~If you're interested in sending review copies of cookbooks or products for testing, please feel free to contact me at cowgirlmin07 [at] gmail [dot] com.
Lovely and golden brown, these biscuits are light and flaky and delicious. Eat them plain, with butter, or under a generous amount of Number One's Sausage Gravy.
*Picture coming soon!*
MaryJane's Sourdough Buttermilk Biscuits yield: about 12 biscuits
2 cups flour, plus more as needed 1 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup buttermilk (about 2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar + milk to make 1/2 cup) 1 cup sourdough starter 1 medium egg yolk 1 tablespoon milk
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix together flour, sea salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Blend in butter with a pastry cutter or fork. Add buttermilk and sourdough starter. Mix well, until soft dough is formed that cleans the sides of the bowl. Turn onto floured surface and knead gently, adding a little more flour if dough is sticky. Roll out dough on a floured surface and cut into biscuits with biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Beat together the egg yolk and milk, and brush on the top of each biscuit. Bake for 13 minutes, or until golden brown.
I was looking for yet another sourdough recipe in which to use my starter, Virgil. I felt like he had been neglected ever since Number One took over Horatio and started making sourdough biscuits almost every day, and also since I acquired a third sourdough starter (yet to be named) from our lovely aunt Becky.
I was intrigued by some recipes I ran across which called for flax seeds. I have an abundance of flax seeds for making homemade granola, but it only calls for 1/4 cup per batch and they just don't get used up fast enough. As luck would have it, for some odd reason (a town full of bread bakers perhaps?), the grocery store actually carries flax meal as well. I didn't have to special order it or go to a big city or anything! So it was settled.
I got Virgil out of the fridge, apologized for neglecting him, and fed him. I let him sit extra long on the counter because I felt bad. And then I chose this recipe. It is from a website called Sourdough Home, modified from a recipe out of Classic Sourdoughs: A Home Baker's Handbook. (another cookbook I don't have...yet).
I halved the recipe because, what if it's not our family's favorite bread? and I didn't have 4 cups of sourdough starter ready.
I also did something else. This may sound snobby, but I simply cannot abide by a poorly organized recipe. Sorry. There is just something in me that recoils if the ingredients are not in the proper order in which they are to be used. So I rewrote the recipe. I included the original amounts, which will make 4 two-pound loaves of bread. To make 2 two-pound loaves instead, simply halve the ingredients like I did.
To be honest, the reason I am telling you the original amounts is this: I do not have the patience to figure out what one half of 1/3 cup would be. I just took out my 1/3 cup, filled it approximately halfway with olive oil, did the same with honey, and called it good. I understand that some folks would look at my scribbled "one half of 1/3 cup" and balk. So that's my reason.
Also, the author did not mention the method for baking the bread, in a loaf pan, on a baking sheet, ???, so I baked my loaves in greased loaf pans.
This bread is slightly sweet, and the variety of seeds are a nice addition. I can't wait to have some toasted for breakfast!
Sourdough Flax Seed Bread
Yield: 4 two pound loaves
4 tablespoons sunflower seeds 1/2 cup flax seeds 2 tablespoons poppy seeds 4 cups active sourdough starter 1 1/4 cups cold water 1/3 cup olive oil 1/3 cup honey 1 cup flax meal 1 tablespoon salt 9 to 10 cups unbleached flour
Put the sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and poppy seeds in a clean, dry skillet over medium heat. Roast, stirring frequently, until they become fragrant. Be careful to make sure they don't scorch! You may also roast the seeds in a 375F oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
Mix the active starter, water, oil and honey together. Add the seeds. Stir in the flax meal and salt. Stir in the flour one cup at a time until dough is too thick to stir.
Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead until the dough is resilient. The dough is rather sticky, so be careful not to add too much flour (I probably added about 1 more cup). Once the dough is well kneaded, place it in a well-oiled bowl, turn to coat with oil, and cover with a damp dish towel. Let it rise until doubled, approximately two hours. *My kitchen was chilly and drafty this morning, so it never really doubled.
