Recipe: Easy Sourdough Bread

I've had great success with this recipe as long as my starter is active enough to rise and I am patient enough to let the dough rise enough both times. There might be a theme there... If it doesn't rise properly the result is very thick, dense and completely inedible once cooled, I fondly refer to it as a hockey puck.

Note: This recipe makes use of an active sourdough starter!

Easy Sourdough Bread

(from Sourdough Baking, The Basics by S. John Ross)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Starter (before a feeding)
• 3 cups flour (I like to use whole wheat flour)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

To the starter, add the sugar, salt, and oil. Mix well, then knead in the flour a half-cup at a time. Knead in enough flour to make a good, flexible bread dough. (Note: The Flour amount is approximate! Trust your hands and eyes more than the recipe, always.)

Let the dough rise in a warm place, in a bowl covered loosely with a towel. (Note: Sourdough rises more slowly than yeast bread. I like to let mine rise overnight.) Let the dough double in bulk, just like yeast-bread dough. When a finger poked into the top of the dough creates a pit that doesn't "heal" (spring back), you've got a risen dough.

Punch the dough down and knead it a little more. Make a loaf and place it on a baking sheet (lightly greased or sprinkled with cornmeal) or in a loaf pan. Slit the top if you like, and cover the loaf with a paper towel and place it in a warm place to rise again, until doubled in bulk.

Place the pan with the loaf in your oven, and then turn your oven to 350^o Farenheit and bake the bread for 30-45 minutes. Do not preheat the oven. The loaf is done when the crust is brown and the bottom sounds hollow when thumped with a wooden spoon. Turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack or a towel and let it cool for an hour before slicing.