Sourdough Jack Bread Food

SOURDOUGH

Steps:

• First make your starter. In a large jar (a 1litre kilner jar is good) or plastic container, mix 100g of the flour with 125ml slightly warm water. Whisk the batter until smooth and lump free, whisking will help incorporate some airborne yeast particles to get your starter going. Leave the jar or container lid ajar for an hour or so in a warm place (around 25C is ideal), then seal and set aside for 24 hrs.
• For the next 6 days you will need to 'feed' the starter each day. To do this, tip away half the original starter and add an extra 100g of flour and 125ml slightly warm water, whisking well each time, try to do this at roughly the same time everyday. After 3-4 days you should start to see bubbles appearing on the surface, and it will smell yeasty and a little acidic. This is a good indication that the starter is working. The time it takes for fermentation to begin can vary between 1 to 5 days depending on temperature and environment, persevere for up to 6 days, if you still don't see any signs of life, or the starter smells unpleasant, throw it away and start again. On the 8th day the starter should be quite bubbly and smell much sweeter. It is now ready to bake with.
• Now you can make your first loaf. Tip the flour, 225ml warm water, salt, honey and sourdough starter into a large bowl, or a table top mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir with a wooden spoon, or on a slow setting in a machine, until combined, adding a little extra flour if it's too sticky or a little extra warm water if it's too dry. Tip onto a work surface and knead for about 10 mins until soft and elastic, if using a mixer, turn the speed up a little and mix for 5 mins. The dough is ready when it bounces back when gently pressed with a finger.
• Place the dough in a large, well oiled bowl and cover with an oiled sheet of cling film. Leave in a warm place to rise for 3 hrs. You may not see much movement after this time, but don't be disheartened, sourdough takes much longer to rise than a conventional yeasted bread.
• Line a medium-sized bowl with a clean tea towel and flour it well, if you have a proving basket you can use this. Tip the dough back onto your work surface and knead briefly to knock out any air bubbles. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and dust it with flour. Place the dough, seam side up, in the bowl or proving basket, cover with a sheet of oiled cling film and leave for 6-8 hrs, until roughly doubled in size.
• Place a large baking tray in the oven, set to 230C/210C fan/gas 8, to heat up. Fill a small roasting tin with a little water and place this in the bottom of the oven to create some steam. Remove the large tray from the oven, sprinkle with flour then carefully tip the risen dough onto the tray.You can slash the top a few times with a sharp knife if you like. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 20 mins before serving.