Punch dough down, knead again briefly, divide and shape into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and let rise, covered, until doubled. *Again, even though my kitchen was warm enough by now, my loaves didn't double. They did rise some, just not double.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake 30 to 45 minutes.
My son, Marc has been after me to post these recipes. Mindy's blog has made him hungry for any and all sourdough recipes. He came home several weeks ago for the weekend and much to his delight I made Sourdough Orange Pancakes. This is one of our family's favorite recipes, give it a try, it just might become one of your family favorites as well. You don't have to mix this the night before like many sourdough pancake recipes. Just make sure your starter is alive and active and that you have enough.
Sourdough Orange Pancakes
2 cups sourdough starter 3 TBL melted butter 2 eggs 1 6 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed 2 TBL sugar 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. soda
Mix together and cook on a griddle.
Orange Syrup
1 6 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter
Mix together in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. It will thicken slightly as it cools.
Grace has discovered the most innovative uses for her sourdough starter. I'm so fortunate our paths have crossed...whenever I need inspiration for ole Virgil, off to Grace's blog I go.This morning, I fed Virgil because I felt like he looked a bit hungry, but I didn't have a real plan for him. We have plenty of bread, so that was out, even though I really felt like making some. Then I found this recipe. (follow the link and read Grace's account!)
I love molasses, cinnamon, ginger...I had to have some. I just wasn't sure about the lemony glaze, so I didn't make any. I prefer mine with a dollop of whipped cream. Too bad we are all out! The cake is moist and delicious, and wonderful warm-from-the-oven!
*If you have been waiting for an excuse to make sourdough starter, this would be the one!
Sourdough Gingammonbread 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1/2 cup molasses 1 egg 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 teaspoons ginger 1/2 cup hot water 1 cup sourdough starter
For icing (optional): 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1-2 tablespoons water, if needed
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease up a 8x8-inch baking dish or mini loaf pan.
In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar and butter. Add the molasses and egg, beat until well blended, and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and blend in the hot water to form a sort of dough. Beat the doughy stuff into the creamed mixture like there's no tomorrow. (I used my Kitchenaid). Gradually add your starter, mixing carefully to maintain a bubbly batter.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until the toothpick test is passed. I had to bake mine for 45 minutes before it was done~could be an altitude issue, let me know how it works for you!
For the icing, whisk the lemon juice into the powdered sugar and gradually add the water, if needed. Spread over the cooled gingammonbread and try to let it set before cutting.
Number One asked if he could use some of my latest sourdough starter, Horatio, to make sourdough biscuits. The cowboy way. After some debate, I agreed. He really wasn't happy at all about the whole wheat in the starter. He said he was out of practice, hasn't made sourdough biscuits in years. They used to make sourdough biscuits every day for lunch (or breakfast) and eat them with venison steaks.
He doesn't measure anything, so I suppose this is more of a "technique" than a "recipe." But I'll tell you how he did it.
He poured some flour (probably less than 1/2 cup) into a shallow dish.
He dumped in some sourdough starter (quite a bit).
He sprinkled some baking powder and baking soda on the starter, then kneaded everything together.
He poured some oil in an 8x8" pan, then formed loose biscuits (blobs) with his hands. He placed the biscuits in the oiled pan, turning and flipping them to coat both sides with oil.
He made as many biscuits as there was dough (not very many today), and put the pan in the oven, warm from baking a batch of Grace's sourdough bread, to rise.
He let them rise in the oven a bit, then turned the oven on to 350 degrees.
I don't know how long he baked them for, but honestly it could have been just a bit less.
The biscuits are delicious (if just a bit overdone on the bottom), and the recipe seems fairly fool-proof. Yummy biscuits! Quick and easy too! If you have some extra sourdough starter around, this "recipe" is worth a shot.
MaryJane says you're supposed to feed the starter for 6 days straight, and use it on the 7th day. Well, we jump started our recipe with Virgil. This starter has already grown so much and Number One says it "smells ready," we're using it on Day 2!!
