SOURDOUGH CHEF, STARTER, BASIC BREAD RECIPE, AND VARIATIONS

     All of my sourdough breads start with this rye chef and starter, which I got from Daniel Leader's book Bread Alone: Bold Fresh Loaves From Your Own Hands.  With this chef and starter, you can make rye, wheat, or multigrain sourdoughs, depending on your whim, the season, or what's in your pantry.  It takes four days to build the chef, but once it's ripe, you can keep it alive to make fresh starters forever.  My chef is five years old. 

BUILDING THE RYE CHEF

Day 1:
4 fl. oz. water
3 oz. stone-ground rye flour
pinch (about 1/16 t.) dry yeast
Stir water, flour, and yeast in a 3 qt. clear container.  (You could use any 3 qt. container, really, but it's fun to watch the chef bubble and expand as it ferments.)  Cover with plastic wrap.  Leave at room temp. for 24 hours.

Day 2:
Add to container:
4 fl. oz. water
3 oz. stone-ground rye flour
Stir, cover with plastic wrap, and leave at room temp. for 24 hours.

Day 3:
Add:
4 fl. oz. water
3 oz. stone-ground rye flour
Stir, cover with plastic, and leave at room temp. for 24 hours.

Day 4:
Add:
4 fl. oz. water
3 oz. stone-ground rye flour
Stir, cover with plastic wrap, mark the level of the chef, and leave at room temp. for 8 hours, after which time the chef should have about doubled in volume. 

The chef is now ripe.  Half of this ripe chef will be used to make your starter.  The other half will be fed to maintain the chef for future starters.  

MAKING THE SOURDOUGH RYE STARTER

9 oz. rye chef
4 fl. oz. water
5 oz. rye flour
Mix the chef, water, and flour in a clear container.  I use a 1000 ml Pyrex beaker.  Mark the level of the starter.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temp. for 8-10 hours, until about double in volume.  You now have 18 oz. of starter that is ready to bake a two-loaf bread recipe.   

MAINTAINING THE RYE CHEF

9 oz. rye chef leftover from making starter
5 fl. oz. water
4 oz. rye flour
Mix in second clear glass container.  Mark level and cover with plastic wrap.  Leave at room temp. for 8-10 hours, until about double in bulk.  Refrigerate and use within 7 days to make another starter or feed the chef to keep it alive until your next baking session.

FEEDING THE RYE CHEF

Discard 9 oz. of the rye chef.  To the remaining 9 oz. of rye chef add:
5 fl. oz water
4 oz. rye flour.
Mix, mark level, cover with plastic, leave at room temp. 8-10 hours.  Then make your starter or store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. 

TO KEEP YOUR RYE CHEF ALIVE FOR YEARS:
Every seven days--
Use half the rye chef to make a starter and feed the remaining half to keep it alive.
Or, if you don't have time to bake or don't need bread yet, discard half the rye chef and feed the remaining half.

BASIC SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE:

18 oz. starter
3 C. liquid
2 lb. 3 oz. whole grain flour  (I usually use whole hard red winter wheat flour)
1 T. fine sea salt

Mix dough:
     I use a 6 qt. Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  Using the paddle attachment, mix starter and liquid.  Add flour and salt.  Mix on low until fully incorporated.  Switch out paddle with a dough hook.  Knead on low/medium for 10 min. 
Ferment dough:
     Transfer dough into a greased dough doubler or large bowl.  Grease surface of dough.  Cover container and allow dough to double in volume, about 4 hours. (Or dough can be retarded in the refrigerator overnight and shaped and baked the next day.)
Shape loaves:
     Grease two 5 1/2" x 9 1/2" loaf pans and dust with corn meal.  Handling the dough gently to prevent degassing, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough in half, and shape the halves to fit in your prepared loaf pans.  Grease loaf tops, cover with plastic wrap. 
Proof loaves:
     Let loaves rise until double in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Preheat oven:
     45 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450°.  Place a large cookie pan with raised edges on the oven floor.  This will be used for steaming the oven.
Slash, steam, and bake:
     Just before loaves are ready to go into the oven, slash the loaf tops in whatever pattern you desire.  This prevents the loaves from bursting at the edges during oven spring.  Pour 1 cup boiling water into the cookie pan.  Do this as quickly as possible to prevent heat and steam from escaping.
Bake:
     Bake the loaves for 20 minutes at 450°.  Then reduce the temperature to 400°, cover the loaves with foil to prevent overbrowning, and bake for another 35 minutes.  The internal loaf temperature should be between 185° and 195° when done.
Cool:
     Turn loaves out onto a wire rack to cool.  Allow to cool overnight for best crumb structure.  Do not slice when warm or the bread will be gummy.