BEGINNERS ARTISAN SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Make the STARTER AHEAD (This can take up to a week or more) AND DO NOT USE UNTIL IT IS ACTIVE ENOUGH TO FLOAT A TEASPOON ON A CUP OF WATER.
• This process balances your starter for best rise. Feed 100 grams starter with 100 grams flour and 100 grams warm water.
• Let sit overnight.
• It should pass the float test in 8 to 12 hours.
• If it does not repeat feeding.
• Pour the water into a large bowl.
• Add the ripe balanced starter to the water and mix thoroughly with a whisk or by hand until the floating cloud of starter is mixed completely into the water.
• Add the flour to the leavened water and mix with the dough bowl scraper or other spatula. At the end use wet hands to form a shaggy dough ball.
• Let it rest (autolyse stage) about an hour. This stage can be extended without worry up to four hours.
• After autolyse, add the salt to the bread dough. Use your hands to pinch and stretch the dough gently until the salt is mixed into the dough.
• Using your wet hands pull the dough from under the dough ball up and stretch it gently as you pull it over the dough ball top. Release. Repeat this process as you give the bowl quarter turns until the dough is stretched and pulled from each quarter of the bowl.
• Over the next 2 1/2 hours repeat the stretch and fold every 30 minutes for a total of FOUR times. The dough will change from a slimy ropy mass to a billowy dough with many air pockets and definite body as you stretch and fold it. DO NOT PUNCH DOWN THE DOUGH AT ANY TIME. Those air bubbles create the excellent crumb and flavor.
• The dough should become an elastic resilient dough that passes the window pane test. IF your dough is still breaking before it goes transparent when pulled. Do ANOTHER stretch and fold.
• Allow the dough to bulk rise IN THE BOWL at room temperature an hour or SO until it rises by 30 percent or so.
• Cover the bowl of dough with a plastic bag and set it in the fridge for 12 to 15 hours (Or overnight). It should continue to rise slowly so give it room in the bowl.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit on the counter in the bowl for two hours or until the dough reaches room temperature (or pretty close). The dough will soften and gently rise (a tiny bit) as it warms.
• On a clean unfloured counter pour out the dough into a large mass. Flour the top of the dough lightly but evenly.
• BEING CAREFUL NOT TO OVERWORK THE DOUGH-Form each half into a dough ball. The most efficient way to do this is to use the counter as your pivot point. Scrape in a circle around the dough (leave it unturned, flour side up). The unfloured counter will hold the dough center and create tension as you circle the dough with the scraper forming a ball. Repeat to form two dough balls. The DOUGH edge should be round and the dough ball should have some form and resilience to it.
• Let the dough balls rest for 20 to 30 minutes. They will spread out but should not fall off at the edge of the pancake. If they do, reform the loaves and bench rest them again to build the structure of the dough better.
• Gently slide the dough scraper under one of your dough balls and flip it over so it rests on the floured side.
• Now gently stretch and pull the dough over from the bottom to 1/3 up the loaf. Stretch and pull the dough from the sides to the dough middle. For the final stretch take the dough from the top of the ball and pull it all the way down to the bottom. Form a seam. Pinching the seam as necessary. (view the video for help here)
• Place the dough seam side up in your rice floured, cloth lined banneton or bowl.
• Rise in the fridge 2 to four hours.
• Set a baking stone (if you have one) on your oven bottom rack. Set your dutch oven with it's lid on next rack up (lower third of oven). PREHEAT oven to 450 degrees F. for at least 30 minutes.
• Keep the formed loaf in your banneton in the fridge until you actually need to place it in your preheated dutch oven. Cold dough will aide the oven spring.
• Remove one banneton from the fridge. Place the dough in your preheated dutch oven. I do this by flipping it into the dutch oven as gently as possible seam side down.
• Alternate method: Place high heat safe parchment paper over the banneton. Turn the banneton upside down so the dough falls gently onto the parchment paper.
• Score the loaf with your lame knife or a razor blade or sharp scissors. Scoring helps the dough rise better.
• Now pick up the scored loaf with the edges of the parchment paper, if using, and gently and carefully place it into your VERY hot dutch oven.
• Put the lid on the dutch oven and return it covered to your preheated oven.
• Bake 30 minutes at 450 degrees.
• Now REMOVE the lid (and parchment paper if using). Steam should come out. Hopefully the bread is a light golden color with a nice rise and set crust. Bake an additional 10 minutes UNCOVERED or until the loaf thumps hollowly and the surface gets dark(Caramelized darker than you are used to maybe) and the scored areas look shiny. (To prevent over browning turn the parchment paper (or foil) upside down over the loaf as it finishes in the oven.)
• Remove the dutch oven. Place the finished loaf on a cooling rack. Do NOT cut it for at least an hour to set the crumb.
• Return the dutch oven (with lid on) to the oven at 450 degrees F and preheat for 15 minutes. Repeat the process with the remaining loaf.
• To tell if your bread is properly done. Use your digital thermometer and insert it into the center of the loaf. It should read about 205 degrees.
• Other TELLS: Look at the crust and LISTEN to it cool. The crust should be 'shattery' which means as it cools it will crack. You can see it and hear it. This is bread music :) also a dull sounding bread is probably not completely baked. When you cut the loaf is should have a creamy but springy crumb with lots of aration.

SOURDOUGH JACK BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• With a sharp bread knife, cut bread in a grid-like (cross-hatch) pattern, taking care NOT to cut through the bottom crust.
• Insert cheese slices between each deep cut (about 2 dozen slices).
• Place melted butter, scallions, and poppy seeds in a small bowl. Stir to mix well. Make a blanket of aluminum foil large enough to totally encompass the bread. Place bread in the center of the foil. Drizzle butter mixture over bread and cheese.
• Wrap foil tightly around bread and place it on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes; open foil and bake 10 minutes more, until cheese is melted.
• To serve, place unwrapped bread in a napkin-lined bread basket. Guests serve themselves by ripping pieces of cheese bread from the loaf.
• SUBSTITUTE: You can substitute a flavored artisan bread for the sour dough.

SOURDOUGH ONION HERB BREAD

Steps:

• Add all ingredients to bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
• Select dough cycle, but remove from machine at the end of the kneading and do not let dough rise in machine.
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and shape into two loaves.
• Place into greased bread pans and spray tops with non-stick cooking spray.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place until light.
• Patience here, as this can take several hours (usually 2 1/2 to 3).
• Bake at 350° F for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and turn out of pans onto wire rack to cool.
• Brush tops of loaves with butter while still hot.
• Recipe can also be made without a bread machine, using conventional methods.

SOURDOUGH JACK

Steps:

• Just the usual. I set out the soudough adding an equal amount of water and I little more than the same amount of King Arthur All Purpose Flour. Beat up a bit by hand, cover the bowl with a shower cap and let it bubble away.

CHEESY BREAD PULLS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Use serrated knife to make vertical cuts, 1 inch apart, in top of bread loaf, being careful to not cut through to bottom of loaf. Turn bread 1/4 turn; repeat cuts.
• Cut each cheese slice into thirds; press into cuts in bread along with the bacon. Place loaf on large sheet of foil.
• Mix remaining ingredients until blended; drizzle over bread. Wrap with Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil; place on baking sheet.
• Bake 25 min. or until heated through, unwrapping bread after 15 min.