Number One is trying it out this morning on some Cowboy Sourdough Biscuits. He's not too happy that I made the sourdough starter with whole wheat flour, but I told him that's how MaryJane said to do it. He said he's going to get his own sourdough jug and make his own sourdough starter, so there, he said.
I will keep you posted on all that of course. One of these days, Number One will become a "Bad Girl" yet. Mark my words. (negotiations have begun, don't tell anyone I told you).
For now, this sourdough starter is looking promising. Even if it is whole wheat. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
I fed Virgil again last night, so I'd be ready to make another batch of Grace's Sourdough Bread. This morning, I mixed up the bread, but realized something. Virgil is about to outgrow his jar! I was sure I couldn't feed him again in the same jar, so I decided I needed to use another cup or so before I put him back in the fridge.
I was all set to peruse Grace's scrumptious recipes for muffins or bread or whatever-caught-my-eye. Then Number One suggested something.
Number One suggested I use Virgil as a base, a starter if you will, for another, different sourdough starter. MaryJane's traditional sourdough starter...intriguing, I know. The recipe below is from MaryJane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook.
I substituted Virgil where MaryJane calls for water. Number One's theory is since Virgil is already alive and working, MaryJane's starter will be that much better and faster, and may just yield a more traditional sourdough flavor. We shall see...
I hope regular whole wheat flour will suffice--I didn't have access to organic or "bread" flour of the whole wheat variety. I haven't decided if I will add water to the starter during the first 6 days or more Virgil. I do have until tomorrow to think about it.
MaryJane's Sourdough Starter 2 cups organic whole-wheat bread flour, plus 2 cups for adding 1 1/2 cups purified water (aka Virgil), plus 1 1/2 cups for adding
Place flour and water in a clean glass jar or bowl and stir with a wooden spoon. Cover with a cloth and keep it handy on your kitchen counter. Each day, mix in an additional 1/4 cup water and 1/3 cup whole wheat flour. This needs to be done for six days. On the seventh day, the starter will be ready. It should have bubbles and smell pleasantly sour, like stout beer.
Keeping Your Starter Alive You must refresh your starter every seven days. Remove one cup of starter to use in a sourdough recipe, then replenish the remaining starter by adding 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup flour. It will then need to grow for at least 12 hours before you borrow from it again. If you can't use your starter every 7 days, get a friend hooked on sourdough by giving them one cup of your starter.
So once again, I got Virgil (my new sourdough starter) out of the fridge and put him to work. I am starting to get the hang of this! I fed him, let him sit on the counter for 8 hours, and last night I mixed up a batch of MaryJane's Sourdough Flapjacks. The recipe is from MaryJane'sIdeabook, Cookbook, Lifebook. (some day I promise I will try MaryJane's starter, but for now, I'm using my Virgil). The flapjack mix has to sit for 12 hours, so they are the ultimate make-ahead breakfast, and they are easy! MaryJane serves hers with homemade Elderberry Syrup, but for us in the midst of winter, plain old maple will have to do!
These flapjacks are delicious! You really do have to make sure they are cooked golden brown, or they will turn out just a bit chewy. But honestly, they were so good that I forgot to take a picture, and then they were gone. Never fear, we will be making these again soon, and I will add a picture then! Make some! Sourdough Flapjacks yield: 8 flapjacks
1 cup sourdough starter 1 cup organic flour 1/2 cup water
Mix starter, flour and water. Let stand overnight (about 12 hours), covered with a cloth in a warm place.
Stir mixture well and carefully ladle onto a lightly greased griddle. Flip flapjacks after bubbles form and tops have lost their sheen.
Since I made Virgil, my sourdough starter, the other day, I've been looking for recipes. I made Grace's sourdough bread, which was delicious but just not sourdoughy enough. We like a really strong sourdough flavor around here I guess.
