sourdough starter from apple peels

I think it is pretty clear that I like to bake bread and assorted bread products, but for the most part I shy away from sourdough based breads.  Maybe this is blasphemy, but I only like the flavor in certain situations – I would rather have a non-sour loaf hanging around the house.  I didn’t really grow up with sourdough bread, so I will just go with the fact that I may never have acquired a true love and appreciation of the taste. 

So moving on… I did find a recipe for a starter that interested me, mostly because of the process.  You peel four organic apples, add some wheat flour and sugar, let it sit out, and bam sourdough.     I used this recipe from New Scandinavian Cooking for the starter and this recipe for the loaf of bread.

I found the directions a bit limited (even though I had watched the episode) and, if I remember correctly, slightly different from the technique used in the show.  I followed the starter recipe to the T, but in the bread recipe I substituted some bread flour in for some of the wheat flour (I was running low) and used hazelnut oil in place of the rapeseed oil.  I did use more water than was called for as my dough was originally very stiff.

So, did it work?  It did, though it does require more patience than I possess.  I probably should have let the dough rise more, but it had already been rising for 24 hours when I punched it down and shaped it into the baking pans.  Again, I probably should have waited a little longer before popping them in the oven.  Overall they did rise, but were still dense.  The sourdough flavor was definitely present, so if you are a fan give it a try. 

Would I make it again?   I am keeping the starter alive in my fridge for a while longer and plan to try out some other bread recipes of my own.  I will probably use the starter to make a sponge that will sit out overnight to develop flavor, then make a yeast fortified dough with the starter (to hopefully lighten the loaf and increase the rise time).  I think this falls under a cool science experiment-like project for me, so unless I have a kid who needs to learn about naturally occurring yeast and fermentation this recipe will go back to the shelf. 

I’m just not that into sourdough.

an off day

Yesterday I had planned to post and update on my plants, a tutorial on making cheap and easy homemade tomato cages, and a look at my first loaf of bread for the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge at Pinch My Salt, but yesterday, while not the end of the world, was a little off for me. 

I accidentally hit the oven knob and turned the temperature up 100 degrees on the bread.  The loaves were saved, but a little more… crusty than normal. 

 While the bread was rising, I went out and shot some pictures of the plants (those that survived and some new replacements) and the tomato cage tutorial without incident. 

So what happened? 

I went to upload all those photos into Adobe Light Room and deleted the pics before I hit import.  All those pictures are gone.  No evidence is left of my Saturday.   After I kicked myself for a while, stuck a dunce cap on my head and pouted in a corner, I let it go and started a new project - refinishing a bunch of our furniture using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  The paint has been getting a bunch of attention on home decor/design blogs lately and I wanted to see what all the hype is about.  Don’t get all excited because a post for this project will not be ready for while.

So sadly without pictures, a brief update on my plants and tomato cage tutorial: 

In the midst of finals, on a nice sunny day, I decided to harden my seedlings.  Hardening is the process of taking plants started inside and gradually getting them used to the outdoor environment.  Inside the plants are protected from direct sunlight, winds, and fluctuating temperatures.  These conditions can be a bit shocking when you’ve lived such a sheltered life, so plants are taken out into the elements for short periods of time to build up their tolerance until you are ready to transplant them outside.  You would want to place the plants in a shaded area protected from the direct impact of harsh conditions.  With a brain full of land use law terms and a belly full of nerves, I unwisely placed my plants in direct sun for way too long – I forgot we were going out to dinner straight from my two-hour final.  Needless to say, a few peppers are the only things to survive my shock and awe style hardening.   

Heartbroken, but determined to have a bunch of veggies this summer, I headed over to our local organic nursery.  Jed and I picked out five types of tomatoes as well as tomatillo, eggplant, sage, and cucumber plants.  I transplanted those in the rain on Friday and started some of my original herb seeds (outside this time), and some other seeds that do not start well inside (beans, corn, cilantro, wild flowers).  I will take pictures, again, later this week.

Using thin metal garden fencing (found in the gardening section at your home improvement store) that was left over from building a cage for our compost pile, I made five tomato cages.  On roll of fencing costs around $20-$30.  Three tomato stakes or one basic small cage will run about $8.  You can do the math. Building your own also allows for customized sizing.  After measuring out the length of fence needed to create a cage with the desired circumference, move one hole further and cut using wire cutters.  Create the cage by twisting the cut wire fence ends around the opposite side or use other wire to fix the fence into the cage shape.   I used my fingers to twist the wire, but you may want to use pliers.  Again, I will post pictures later this week (arghhh).

I leave you with the only picture of the fruits of my labor from Saturday (taken this moring – as you can see most of the loaf is already gone): slightly singed  Anadama Bread.

quick ciabatta

Sportsglutton wanted to make his delicious tuna melt the other day and wanted to buy some ciabatta bread.  I stepped in and said “oh no, don’t BUY the bread, your AWESOME wife will bake you up a loaf” (plus the cost of bread can be a total rip off).  I make bread often; this should be pretty much like making any other loaf, right?

Well it is easy, but no, it is not like making my regular loaf.  The dough is much more wet and gooey… and you have to beat the living sh*! out of it.

Most of the recipes I found took two days, but I’m just not that patient.  After a little poking around, I found this “quick” recipe for ciabatta - Jason’s Quick Coccodrillo Ciabatta Bread - at the Fresh Loaf and went from there. 

The result:

The recipe worked out very well and is now in my regular bread roundup. 

Some notes on the recipe:

• I would recommend using a stand mixer for this recipe – you really have to BEAT the bread “batter” which is loose and not kneadable.  If you really need to work out a bicep and want to mix it by hand, make sure you have a very strong spoon and lots of time on your hands.
• After the initial mixing, I used my bread hook and turned my mixer up to 5 or about medium speed (for reference, I usually only have it set to 1 or 2 when making a regular loaf).  For me, it took about 12 minutes for the dough to climb up the hook AND pull away from the bottom of the bowl. 
• I forgot to flip the unbaked loaf over when I put two of the three loaves in the oven and it did not ruin those loaves.  I would still try to remember to flip them next time I make it, just for a little more uniform bubble distribution. 

One last photo – and a side note, I did not cut this loaf in the best place, but the air bubbles are typically larger in the loaves than seen in this photo.

Also, go check out Sportsglutton’s corn dog muffin recipe!

aunt helen’s soda bread

Just made an update – the recipe actually makes 2 loaves, not 1.

Well I lied yesterday.  I never got to make the soda bread and take pictures.  I was writing a paper until 3am and had to get up in time to make my 7:30am class this morning… just not enough hours in the day.  I had good intentions of making the bread tonight, but that doesn’t really help you out since St. Patrick’s day is here. 

Just because I ran out of time does not mean that you should spend your St. Patrick’s day without Katie’s Great Aunt Helen’s Soda Bread.  It just wouldn’t be fair. 

So without further adieu and without any pictures, here is another recipe that Katie has been so kind to share.  Enjoy! And Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Aunt Helen’s Soda Bread

Makes 2 loaves

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

1 cup currants

5 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp caraway seeds

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1.) Preheat oven to 375°F

2.) Mix together the dry ingredients. 

3.) Mix together the oil, buttermilk and eggs.  Add this mixture slowly to the dry ingredients. 

4.) Mix until well combined. 

5.) Shape the dough into two round loaves and set on a lightly oiled baking sheet. 

6.) Cut a cross in the top of each loaf and bake for 45 minutes.