Sourdough!

I'm back from the unknown! Sorry that it's been almost a year since my last post. A lot has happened this year, and I haven't stopped baking. It is still a passion of mine but having a toddler running around doesn't leave you with much time or energy to focus on other things.

So I took the plunge and finally decided to do a sourdough starter. It has been something I've been meaning to do for a few years, knowing how delicious and flavorful sourdough breads can be. But my lack of knowledge of breads and, frankly, I was just plain scared out of my wits, about sourdough kept me from doing it.

But tonight, I said, what the hell. If it succeeds, it succeeds! If it fails, at least I tried and will try again (hopefully)!

Here is what my starter looked like when I finished making it. It all took about 5 minutes to prepare. That's it. All this time of being scared, and it took 5 minutes to start.

I used the King Arthur Sourdough Starter. This recipe gives you a VERY large amount of starter. I suggest scaling it down.

The basic directions to keep this thing alive is as follows:

Day 1: Make starter! Wait 12 hours. Mix (because it does separate), then take out half and toss in trash. 

(Yes. Toss it. At this stage, the starter hasn't matured enough for us to be able to use it. It won't reach this stage for a week. Too many foreign and nasty critters are roaming in our starter and the good guys need to have time to win.) So, when you've dumped out half, check how much you have left. I started with 4 cups of starter, will dump out 2 cups, so I have to give it equal parts of 1 cup flour, and 1 cup warm water to compensate for what was tossed. Don't use tap just yet. Wait another 12 hours. 

Be sure to feed your starter twice a day every day! Don't give up on your yeast! It is a living thing that needs your help to get going every day. Much like coffee gets us going every day. If we don't get it, we don't move as well as with the caffeine in our system.

Day 2. Mix again.  Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. No tap. Wait another 12 hours. Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. Wait 12 hours.

Day 3: This should bring you to day 3 if you've been good with time. Mix again.  Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. No tap. Wait another 12 hours. Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. Wait 12 hours.

Day 4: Mix again.  Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. No tap. Wait another 12 hours. Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. Wait 12 hours.

Day 5: Mix again.  Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. No tap. Wait another 12 hours. Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. Wait 12 hours.

Day 6: Mix again.  Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. No tap. Wait another 12 hours. Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. Wait 12 hours.

Day 7: Mix again.  Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. No tap. Wait another 12 hours. Dump out half again. Give it the appropriate amounts of flour and water. Wait 12 hours.

Hopefully, at the end of Day 7, your starter is well and thriving, and ready for use! I shall let you know day by day (hopefully) how mine is growing. See you on Day 2!

By the way, if these directions do not work, I apologize and will make any necessary changes as I venture into my own starter experience. These directions are the basic kind. You can do more research on how to maintain sourdough starter through google and such. Happy Yeast Growing!

-Joanna

Quick update!

I know it's only been about 30 minutes since I posted this, but a lot has happened within that half hour! 

THIS is what happened.

So I gave it a new home. 

Now, since it got a new home, I decided that weighing the sucker would probably be a good idea so I would know how many grams of flour and water to add in 12 hours. I decided to only stick with 142 grams of the original starter.

See you tomorrow!

Oh-So Yummy Dinner Rolls!

So it's been a while since I updated, so I thought I'd write a quick post regarding dinner rolls.

Yes, dinner rolls.

You're probably thinking, what's so special about dinner rolls? Well, let me say that it'll save you money! If you're one of those families that eat a million of those delectable dinner rolls that come in a bag for $3.99 at Costco, you can save yourself a trip to Costco and therefore save gas and save time waiting in line just to buy those dinner rolls. Because you know that if you go to Costco for one thing, you'll come out with 5 more items and $40 bucks, at least, spent.

So skip all that and make them at home! It's easy!!

By the way, stick around til the very end of this post because the nutritional values are listed! And the alternative for whole wheat dinner rolls.

Makes: 4 & 1/2 dozen dinner rolls
(If you want to make less, divide the recipe ingredients in half)

By the way, a scale would be a useful tool here. If you don't have one, here's a hint with conversions:
8 oz = 1 cup
16 oz = 1 lb
1/4 oz = 2.25 teaspoons

Ingredients:
Water (110 degrees F): 3/4 cups + 4 cups (separated!)
Sugar: 3/4 teaspoon + 5.5 oz (separated!)
Yeast (dry): 1.12 oz ( or 4 & 1/2 packets)
All-Purpose Flour: 3.3 pounds + extra if the dough is too sticky
Milk, dry: 1.5 oz (or 1 cup of 2% milk)
Salt: 3/4 teaspoon
Butter: 5.5 oz (or 2 sticks + 1 tablespoon)
Egg: 1 (for egg wash)

Let's begin.

Pour the 3/4 cups of 110 degree water into a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into the bowl and mix just until combined. Set aside and let rest for 10 minutes. Watch for overflow! These little suckers grow quick!

While your yeast is eating and burping, divide the 3.3 pounds in half and place one half of the flour into one bowl, one preferably being a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, and the other half in another bowl. This recipe will overflow your 4.5 qt electric mixer bowl. I suggest either using a bigger bowl, if you have one, or go the knead-by-hand method.
(If you don't have one, use a really large bowl where it gives you enough room to knead the dough inside. Don't have a large bowl? Use a clean countertop, pour one of your half of the dough onto the counter, make a well in the middle, and with clean hands, incorporate the ingredients into your dough.)
In the bowl of the electric mixture, place the dry milk (or milk) and yeast mixture. Mix on slow with the dough hook attachment. Add the sugar, butter, and 4 cups of water into the electric bowl mixture. Mix on low for a few minutes. Slowly, add the remaining flour. Add additional flour or water, if needed. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. Shape the dough into a ball. Allow to rise for about 1 & 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.

