Adventures in Sourdough

First attempt at AB's sourdough loaf,
following the directions to the letter

I've been on a bread-making kick lately, even though I just got rid of the bread machine.  I've had bread machines before that I loved, but this one made a tall round loaf.  Like a regular loaf of bread, but in a cylinder.  It's weird.  Also, I could never get that particular machine to thoroughly mix the ingredients.  So, off to the thrift store it went.

I've made Alton Brown's Knead Not Sourdough a couple of times, and I've been very pleased with the texture and the crust.  And it's very easy to make, even though it takes about a day from start to finish.  However, I don't know if it's a true sourdough since it doesn't utilize a starter.  Instead, any sourness it develops comes from a scant 1/4 teaspoon of yeast and a 19-hour rise time.  I want something a little stronger than that.

Braumeister's Wife loaf

Then I found The Braumeister's Wife's series on sourdough and followed her directions on creating a starter about two weeks ago.  That was easy-peasy.  When I feed my starter, I use half flour and half distilled water.  It has tiny bubbles and a strong odor, so something is going on in there.  I made her loaf, but I wasn't thrilled with the results.  It was a little too dense on the bottom, but it had the air bubbles I was looking for on the top.

So now I'm attempting to modify AB's loaf to use a sourdough starter.  Here's the original ingredient list:

• 17 1/2 oz bread flour (Note, I didn't have any bread flour so I searched for a substitute.  I've been using 15 oz by weight of all-purpose flour, 1 TB of vital wheat gluten, and then I finish out the weight (a little less than a quarter cup) with whole wheat flour.)
• 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 12 oz filtered water (I used distilled.)

Here's my finished ingredient list:

• 1/2 cup starter (this makes 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup water)
• 15 oz by weight of all-purpose flour
• 1 TB vital wheat gluten 
• 1.66 oz by weight of whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 9 oz filtered water (personally I think I can lower this a bit)

I mixed all the ingredients in a stand mixer outfitted with a dough hook.  I wasn't going to add the whole wheat flour, but the whole dough was a tad on the runny side, which is why I think I may need less liquid next time.  I proofed the dough in a cold oven with just the light on for two hours, and then moved it into the fridge for a couple of hours.  I read that a cold rise helps the sour flavor to develop better.  Before I went to bed, I pulled it out and let it sit at room temperature on the stove overnight.  At this point, I wasn't too terribly sure it was going to work because the dough didn't rise a lot, and it wasn't really holding its shape.

In the morning, I turned the dough out onto a floured cutting board and tucked the edges under and rolled it a bit.  Then I sprinkled a piece of parchment paper with cornmeal and put the dough on that.  I sprinkled the top of the dough with cornmeal as well and covered with a floursack towel.  I let it rise for about an hour and then preheated the oven to 450 degrees with the dutch oven inside.  Then I put the dough and parchment in the oven and baked covered for 30 minutes.  When the timer went off, I removed the lid and meant to reduce the temperature to 375, but apparently my oven didn't get the memo, so it baked for another 15 minutes at 450 and then I really did reduce it to 375 until the internal temp was 200.  I removed the dutch oven from the oven and moved the loaf to a cooling rack.  Thirty minutes later, I had this:

The crust is a bit darker and harder than I prefer, but I think that's due to the temperature mixup.  But the inside?

 

The inside is soft and chewy, and it has a hint of sourness.  I'd prefer a little more flavor, so I may use more starter next time.

Stars Game

Last Saturday Moses and I were fortunate enough to go to a Stars game at the American Airlines Center.  The marketing rep for one of the companies for which we sell auto insurance came by a few weeks ago and invited Moses.  We all had appetizers at Cook's Hall in the W Hotel across from the AAC before the game, and that was pretty tasty.  Then we sat in a suite for the game.  The food in the suite consisted of chicken fingers (okay, as far as chicken fingers go), popcorn, chips & dip (did not care for the cold cheese dip), and salad.  There were also soft drinks, bottled water, and a variety of liquor, which I didn't try and couldn't tell you anything about.  So I took a picture instead.

The Stars won over the Islanders, 3-0, so I'd call it a good evening.

Chewy Brownies

From the 1999 Taste of Home Annual Recipes, page 140.


2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purposeflour
1/3 cup bakig cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder.  Combine oil, eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla; add to dry ingredients.  Spread in a greased 13 in. x 9 in. x 2 in. baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-27 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  (Lisa's note: This usually takes 40 minutes in the purple glass pan when the oven is FULLY preheated.)  If desired, dust with confectioner's sugar while still warm.

Sales!

I've been meaning to start posting my day-to-day activities, but, well, my day-to-day activities get in the way.

