[treeswarper]

Got tired of the price of buns that I NEED for my ?LT sandwiches. There will be a few more days of home grown tomatoes. I now have homemade buns.

Our library had a talk and lesson about Sourdough Bread making. I was one of the crowd of three people who attended. The expert made it so simple, and it is. The complicated part is making the starter from scratch because you have to remember to feed it every day until it comes ALIVE. There isn't a lot of kneading and the bread consists of starter, flour, salt, and water. Well, I'm going to sample one.

[Ski]

I hope it works out! Bread was something I never tackled... still working on try to get pie right.

[treeswarper]

Ski: I once could make a very good loaf of white bread. But i lost the patience and also failed when trying to spruce it up with sunflower seeds, whole wheat, etc. This morning's batch is a bit like the Crispin, which appears sometimes on the shelves of the Walmarche. The crust is tough, the inside is OK, it has a slight sourdough taste. They are tough so should hold up for sandwiches with tomatoes in them. The sourdough guru stressed using bottled or filtered water. I have a filter. She also frowned on using any metal implements to stir it or store it. She also preferred using King Arthur all purpose flour. So, I have controlled my artistic impulses and followed those instructions to the letter. I made a round loaf of bread a week ago. It was good. I can't do that very often or I'll gain more weight. The buns are not as delicious so may be an option. It seems to me that the bread in the stores here is getting more stale but higher in price. The starter is 1/4 cup flour mixed with 1/4 cup water added in each day until it is bubbling. A glass jar is used and covered with a cloth or I used a rubber band holding a paper towel for the lid. You keep it out on the counter or somewhere at room temperature. After ten days, mine came alive with bubbles. I then covered it with a solid lid and put it in the fridge. It is fed 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup water once a week. I take out 1/3 cup of the starter and let it sit at room temperature for a few hours--Proofing?? Then the recipe for a very basic sourdough bread is that starter, 1 and 1/4 cups water, 1 and a 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Mix that together adding the flour in gradually until it forms a ball. Then you let it rest for a half an hour. You might need to add more flour after the rest. Put it in what you want to bake it in, cover with a cloth and let it rise for 6 to 12 hours. I did it overnight. Or, you can put it in the fridge for 1 to 3 days, but then you have to let it rise more at room temperature for a few hours. Baking: She's got 450 degrees. I did the buns at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. However, now I see that 375 is recommended for a softer bread. Hmmmm. That's it. No 20 minutes of tiresome kneading. I always hated doing that. This bread just takes time. It can't be spontaneous.

[cdestroyer]

longst time ago I kept a sour dough starter I made using boiled potato water. I kept it in a small crock and near warmth. it made bread which in my opinion as playing at mountain man was just okay. I also made bannock bread. as mountan man I really didnt need the 'flavorful' since miners lettuce and leeks and other stuff will keep you alive but '' tastes like sh*t""ha(need to see the movie). p.s. also learned the miners baked their bread after scrubbing their shovels to a shine

[treeswarper]

It will take some experimentation to improve the basic recipe. The buns are tough and will exercise the jaws. The good news is that they hold up well when used with soggy tomatoes. If the weather forecast is accurate, I think there will be another week of home grown tomatoes. The Big Boy bush has just given its first ripe tomato up, and is loaded with green ones. It's weird, but it bloomed and bloomed with no tomatoes setting on until September. Meanwhile, the Early Girl next to it has been giving up many, small ripe tomatoes.

[cdestroyer]

I let my bread machine do the kneading and I bake in the oven.. the machine basket makes a loaf larger than I like.

[Sculpin]

The problem with sourdough starter is you become a slave to it. Took a two week trip to Southern Utah and my starter was ruined when I got back.

[treeswarper]