This recipe comes from MaryJane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook by MaryJane Butters. MaryJane is an inspiration to me, an innovative and crafty farmgirl whom I feel is a kindred spirit for too many reasons to list here.
Last summer, Number One attempted to make MaryJane's sourdough starter, but it gets pretty hot in these parts and the darn stuff molded right in the jar. I might try again later, but for now, we've got Virgil.
I decided to try MaryJane's sourdough bread recipe, even though Virgil is a different starter, and see what happens. Is sourdough starter sourdough starter? I have no idea at all. I'm just hoping this recipe is closer to the "true" sourdough bread that I've been wanting to make. I know that it takes less time than Grace's for rising and whatnot. But less time makes it more difficult to fit into my schedule, at least until I get the hang of things.
I fed Virgil, per Grace's instructions, but he sat on the counter longer than 8 hours because I didn't decide to make MaryJane's bread until after Virgil had been fed. I'm hoping it won't matter. I'm such a novice here.
MaryJane's Sourdough Bread Yield: one large round loaf or two baguettes
1 cup sourdough starter 2 cups purified water 2 teaspoons sea salt 3 to 4 cups organic flour* 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium egg yolk 1 tablespoon milk
Place starter, water, and sea salt in a large glass bowl and whisk for 1 minute. Stir in enough of the flour to make a firm dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for about 10 minutes, working in flour as necessary, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
*(it took me 5 cups of flour before I was comfortable putting the sticky dough on my flour-covered table. I don't know if this had anything to do with the difference in starter? I ended up using about 7 cups flour total! Is this a lot? I have no idea...but kneading bread for 10 minutes is somewhat meditative...10 minutes is a l o n g time...)
Shape into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl, turning dough once to coat the top with oil. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 4 to 6 hours, until doubled in bulk.
Punch down and shape into one large round loaf or two baguettes. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet, and cover again with a damp tea towel. Let rise again for 1 to 2 hours, or until nearly doubled in bulk. Place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of your oven.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Make slits on the top of each loaf. Beat together the egg yolk and milk, and brush on the tops. Place baking sheet on center rack of oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 450 degrees F and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until crust is a rich golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the top.
This bread is delicious~still not what I would call a "true" sourdough flavor, but I've heard that might need time to develop in the starter itself. A lovely bread, crusty and beautified by the egg and milk wash...next time I might make baguettes! Oh this is fun.
P.S. MaryJane's not kidding when she says "one LARGE round loaf..."
Every month, I try to participate in Taste & Create, a wonderful monthly event created and hosted by the lovely Nicole of For the Love of Food. Food bloggers are randomly paired off, and tasked with choosing and creating one of their partner's recipes. It is so much fun, and the recipes are so tempting. You never know who you might be paired with, and what new techniques and ingredients are just waiting to be discovered! (If you'd like to sign up and participate in February, go here by Feb. 8!)
For the December/January Taste & Create event, I was paired with Grace of A Southern Grace. After much perusing and deliberation over Grace's fantastic recipes, I was all set to make Grace's Monkey Muffins and Bunny Bread recipe. I enjoyed reading how the recipe evolved.
And then. It came down to the wire (okay, 10 days til deadline may not be down to the wire for you, but for me, it was down to the wire). **I thought the deadline was Jan. 15th. Really, it's Jan. 24th. It's all good.**
Exactly what kind of cowgirl doesn't have a jar of sourdough starter?
Can I actually claim to be a cowgirl, having never made a loaf of bread from my own starter?
Does Grace have a recipe for sourdough starter?
Will this sourdough starter really, truly be hard to kill, as Grace alleges? Please let it be hard to kill, and easy to maintain.
What should I name it??
And I made a list for Number One and sent him off to the store.
And then when I read through the recipes with all the sitting and rising times, I was thankful for my "10 days = down to the wire" feelings that guided me toward these fabulous recipes.