Bazinga had a sleepover with her grandparents last night, so the morning was pretty calm.  2.0's highchair was still outside from being hosed off due to an unfortunate puking incident, and then it got rained on, so it wasn't dry yet.  I got his booster seat from the camper and did my best to attach it to one of the chairs.  He had three sausage links and was quite happy.  He's still snotty due to allergies or a cold, not sure which, but he sounds better than he did a couple of days ago.

I made a bread dough yesterday morning and let it rise in the oven all day and overnight.  When I turned it out onto the board, it was pretty runny, so I wasn't sure if it was going to work.  I baked it in my new Le Creuset dutch oven (in Carribbean blue!) with a piece of parchment paper in the bottom.  The loaf didn't rise as much as the first loaf I made, but I also didn't follow the directions exactly, so maybe Alton Brown really does know what he's talking about.  *insert eyeroll here*  I also fed the sourdough starter that I put together earlier this week.  It doesn't smell as weird as it did the other day.  Since I'm new at this, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

I got all the laundry folded and most of it put away.  I knew I needed to go to the grocery store, but right as I was ready to go, 2.0 decided to rub his eyes and be cranky, so I let him nap.  And nap.  And nap.  We lost his morning bottle, so I'm sure I'll find it in three months filled with mold.  Yum.  I spent naptime going over coupons & sales for my trip today.

Lunch was a burrito made from last night's leftover taco meat.  Not bad, but not great either.

2.0's first Easter basket

2.0 and I headed to Target since they had a $10 off $40 coupon for pet care products.  I got a month's worth of pet food for about half price.  Once I got back home I realized I had another coupon I could have used, and I find myself dwelling on the $1 in savings that I didn't get instead of the $27 that I did get.  Go figure.  I also had a coupon for Easter candy (the good stuff, not Robin's eggs and crap like that), and I got to stack that with the Cartwheel app, so I wound up getting two chocolate bunnies for the kids' Easter baskets, plus two bags of mini Snickers/Twix/Milky Ways for $2.05 each instead of $3.59.  I also picked up an Easter basket for 2.0.

Then over to Albertson's, which was my real reason for going to town.  They had boneless pork loins for $1.49/lb, and our eMeals plan calls for that once or twice a week, so I figured it was a good idea to stay stocked up on that.  They also had shredded cheese for $5.99 for two pounds, which is pretty good these days.  It's not quite as good as Sam's Club's $12.50 for 5lbs, but since we don't have a membership there anymore, it's the best deal I've seen.  I grabbed some mozzarella and cheddar jack.  Then I went to pick up Bazinga from mom's.


When we got home, Bazinga "entertained" 2.0 long enough for me to trim & portion the pork.  My uncle the butcher would probably be horrified at my technique, but hey, the meat is cut and I am uninjured, so I'm calling it a success.  I had picked up a couple dozen plastic eggs and filled those with the mini candy bars, along with the eggs left over from last year.  Bazinga is under strict orders to not open any of the eggs.  They're on top of the cabinet, so now I'm hoping that I remember to send them to school with her.

Bazinga was assigned homework.  Actually, I was assigned homework.  The church that is affiliated with the preschool is having some sort of lunch, and they wanted construction paper handprints of all the family members.  This isn't so difficult for Bazinga, the Dweeze, and myself.  2.0, on the other hand . . . Instead of tracing his hand, my brilliant solution was to get his hand wet and slap it down on the paper, then trace the wet handprint.  Turned out well enough as far as I'm concerned.

Dinner tonight is some lemon chicken with capers dish from the eMeals plan.

Scheduling

Bazinga started karate lessons this month.  She goes on Monday & Wednesday afternoons, which are the same days that she goes to preschool.  In an effort to minimize my trips into town to conserve fuel, I've had to rearrange my schedule.  I used to go to the gym in the morning with 2.0, then do some grocery shopping if I had time, and then pick up Bazinga and head home.  Now, because the child care in the gym isn't available in the early afternoon, I stay home with 2.0 until it's time to get Bazinga, find something to do to kill time for a couple of hours, go to karate, go to the gym, go grocery shopping, and then head home.  I need to clean out the cooler and put it in the truck so maybe I can use grocery shopping to kill time without having everything go rancid on me.

This time, we went to the park.  Bazinga found friends wherever she went, whether she knew them or not.  She climbed on top of the giant rock, then told a little girl on the ground that she couldn't climb up or she'd fall and crack her head open.  She's one to talk.  2.0 toddled all over the place.  He mostly enjoyed the swing.

Bazinga's karate uniform finally arrived, so here is her first ever ninja picture:

She takes ninjing very seriously.