Friday, July 25, 2014

Dill Batter Bread


Dill Batter Bread

Makes 1 loaf

 

Sourdough batter from recipe below

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup chopped onions

2 teaspoons dill seed

 

Proof and Baking

Complete steps 1 and 2 to prepare sourdough batter.  Add cheese, onions, and dill seed to the batter and mix well.

Spoon the batter into a 4 ½ x 8 ½ inch loaf pan.

Proof, covered, at 85° for 1 to 2 hours, or until dough rises ½ inch above the edge of the pan.

Preheat oven to 350°.  Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove loaf from pan and cool on a wire rack.

 

 

 

 

Basic Sourdough Batter Bread

Makes 1 loaf

 

2 cups culture

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

3 cups white bread flour

 

Proof and Baking

Measure the culture into a large mixing bowl.  Melt the butter over moderate heat, add the milk to the butter and warm (to 75° to 85°).  Add the salt and sugar and stir until dissolved.  Add this mixture to the culture and mix well.

Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing vigorously for 1 minute or so between cups.  The yield is approximately 3 ½ cups of basic sourdough batter.

Grease a 4 ½ x 8 ½ inch loaf pan if not nonstick.  Spoon batter into the prepared pan.

Proof, covered, at 85° for 1 to 2 hours, or until dough rises ½ inch above the edge of the pan.

Preheat oven to 350°.  Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove loaf from pan and cool on a wire rack.

 

 

Friday, July 18, 2014

Sourdough Hamburger Buns


Summer is in full swing.  Picnics, BBQs, outdoor gaming events…  Perfect time to start making your own hamburger buns.  What a great surprise it will be for your family and friends when you place those perfect hamburgers straight off the grill onto a homemade sourdough hamburger bun. 

We are in a period that we want to know what goes into what we are putting into our mouths.  Making our own bread is a perfect solution.  We decide the flours and what kind we want to make.

I can’t wait to try these out on my guests.  I am wanting to try them with our wheat culture (Sourdoughs International South African) and our rye culture (Sourdoughs International Polish).  What a great variety of hamburger buns!

 

Hamburger Buns

Makes 8 Buns

2 cups sourdough culture

3 tablespoons butter

½ cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour

 

Pour the culture into a mixing bowl.  Melt the butter and add the milk, eggs, salt, and sugar.  Beat with a fork to mix and add to the culture.  Add the flour a cup at a time until the dough is too stiff to mix by hand.  Turn out onto a floured board and knead in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and satiny.

Roll the dough out to a ½ -inch thickness and cut with a 4-inch round cutter (a can with the top cut out works well).

Place the buns on a baking sheet and proof at 85°F in a proofing box for 2 to 4 hours, or until doubled in bulk.  Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 15 to 18 minutes, or until browned.  Let cool on a wire rack.

 

You could top with sesame seeds, or onion bits, whatever your taste buds might find desirable.  That is the wonderful thing about baking your own items, you can be as creative as you want to be.  Kids would love to help you with these also.  Happy baking.