Sourdough Starter 1 cup warm water 1/2 cup sugar 1 package (2-1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast 3 tablespoons instant potato flakes
To make starter: Mix water, sugar, yeast, and potato flakes. Let ferment on counter for two days. Then feed with starter feeder and continue with the instructions found in the link below.
Starter Feeder Mix together: ½ c sugar 3 T potato flakes 1 c warm water
Add to jar of starter, (I mixed mine a little with a wooden spoon) and let sit on the counter for around 8 hours. Grace says: Eb lives in the fridge until feeding time, which can be anywhere from 3 to 14 days after his last meal. (I've actually gone longer than two weeks without feeding him and he still did fine.) Upon feeding, he sits on the counter for about 8 hours, and then he's ready to go.
The sourdough starter went off without a hitch. It sat and fermented and bubbled and stewed on the counter. I added the starter feeder, and it bubbled away some more. I decided to name it Virgil, which means "growing."
When it was time, I decided to go ahead with the most basic recipe, Sourdough Bread. I followed Grace's recipe to the letter, because a bread baker I am not. Yet.
Now is the time for Total Honesty. (I already told you I am not a bread baker). I thought I followed Grace's recipe to the letter. But somehow, when I was looking at the recipe on her blog, 1 1/2 cups of water looked like 1/2 cup of water, and I was confused. My mixture was dry, it certainly wasn't sticky...I added another 1/2 cup of water, and it got better, but wasn't holding together. I looked at the recipe again, saw that it was really 1 1/2 cups!! Duh! So then I was worried that I had overmixed it. We'll see.
12 hours later, the dough had risen, but certainly wasn't overflowing out of my bowl like Grace's was out of her trifle bowl. Perhaps my bowl was bigger, or there was the overmixing thing.
I decided I'd make just two loaves instead of three loaves like Grace made. And I'll probably try again over the weekend. I left the loaves in the oven for 8 hours, just like Grace recommends.
My bread turned out lovely! Perfectly risen, (see above!) golden brown on the outside. The very middle was just a bit doughy, so next time I will preheat the oven to 350 before I start the timer! I think that will take care of that little problem. But, this bread is delicious and easy, and I think I will just have to start baking more of my own bread! I can't wait to try some of Grace's other recipes, and tonight I even got my neighbor started with some starter of her very own!
I am sold and converted. Now I'm a real, live cowgirl with real, live sourdough starter in the fridge. Howdy, Virgil. Thanks for coming into my life! I know we'll make some beautiful things together.
Grace's Sourdough Bread 1/2 cup oil 1 cup sourdough starter 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups warm water 1/2 cup sugar 5 cups bread flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 3 tablespoons wheat germ
Combine all ingredients in a large non-metal bowl. Stir everything together, adding more bread flour as necessary to create dough that's no longer sticky. Transfer the dough into a second non-metal greased bowl.
Roll it around so the entire ball becomes glorious, set it in a warm place, cover it with sprayed aluminum foil...and watch it grow for about 12 hours.
After 12 hours, punch down the dough once, right in its middle. Turn it out of the bowl onto a floured surface and knead it a few times.
(Although Grace divided her dough into three, I only felt like I had enough for two loaves this time).
Divide the dough into two or three even hunks, and knead each a bit more. Place the dough into greased loaf pans.
Place the pans in the oven, cover with sprayed foil, and leave to rise again for around 8 hours.
Grace says: Just FYI, the pans are put into the oven to rise so they don't have to be moved later and risk collapsing.
After the second rise, remove the foil and bake the dough at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Preheat the oven before you start the timer!
I've created this site as a place everyone can come and post their favorite recipes...to share with friends, to encourage experimentation, to enjoy cooking for our families.
It is my hope that each of us will find new family favorites, have some fun, and maybe even learn something in the process! If you try a recipe from this site, please leave a comment on that recipe, let us know how it went, what you loved, what you hated, what you modified, etc! We want to know! Any (non-Spam) comments are welcome!
I look forward to frequent posts from all Bad Girls! I know you're all out there cooking, so tell us what!
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. (another cookbook I don't have...yet).
