Sourdough recipe

I will share the recipe I have been using to make sourdough this summer.  I have to warn you that it has honey and coconut oil in it so if you are a purist and want 100% REAL sourdough then you will have to look elsewhere.

My goal was to get the family to like it and eat it.....in the end this was what I came up with.

I will take you through building the starter (by the way, some people actually name their sourdough starter..for example: "I fed Mildred this morning, I put Mildred in the fridge, etc") but you need to realize that I am kind of lax on the measurements with the  starter.

Since I am a slacker in this area, I will give you the EXACT instructions from the Sourdough Companion Blog.....  You can also purchase starters off the internet, do a search.

Once you have caught the yeast (got a starter going) you are ready to prep it for making bread.  At this point I take out 2 tbsp starter and put "Mildred" in the fridge to keep her safe AND so that I don't have to keep feeding her. This ensures that if I kill the wild yeast, I have a back up in the fridge to start over again.

Feeding schedule-Feed about 12 hours apart
Start in the am
1.  2 tbsp starter~2tbsp water (filtered,spring, well water)

Before bed
2.  2 tbsp flour~2 tbsp water

AM second day
3. 6tbsp flour~4 tbsp water

Before bed second day
4. 1/2 cup flour~6 tbsp water

AM third day
5. 1/2 cup flour~4tbsp water
Noon or after on third day I make the bread let it sit out a few hours and tuck it in the fridge for the night.

I weigh my ingredients for this but I will give you both weight and measure for the recipe.

Sourdough Bread Recipe

Water 3/4 cup (180grams)
Sourdough starter 3/4 cup (210 grams)
coconut oil  2  1/3 tbsp (30grams)
Honey 1 1/2 tbsp (30 grams)
Salt 1 1/4 tsp (8.2 grams)
Flour 2 2/3 cup (320 grams)

I mix the first five ingredients and add the flour.  I use a mix of fresh ground Organic red fife, Organic Spelt, and Organic kamut.  Maybe a 1/3 of each.

Mix the flour in and let it sit for 15-20 minutes.  Come back and add more if needed to form a soft (wet) dough.  I mix and knead a little in the bowl.

20-30 minutes later, take dough out and pull it in to a rectangle and fold it in on itself.

Repeat this step 2-3 times.  Dough should be getting more flexible with each "folding". You can see "folding techniques on the Artisan Bread baking website.  I use the Hamelman’s Technique shown on the site.  So easy, I love it!!

By the time all this is done, it is dinner time or after.  I place the dough (covered) in the fridge and pull it out in the am.

The next day, pull the dough out and let it warm up.   I sometimes turn the oven on for a few, turn it off and stick the dough (in a bowl) in the oven. Let it rise to double and punch back.

Here is where you need to make decisions..............If you rise it a couple of times and punch it down, the bread chemistry changes more (to make it better for you) but the longer you wait, the more sour the finished bread will be.  I rise twice, place in loaf pans, let rise and bake at 375 degrees until done. About 40 minutes.

Your turn.  Let me know if you have any ideas, thoughts, successes.