Breakfast with Sourdough

 

I am a bit obsessed with sourdough lately. I nave been making 2 boules a week most weeks (some unloaf, some regular), and I am the main person that eats it. Recently, I am loving breakfast sandwiches made with sourdough, a scrambled egg, and a slice of American cheese. It's kind of like an egg McMuffin leveled up. I know I will eventually eat something else for breakfast, but this is my favorite for now. 

Chocolate Raspberry Sourdough

 Today, I made a raspberry and chocolate sourdough loaf. It was originally going to be made with strawberries and white chocolate chips, but we have a lot of chocolate chips in the house, and there were no strawberries at the grocery store last night. I started making it first thing this morning, and we had it with dinner. It tastes like a desert instead of bread. 

The recipe came from a Facebook post. I'm fairly certain it was AI generated because I had to alter it to work. I believe I altered it enough to avoid any copyright issues that could come up from posting it. 

Raspberry Chocolate Bread

Combine:

• 1 cup active sourdough starter
• 1/2 cup squished raspberries 
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 
• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Red food dye as desired 

Kneed the dough for 8 to minutes or until smooth. Shape into a ball and place in lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let raise 4-6 hours. Laminate the dough on a lightly floured surface. Spread raspberries and chocolate chips on the dough. Shape the dough and place in a proofing bowl. Cover and let raise for 2-3 hours. Preheat oven to 450. Place dough in a Dutch oven and bake with the lid on for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until the bread is a golden brown. Cool and serve. 

Feeling the Love

 

As we get closer to Valentine's Day, I am doing things around the house to help us all feel loved. I already gave my kids their presents, little stuffed hearts and candies, and yesterday I made sourdough with a heart in the scoring. I will also be making heart shaped pizza on Valentine's Day and Valentine bread the following day. I love that there are so many cute ways to celebrate this day of love. I wish there were other days during the year to give me an excuse to do such things. 

So Pretty

 

I have been making sourdough bread since last spring. I have been able to make it taste good, but haven't made one as pretty as I wanted yet. I had decided around Christmas time that I just wouldn't be one of those people that made fancy sourdough even though I had found a few recipes I liked. 

Today, I made another un-loaf thinking it would turn out just like the last one. However, this time my starter hadn't sat dormant for as long. I carefully followed the recipe, and ended up with my prettiest loaf to date. 

This may be my new favorite recipe after all. 

Un-Loaf Review

 

I made the viral un-loaf over the weekend because I was unable to take the time to make sourdough for the last few weeks. (It normally takes the whole Saturday). As I was telling Chad how much I was missing having it in the house, I remembered people talking about the un-loaf in the sourdough group I follow on Facebook and decided to try it. 

I started the process Saturday night after getting home from the Mammoth game. It was late enough that waiting 14+ hours meant that I didn't have to do the shaping until after church. Then, I was able to take a nap (my favorite after church activity) while I waited for the next rise. After that, it baked for about an hour with the lid on and 5 minutes with the lid off, so I was able to relax while it baked as well. 

At first, I was a bit disappointed in the final product because it isn't as tall as I'm used to and it wasn't as tangy as I wanted. However, I realized that it isn't going to be the same as a classic sourdough boule because it is made with a different process. Also, the tangy flavor comes from the started. I'm not sure why, but my starter seems to be losing its flavor. 

That being said, I will be making this again. I have grown to love sourdough bread for many reasons, and this is a way to have it without being stuck at home for an entire day every time I want to make it. I will, also, make more traditional loaves when I am able. 

My Best So Far

 

I spent a god portion of the spring trying to make good sourdough bread. I made many good loaves, but was never quite happy. A lot of them had semi-burnt bottoms. One tasted great and was great on the inside but didn't brown up the way I expected. They were all eatable, but not what I had imagined. 

Yesterday, I made my best loaf to date. It plumped up beautifully and had a soft crust which I have never had. What was the difference? First of all, I put rice on the bottom of my Dutch oven under the parchment paper (a trick I learned on Facebook). Also, I used a recipe from a book and times everything exactly as written. I think part of my problem was the source of my recipes. I had one from TikTok and a few I found from a Google search. I don't know if the recipes were bad. It's possible this is just the recipe that clicks the best for me. 

I am loving the process of learning to make sourdough. There are so many things I can do with the starter. I'm excited to see what I make next. 