This bread is dense and moist and will keep in the cupboard for 1-2 weeks.  I never refrigerate the loaves as the sourdough naturally retards mold growth.  Loaves freeze very well.

TURMERIC AND BLACK PEPPER MULTIGRAIN SOURDOUGH

18 oz. starter
3 C. buttermilk
1 lb. spelt flour
1 lb. 3 oz. whole wheat flour
1 T. sea salt
1/2 C. honey
1 T. turmeric
1 T. Tellicherry black pepper
1 C. rye flakes
1 C. millet
1 C. quinoa

Follow basic sourdough recipe above, mixing the honey into the starter and milk, and mixing the turmeric and black pepper into the flour and salt.  After switching from the paddle to the dough hook, mix on low for only 5 minutes.  Then drape a towel over the mixing bowl and let the dough rest for 10-20 minutes.  This allows the dough to relax a bit so that it will accept the mix-ins more easily.  After the rest period, add the rye flakes, millet, and quinoa.  Knead on low to medium a few minutes until fully incorporated.  Follow the rest of the basic recipe to complete the loaves.

VARIATIONS:

By altering the liquids and flours used, and by adding a variety of supplements and mix-ins, you can make many kinds of bread.  Here are some of my favorites:

LIQUID:
Water
Milk
Buttermilk
Goat's milk
Apple cider
Orange or other fruit juice
Beer
Beer wort
Coffee

FLOUR:
Hard red winter wheat (more tannic)
Hard white winter wheat (less tannic)
Rye (Usually used in combination with wheat flour because rye has no gluten.  25% rye and
     75% wheat works well.)
Spelt (nutty)
Soy (sweet)  (Usually used in combination with wheat flour because soy has no gluten.  20% soy and 80% wheat works well.)

SUPPLEMENTS:
(These help feed the wild yeast and give a better rise to the loaves.)
Molasses
Honey
Malt powder

SPICES AND FLAVORS:
Cinnamon
Ginger
Ginger nibs
Black pepper
Turmeric
Rosemary
Cardamom
Orange zest
Candied orange peel
Anise seeds
Fennel seeds
Cocoa powder
Espresso powder

MIX-INS:
Millet
Quinoa
Rye flakes
Pressed barley
Corn grits
Oatmeal
Amaranth
Teff
Dried fruit--peaches, pears, cherries, raisins, dates, currants, figs.
     (Dried fruits can be soaked in juice, rum, brandy, wine to soften and add depth of flavor.
     Use any leftover soaking liquid as part of the 3 cups liquid required for the dough.)
Olives
Cheese
Sun-dried tomatoes
Nuts--walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts
Seeds--sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, poppy, flax.
     (Nuts and seeds have best flavor if toasted before mixing into dough.)

Spiced Banana/Pecan Buckwheat Bread

     We needed something to nosh on while our family gathered to help Grandpa sort through a lifetime of belongings as he prepares for his move to his new apartment.  So I made this quick bread, and now I'm posting the recipe at my sister-in-law's request.
     Like the previous recipe I posted, this one comes from Daniel Leader's Bread Alone.  He gives credit to Carol Guthrie, who helped him develop this and several other quick bread recipes in the book.
     I altered the recipe to my own taste for even wholer, more natural ingredients.  I substituted some of the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour and half of the white sugar with sucanat, which is real, unbleached sugar that adds both color and a subtle molasses flavor to the finished loaf.  For a slight tang, I used buttermilk in place of plain milk.  And I couldn't resist spicing it up with generous amounts of cinnamon and ginger.
     This bread tastes like a homey cake and needs no embellishment.  My husband, however,  likes it with cream cheese.

4 1/2 oz. King Arthur White Whole-Wheat Flour
8 oz. Hudson Cream All-Purpose Flour
5 oz. Hodgson Mill Whole-Grain Stone-Ground Buckwheat Flour
3 t. Baking powder
3/4 t. Baking soda
1 t. Redmond Sea Salt
2 t. Ground cinnamon
2 t. Ground ginger
3/4 C. Unsalted butter
3/4 C. Sugar
3/4 C. Sucanat
3 Large eggs
3/4 C. Buttermilk
2 C. Mashed, very ripe bananas
6 oz.  Toasted pecans

     Preheat oven to 350 F.  Generously grease and flour a bread pan.  (Leader calls for a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan, but my batter overflowed this size pan, so I would recommend using a slightly larger pan.)
     Toast the pecans for a few minutes in the preheated oven.  
     Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda,  salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl.
     Using a hand or a stand mixer, cream the butter and the sugars in another large bowl.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after adding each egg.  Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk, one third of each at a time.
     Fold in the bananas and toasted pecans.
     Pour batter in the greased and floured pan.  Leader suggests a 60 minute baking time, but my bread took 85 minutes to bake until a toothpick inserted in the center came out clean.  Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
     Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap.  The loaf is even better if allowed to age a day before slicing.
    
