Ingredients
1 cup sourdough starter
1 1/3 cup warm water
5 to 6 c all-purpose flour or a combi, nation of
1 all-purpose and whole wheat flours
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
Directions
Cornmeal to sprinkle on pans
THE SPONGE: Pour 1 c of starter into a large ceramic mixing bowl.
Feed and then refrigerate the remainder. Add to the starter in the
mixing bowl, the warm water and about 3 c of flour. Beat vigorously
with a spoon or wire whisk. Cover this sponge with plastic wrap and
put it aside to work. This time period can be very flexible, but
allow at least 2 hours and as many as 24. The longer it has, the more
yeast there will be for the second rise and the more pronounced the
sour flavor of the bread will be.
THE DOUGH: After sponge has bubbled and expanded, remove plastic wrap.
Blend salt, sugar and baking soda into 2 c of flour. Mix this into
sponge with large spoon. When dough begins to hold together, turn it
out onto floured board and knead it for 3 or 4 minutes. Add flour as
needed to make a fairly stiff dough.Give the dough a rest and clean
the bowl. Continue kneading for another 3 or 4 minutes. Place the
dough back in the bowl turning it to grease the top. Cover and let
rise for 2 to 4 hours.If you want, you can skip the second rise in
the bowl and proceed directly to the next step.
SHAPING AND BAKING THE LOAVES: Knock down the dough and shape it into
2 long loaves. Place them on a cornmeal sprinkled cookie sheet, cover
and let them rise for another 2 hours or so.Toward the end of the
rising period, preheat your oven to 450 F and begin heating a kettle
of water on your stove. Just before you put them in the oven, slash
the tops of your loaves diagonally with a knife 1/4" deep every two
inches and brush with cold water.Place a baking pan on the oven
bottom and put in 3 or 4 cups of boiling water. Put the loaves on the
rack over the steaming water, close the oven and bake for about 25
minutes.
From The Cookie-Lady's Files Reformatted for MM:dianeE 6/29/93
Servings: 6 servings
Classic Sourdough Bread** Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads
The History of Recipes
Written recipes as an idea can be traced way back into the distant past, at least as far back into recorded history as the Egyptians, and possibly even further than that. However, mostly, these old cookbooks were just basic hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing food.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe discovered, according to food historians are a few tablets in ancient Sumerian describing the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made those who drank it feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. Later on, in The time of the romans 25BC a man called Apicius assembled a number of documents describing recipes enjoyed by wealthy Romans. In his scrolls, Apicius describes how the roman meals were split into starters, main meal and dessert, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. Additionally, he describes how the early Romans were skilled in the use of a good variety of aromatic flavours, including some familiar names such as bay, mint and dill. Continuing our culinary historical journey, there are a couple of interesting books from the 14th Century - a cookery book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, they are unconnected to the indian food that is served today, but instead recipes for the types of meals on the menus of the nobility of the time. Later on, in the 15th century, the Crusaders brought back many foods, spices and herbs from the holy land, such as coriander, parsley, and basil. These new herbs and spices was responsible for an eruption in recipe manuscripts, the majority of which are now in private libraries. Over the succeeding few centuries, the powerful families of Wesstern Europe competed with each other to serve up the best banquets, and consequentially cooks and their recipes were at a premium. Nevertheless, it was during the 19th century that haute cuisine and cookery books rose to prominence. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, devoted much of their lives to collecting, trying out, and writing down the recipes that were being prepared for the better households. When we get to the 20th century, recipe books are in high demand, due to better eduction, people having more spare time and having more money to spend. The TV revolution brought us cooking programs and the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the internet revolution, permitting everybody to access massive numbers of recipes such as those found on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Classic Sourdough Bread__ recipe.