Sesame Bagels

 

A few days ago, I made bagels. The recipe was made with sourdough starter and was very easy to follow, and I’m very happy with how they turned out. 

I remember trying to make bagels very early in my first marriage that turned out so poorly that they basically sat in a container until they molded which only takes a few days since there are no preservatives. I’m not sure what I did wrong back then, but I have a lot more baking experience now. These turned out a lot better. They are even eatable. 

Lifestyle Change

As we have searched for a better way of life that may help us save money now and in the long run, Chad and I have decided to ease into homesteading. We have bought books, watched videos, and joined Facebook groups to learn more about the lifestyle. It has been an interesting learning experience. The more I learn, the more I want to jump into it, but I know I can’t do it all. 

We are making all of our bread right now. We rotate making the main bread for the family. I make it one week; Chad makes it the next. I have also been making English muffins and sourdough bread once a week. This is the perfect start to a more natural lifestyle for us. 

The next step we are working on is gardening. I have started my composting again and will have enough to mix in the garden beds next month. I am also planning out what I will be growing and where. My backyard is will not be ready, so I will be doing it in the front yard again. In the two beds by the driveway, I’ll have pickling cucumbers, corn, and squash. In from of my porch, I will grow green beans and let them grow up the trellis. On top of the trellis, I am hoping to make boxes to grow strawberries. Then, in the back corner of the yard, I will put a few tomato plants. Other than that, we will be replacing what is left of the grass with xeriscaping and mulch (something we have wanted to do for years). As we harvest, we will start canning. 

The next thing we will be working on is getting ready for bees. Chad has been wanting to get bees and harvest his own honey for a little over a year. He has been reading a book about it and would be ready to start next February at the optimal time in this area. Apparently, he will have to work on it for over a year before he could harvest any of it. 

From there, we will figure out what is next. There will be apple and cherry trees in our future, and I definitely want to make most of our food which will happen as we go. We need to be less dependent on grocery stores and restaurants. This will help up financially and with our health. I don’t see us ever caring for livestock )even though we could have chickens if we chose) because I don’t think I could handle meeting my food face to face. Other than that, we would have to move. 

I am nervous to make all of these changes, but I think this is right for us. We can’t keep doing the same things we have always done. A drastic change in lifestyle is probably what we need.

Sourdough Bread

 

I made my first sourdough loaf this weekend after carefully working on the starter for almost two weeks. I found the recipe on TikTok, and carefully watched and rewatched it before and during the process. I was sure I was doing it wrong almost the whole time. It just didn’t look like the video until I was ready to let it ferment overnight. 

Yesterday morning, I preheated the dutch oven in my oven and baked it. When it was done, I put it on a plate on the island until I got home from church. I worried the whole time that it would be too dense. As I cut into it, I was happy to see that it was bubbly and soft. It isn’t as tangy as most sourdough bread I’ve tasted, but I’m ok with that. I’m not a huge fan of the strong tangy flavor of most sourdough. 

Homemade Breakfast

 

I have really been enjoying my breakfasts this week. They have consisted of berries and a sandwich made of homemade English muffins, butter or cream cheese, and an egg. There is just something satisfying about eating something I have worked so hard at making. It’s a lot more filling than cereal and has far less preservatives. 

This was my second batch of English muffins, and they are far from perfect. I’m learning with each batch though. I still need to turn down the fire on the burner, and I may need to let the sourdough starter ferment a bit longer. I definitely need to be a bit more patient while making them. I am determined to make this work. 

Meet Freida

 

I started a sourdough starter last week on Monday. Growing her has been a learning process. In day 3, I thought things were going great. She was bubbling and seemed happy. Two days later, she went flat, but I didn’t want to give up on her. I just kept discarding and feeding as the instructions told me to, but couldn’t help thinking I was doing something wrong. In Sunday, I found a Facebook group for sourdough beginners and took a deep dive into the tips and tricks for growing the started and making the perfect bread. I followed a few of the tricks (feed with half wheat/half white flour and use filtered water), and she perked right up. In fact, when I ched on her tonight for her 12 hour feeding, she had completely filled the jar and was about to spill out. Chad happily helped take care of her as I worked on the English muffins. I am hoping she stays happy. I really want to make sourdough bread this weekend. Wish Freida and I luck!