A Simple Sourdough Bread using a Sourdough Starter and Dry Yeast (The "fast" method)

Recipe for a 1 lb loaf - the "fast" method

sourdough starter: 3/4 cup
water (bottled): 1/4 cup
vegetable oil : 1 TBS
salt: 1/2 tsp
sugar: 1 TBS
white bread flour: 2 cups
active dry yeast: 1-1/2 tsp. (I like Star brand)

You will first need to re-activate the sourdough starter. Take one cup of starter from your refrigerator and in a mixing bowl add 2 cups of white bread flour and 2-1/2 cups of warm water at about 85-degrees. Mix this batter (it will be lumpy and that is okay), cover and keep in a warm spot in your kitchen for 8 to 12 hours. The optimal temperature for reactivating the starter is 85-degrees. When finished there should be a layer of bubbly froth on the top of the mixture. Take at least one cup of this mixture and put it back in your crock and store it in the refrigerator for your next use. Use 3/4 cup of what remains in the above recipe. (You can use the remainder to make pancakes. See Gary's silver dollar sourdough pancakes for the recipe.)

Place ingredients in your machine. Set the cycle for basic bread and medium crust setting. If you have a "French Bread" cycle on your machine, use that instead. Start the breadmaker and after about five minutes check the dough. If too wet, add flour a TBS at a time until the dough is adjusted. If too dry, add water a TBS at a time until the proper consistency is attained. I recommend baking a one pound loaf to get the feel of the process.

A Simple Sourdough Bread using a Sourdough Starter (the "slow" method)

Recipe for 1 lb loaf - the "Slow" Method

sourdough starter: 3/4 cup
water (bottled): 1/4 cup
vegetable oil : 1 TBS
salt: 1/2 tsp
sugar: 1 TBS
white bread flour: 2 cups

As with the "fast" method, you will first need to re-activate the starter. (Again, if you don't have a starter, you can get a starter from us.) To repeat: Take one cup of starter from your refrigerator and in a mixing bowl add 2 cups of white bread flour and 2-1/2 cups of warm water at about 85-degrees. Mix this batter (it will be lumpy and that is okay), cover and keep in a warm spot in your kitchen for 8 - 12 hours. The optimal temperature for re-activating the starter is 85-degrees. When finished, there should be a layer of bubbly froth on the top of the mixture. Take at least one cup of this starter mixture and put it back in your crock and store it in the refrigerator for your next use.

In a mixing bowl, take 3/4 cup of the remaining starter, half the bread flour in the recipe (1 cup) and sufficient bottled water to yield a batter with a thick pancake-batter consistency. Cover and put in a warm place (approximately 85-degree) for 8 to 12 hours for a first proof. Note that you want the total proofing time (in the bowl and during the breadmaker knead/rise cycle) at 85 degrees to be approximately 12 hours. As described in Ed Wood's book "World Sourdoughs from Antiquity", the time for this first proof depends on the time setting for your breadmaker's kneading and rising cycles. For example, if your breadmaker requires 3 hours for kneading and rising, then you should proof your batter for 9 hours to yield an overall proofing time of 12 hours.

When proofing is complete, add the remaining one cup of flour and the other remaining ingredients and transfer to your breadmaker's bread pan. Set the cycle for basic bread and medium crust. If you have a "French Bread" cycle on your machine, use that instead. (You need to make this decision when you are determining how long to proof the batter outside of the breadmaker).