with water and perform a series of stretch and folds. Repeat the stretch and folds every 30 minutes 3 more times or so.  Let sit, lightly covered, for 30 additional minutes. (Average total time for bulk fermentation: ~ 3 hours.)


Then pre-shape the loaf on a clean, lightly floured surface. Set aside for a bench rest of at least 10 minutes (up to 30 minutes). Give the dough its final shaping, and: 

(1) to bake in a couple hours, turn out into banneton (either well floured with a 50/50 mix of rice and all-purpose flour or lined with a floured tea towel), lightly cover, and put into the fridge until ready to bake, then proceed with instructions below.

OR (2) to bake right away, preheat oven (see below) while dough resting, skip banneton all together (sacrilege, I know!!), transfer shaped loaf directly to parchment for scoring. Very simple score required, as dough is still wet and springs right open compared to cold-proofed dough.


Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Turn the dough out onto a crumpled piece of parchment paper, dust with flour, and score.

Immediately place into Dutch oven, parchment paper and all, and put the lid on. Drop the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.  Let cook, covered, for 25-30 minutes. Remove the lid. Bake 15-20 minutes more or until golden brown. Remove from oven and move to a cooling rack. Discard the parchment paper. Let cool at least an hour before cutting, if possible.

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Elanore’s French Onion Dip (Vegan)

For the Super Bowl, I recreated the classic cold french onion dip usually eaten with potato chips, but vegan, gluten, and oil-free. I used this recipe (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021261-vegan-onion-dip) and then added a bunch of different spices and flavors to make it taste more like the classic dip I know and love.

Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

cup raw cashews (about 4 ounces)

3cups finely chopped yellow onion (from 2 medium onions)

  • ¼cup olive oil (I did NOT use oil but did add about a tablespoon of tahini, thinned slightly with water, towards the end of the caramelization process)
  • 1(15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained (about 1 cup)
  • 4teaspoons lemon juice, plus more as needed
  • 4teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • ½teaspoon onion powder
  • ½teaspoon sweet paprika (I added much more than that)
  • Potato chips or crudités, for serving
  • I added: 
  • dried minced onion
  • poultry seasoning
  • a dash of Tamari (GF soy sauce)
  • onion salt
  • garlic salt and garlic powder (wanted more garlic flavor but didn't want to make it too salty)
  • garlic and herb seasoning
  • (I have no idea how much of each... I measured with my heart and kept tasting as I went until I had something that tasted like french onion dip)
  • INSTRUCTIONS:
  • In a bowl, cover the cashews with water and let them soak at room temperature for 2 hours.
  • About 45 minutes before the cashews are finished soaking, combine the chopped onions, olive oil and a pinch of salt in a medium skillet over medium-low heat (NOTE: I did not use oil but did add about a tablespoon of tahini towards the end of the caramelization process). Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are deep golden brown and caramelized, about 30 minutes. To prevent the onions from burning and sticking to the bottom of the skillet, you can add a splash of water, but don't add too much, you're not trying to make a sauce or anything.
  • Drain the cashews and add them to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender with the beans and ½ cup water. Blend the mixture until smooth, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer and scraping down the bowl occasionally. Add the lemon juice, vinegar, soy sauce, and seasonings, and blend again until smooth. I added the onions into the mixture in the food processor and pulsed just a couple times to mix and chop the onions a little smaller, but if you're using a blender I would suggest just stirring the onions in so your dip doesn't end up totally smooth.
  • Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving with ruffle potato chips (or veggies).

Friday, January 12, 2024

Evie’s Potato Soup (Vegan)

Soak 3/4 cup raw cashews for at least a few hours


Sauté 2 onions in instant pot


Layer in 3-4 carrots, chopped potatoes, and leave just enough room for two bags of frozen cauliflower and/or broccoli (should be mostly potatoes)


Fill with broth or water to the top of potatoes


Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, nooch, and miso paste


Set to 10 minutes pressure cook


Once done, spoon out some broth and blend with 4-6 cloves garlic and cashews until smooth.


Add blended cashews back into soup. Then either use an immersion blender or potato masher to mash everything up smooth (I took the big chunks and about half the soup into the blender for a few seconds and mashed up the rest. For more texture use just the potato masher)


I mixed in some frozen corn at this stage but you can add anything you’d like. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Sunday, December 24, 2023

Olivia's Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls (Vegan)

This recipe originally appeared on Instagram from earths.feast. They are yummy!! I copied this directly from the recipe shared in the comments accompanying the instagram video. Thank you, earths.feast!

ingredients

dough:
550 g bread flour
50 g sugar
10 g salt
150 g water
150 g oat milk
115 g melted vegan butter (or coconut oil works, too)
75 g sourdough starter* (see NOTE below)

filling:
85 g softened vegan butter (coconut oil works)
100 g brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (I don’t)
1/8 tsp ground cloves (I don’t)
1 tsp vanilla
zest of one orange (I don’t)

simple syrup:
50 g sugar
25 g water

* NOTE: This recipe (as copied and pasted, below) begins with the assumption that you have a bubbly sourdough starter, which will need to have been fed several hours earlier. Feed the starter in the morning, then make the dough when the starter is active and bubbly, doubled in size.

method

combine flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. in a separate bowl combine warm milk, warm water, melted butter, and starter. pour wet into dry and mix with spatula or hands until everything is incorporated and you have a shaggy ball. cover and let rest 45 min. perform 4 sets of s&f (see NOTE below) every 45 min. after your last fold let the dough sit for 3 hours.

roll to 18x12 on a lightly floured surface. spread filling over entire dough. roll long ways and cut into 2” pieces to get 9 rolls. place in greased 8x8 tin, cover and move to fridge overnight. (NOTE: We make 12, in a 9x13 pan, as pictured at right.)

in the morning take out of fridge and let the dough sit at room temp for 3-4 hours. in the last hour of proofing preheat oven to 400f. bake at 400f for the first 10 min then lower heat to 350f and bake for another 30 min. in the last 5 min of baking, combine your ingredients for the simple syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. heat the syrup just until all of the sugar has dissolved. when the buns come out of the oven, brush or pour the syrup over all of them. let cool 5-10 min before eating, enjoy!

* NOTE on "four sets of s&f":

  • Can you explain what sets of s&f means? Can’t wait to make these ☺️

    • earths.feast's profile picture

      @olivia_sdavis hey sorry! it stands for stretch and folds! so basically you lift up one side of the dough, stretch it up and fold it into the center. if you look up how to do stretch and folds on youtube you should find tons of video that show how to do it!! i’m sure they’ll be more helpful than my explanation😅 but basically do that on four sides and that counts as one set!