 

My Own Personal Chef

I just want you to see what my gorgeous rye chef looks like after hanging out in my kitchen for a full day of work.

Tonight's Delight: Sourdough Rye with Roasted Sunflower Seeds, Pepitas, and Millet

 

     

     The whole-grain fans in my family will be enjoying this bread for dinner tonight.  Baguettes are proofing in the couche for those who like it whiter.  

     This bread begins with a sourdough rye starter, which I make with my two-year-old rye chef using Daniel Leader's formula in Bread Alone:  Bold Fresh Loaves from Your Own Hands.   

    
     Here are the ingredients:

18 oz. Rye Sourdough Starter
2 C. Whole Milk
1/2 C. 2% Milk
1/2 C. Water
1 lb. 7 oz.  King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
12 oz. Hodgson Mill Stone-Ground Whole Wheat Flour
1 T. Redmond Sea Salt
1/2 C. Unsulphured Molasses
1 C. Roasted Sunflower Seeds
1 C. Roasted Pepitas
1 C. Millet

     Roasted seeds and millet give this bread a delightful crunch.  I love eating it just plain.  It is also delicious toasted with a bit of salted butter or a smear of cream cheese.

Better Late Than Never

     Yes, this book was published in 2000.  And, yes, it is now 2010.  But, this book just landed on my doorstep today.
     I'd been borrowing Maggie Glezer's Artisan Baking Across America from the Wichita Public Library periodically over the past ten years.  After making yet another trip to the downtown branch of the library to borrow the book, I decided it was time to buy my own copy, only to discover, sadly, that this book is now out of print.  So, my search began.  I was thrilled to finally locate a used copy online.  So thrilled, in fact, that I won't even complain that the book, which the bookseller had promised to be in "very good" condition, arrived as well-worn as the book I'd been constantly retrieving from the public library. 
     There are many things about this lovely book that have kept me coming back for more. 
     It started out like many love affairs do--with the purely visual.  This is a large-format book with lots of color plates of some of the most gorgeous breads I've ever seen, such as Judy Unruh's Wedding Zwieback, Craig Ponsford's Ciabatta, and Dutch Regale's Almond Stollen.  Then there's the close-up of wheat kernels on a mill stone mid-grind, showing off their gritty textures.  And a sweet two-page spread of doughs blanketed in fine, linen couches that makes me just want to lie down and nap alongside them.
     Another reason I feel such a strong connection to Artisan Baking Across America is that this is the book that first made me aware of The Bread Bakers Guild of America (of which I am now a member) and the simple fact that great breads can be made at home.  The book is full of recipes for breads from professional artisan bakeries all around the country.  Semolina Filone.  Walnut Levain.  Fennel Taralli.  Pane coi Santi.  Even the names of these breads are beautiful. 
     But it's the case studies of small artisan bakeries that enthrall me now:  Pearl Bakery in Portland, Oregon.  Kossar's Bialystoker Kuchen in New York.  WheatField's in Lawrence, Kansas.  Small shops run by people who practice transforming flour, water, yeast, and salt into works of beauty and sustenance.
     And of extra-special interest to me today is the inspirational Della Fattoria, which started out as the backyard bakery of Kathleen Weber in Petaluma, California.  Like me, Kathleen, not only loves to bake bread, but must be an insomniac of sorts.  When she started her backyard bakery, she routinely arose at midnight to mix her doughs and get their fermentation underway, then went back to bed after a few hours labor.  The rest of the work was completed, with the help of husband and son, the next day.  Not a 9-5 job, but a ritual fulfilling twenty-four hours.
     I feel such a deep kinship with every one of the artisans Glezer has profiled that it makes me wonder if Bill Almond, who inscribed his name inside the cover, ever regrets parting with them and this fine book. 
      
       
   

A Perfect Marriage of Flour and Art

Okay.  So it's a commercial.  But if you love getting your hands into fresh flour, this may just bring tears to your eyes.  Enjoy!

Twisted

Today was ciabatta day.  The wet ciabatta dough can be hard to handle, but giving the loaves a few twists before placing them on the peel gives them some structure and a decidedly funky appearance.  The crackling crust has a very nice caramel flavor.