Saturday, August 14, 2010

Savouring some Sourdough Bread

A friend of mine gave me some sourdough starter a few weeks ago so I have been experimenting a bit, trying to find an easy but good recipe which wasn't going to tie me to the kitchen all day. First of all I tried one mixed and cooked in the breadmaker. The recipe had yeast in it which sort of defeats the idea of it being sourdough. It was quite dense because there was rye flour in it but it tasted ok.
Then I tried a recipe which was entirely powered by starter - mixed in the breadmaker and then left to rise all day near the wood heater. Worked well and my second effort ,was even better. We have just eaten the last of this loaf today, still tasting good after 6 days which is pretty amazing. The mix of rye, wholemeal and bread flour really gives it a lovely flavour. It is almost as good as the Bauernbrot you can buy in the German Bakery in Hobart ....4 hours drive is a bit far to go for a loaf of bread though!
A new loaf has been brewing all day and is now cooling off after coming out of the oven. The good thing is that the starter will last for a couple of months in the fridge without being used if I get too busy to make a loaf each week. Just need to activate it again the night before I want to make a loaf.

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