-You can also decrease your proofing time by making your own proofer out of your home oven.  The bowl that you place the dough into has to be a stainless steel one or a oven-safe bowl.

Here's how to make an easy yeast bread proofer out of your oven!
Step 1: Turn oven on to 225 degrees F
Step 2: Fill an oven-safe container with water and place on the most lower rack.
Step 3: Rearrange the racks in the oven so that your bowl with the finished dough fits. Do not remove the water out just yet.
Step 4: Place your oven-safe bowl with dough into the oven.
Step 5: Close the oven door.

-This moist environment will help your dough rise faster. No need to cover the bowl if you put it in the oven. For this recipe, if you used an oven proofer box, the rising time should be only about 25-40 minutes.

Grease your pans with butter or shortening. Measure out 1.5 oz balls. Set the dough balls on the baking pans and proof again for about 20 minutes. Make yourself an egg wash and brush each dough ball with it. Finally, bake at 350 degrees F for 6-10 minutes.  Enjoy!

Nutritional Content:

Per 1 serving = 1- 1.5 oz dinner roll

Made with All-Purpose Flour:                                Made with Whole Wheat Flour:

kcal: 132.64 calories                                                      kcal: 125.70 calories

Protein: 3.26 grams                                                       Protein: 4.19 grams

Carbs: 24.37 grams                                                       Carbs: 23.33 grams

Total Fat: 2.31 grams                                                    Total fat: 2.56 grams

Cholesterol: 7.24 mg                                                     Cholesterol: 7.24 mg

Dietary Fiber: 0.87 grams                                             Dietary Fiber: 3.51 grams

Sodium: 155.42 mg                                                        Sodium: 156.25 mg

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

I. love. this. recipe.  

I got a new book recently, that I also bought for my sister, called Vegan Yum Yum. This is an amazing cookbook! The author, Lauren Ulm, has a blog called Vegan Yum Yum, in which she posts vegan recipes to suit her pallet and the pallet of other Vegans.  I try to eat vegan sometimes, but it is a hard task to do, and I commend those who are able to live a vegan lifestyle.  I am more of a vegetarian when it comes to food.  I will use the butter because Earth Balance isn't something I normally stock in my fridge. I usually buy the bulk butter from Costco, because, let's face it, it's cheaper! 

Anyway,  I want to share a recipe called Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread, from Lauren Ulm's new cookbook. This recipe is tasty and a great bread to have around when a snack is needed or bread for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  

I wanted to bake something for my mom while I was on vacation in Florida.  I'm always baking at home, and my mom never gets to taste anything I bake, so I wanted her to taste a recipe. I decided to go for this recipe because it is my mom's favorite type of bread. She usually buys the raisin bread from the local Natural Foods store.  Now that she has this recipe, I think she will be making her own!

Alterations from original recipes:

1. I used Organic All-Purpose flour instead of bread flour.  I honestly tried to look for bread flour in 3 different stores. But, as luck would have it, I did not find any.  I even looked in a Natural Foods store! But they only carried German bread mix. 

2. I put an egg-wash on top of my bread. The original recipe calls for sprinkled water on top, because eggs aren't vegan friendly, but I know from previous baking experience, that egg-washes give the baked goods a nice golden brown top.

I won't give away the recipe in this blog, however, because I want you all to go out and buy the Vegan Yum Yum book! I will ask the owner of the book if I may post the recipe here later on though.  If she agrees, then I will post it.  For now, here are some of my pictures that I took of the bread. Enjoy!

-Joanna

Oatmeal Banana Bread

When you're bored, baking is therapeutic. Well, at least for me it is.

So, to cure my boredom, I made Oatmeal Banana Bread. The recipe I used was a variation from the famous Joy of Cooking cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cups sugar

3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 large ( or 2 small) eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 bananas)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-1/2 by 4-1/2 inch loaf pan.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, and salt.

In a bowl of an electric mixer (or a handheld one), cream the butter and sugar until lighter in color. Then, add the beaten eggs, and after incorporated, ass the mashed bananas. Mix well.

Finally, add the flour mixture in 3 parts, adding the next part after the incorporation of the previous part. Do not over beat!

Transfer the batter into the greased pan and into the middle rack of the oven.

Bake for 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then depan, and cool completely before slicing.

Verdict:

My husband gave this bread an 8 out of 10 points, but then again he hadn't had too many banana breads thus far. I would say that the crumb was soft, not hard, but still slightly crumbly, as all breads are. The softness of the bread made it appealing to the taste buds and not too dry. The banana flavor was distinct in the bread, which I loved. I hate banana breads that don't even taste like bananas. The top browned perfectly to the point where it gave that slightly crunch as you bit into it. It wasn't very sweet, but still slightly sweet enough from the sugar and the bananas in the batter. Finally, the oatmeal it always a good thing!

I liked this recipe overall. I would most likely change the all-purpose flour to whole wheat flour in the future. I would also make this recipe vegan at one point by using soy margarine instead of butter and substituting the eggs or just getting rid of them all together, which in turn would make it low-fat, but wouldn't give it the nice rise that the bread had.

Ah, the versatility of eggs.

I hoped you enjoyed this recipe and will make it in the future. The Joy of Cooking version uses lemon zest and omits the oatmeal. I love oatmeal, but if you don't omit it in the batter. Enjoy! Let me know how yours turns out!

Also, if you have any requests for recipes, comment, please!

-Joanna