Speedy Sourdough French Bread Food

THE FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Place the sourdough starter, water, olive oil, salt, sugar, yeast, and flour in that order into the pan of a bread machine, set the machine on the dough cycle, and start the machine.
• After the machine has finished its cycle, turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead several times; mix in more flour if the dough is very sticky. Cut the dough in half, and roll each piece of dough out into a rectangle about 8 by 12 inches and 1/2-inch thick. Roll the rectangles into loaves the long way, pinch the seams, and taper and pinch the ends of the loaves.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and sprinkle paper with cornmeal. Place the loaves gently onto the prepared baking sheets, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Place a large baking stone onto the center rack of oven, and place a baking dish onto a lower rack. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Carefully pour boiling water into the baking dish.
• Remove plastic wrap from loaves, and slash several 1/2-inch deep cuts into each loaf with a sharp knife. Whisk egg yolk and milk together in a small bowl until thoroughly mixed, and brush the loaves with the egg yolk mixture.
• Place the loaves into the preheated oven on top of the baking stone, and quickly spray the inside of the oven 4 or 5 times with a water-filled spray bottle. Shut oven door; wait 1 minute, and spray again; repeat twice more, spraying the oven 4 times with water at 1-minute intervals.
• Bake about 15 minutes, and remove the water-filled baking dish. Continue to bake until the bread is browned and the loaves make a hollow sound when thumped, about 15 more minutes. Remove bread to cool on racks.

SPEEDY "SOURDOUGH" FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Mix together warm water, sour cream, and vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.
• 2. In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add sour cream mixture to flour mixture. Blend together on low speed until moistened. Continue to blend on medium speed for 3-4 minutes.
• 3. By hand stir in 2-3 more cups of flour until dough pulls cleanly away from bowl.
• 4. On a well-floured surface knead in additional 1-2 cups of flour until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough ball in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a clean dish towel. Let rise in a warm (80-85 degree) place until doubled. Approx. 30 minutes.
• 5. Grease a large sheet pan. Punch down dough and divide in half. Roll each half into a 14x8 rectangle. Roll, starting from a long side. Pinch seam and ends closed. Place seam side down on baking sheet. I have also shaped these loaves into rounds, typical of sourdough bread.
• 6. With a sharp knife make 4-5 1/4 inch deep diagonal slashes in the top of each loaf. Cover with clean dish towel and let rise in warm place until doubled again. (Approx. 20 min.)
• 7. Heat oven to 375*. Bake 30-35 minutes until golden and hollow sounding when tapped. Remove loaves immediately to a wire rack to cool.
• 8. **NOTE: I often make this dough in my bread machine. Add ingredients in the order prescribed by your machine manufacturer and use the dough setting. I usually add 4 cups of flour to start. After the first rise, knead in any additional flour to obtain the standard elastic dough. Rest dough five minutes before rolling out and continue at Step 5.

SOURDOUGH FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Put ingredients, in order listed, into bread machine pan.
• Set machine for dough cycle and start.
• At end of dough cycle, turn dough out onto a floured surface.
• If dough is too sticky, knead in a little additional flour.
• Divide dough into 2 equal portions and flatten each into a 1 1/2 inch thick oval.
• Fold oval in half once lengthwise and pinch seam to make an elongate loaf.
• Sprinkle cornmeal on a baking sheet and place the loaves on the sheet seam side down.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees F) until about doubled in bulk.
• Place a shallow pan of hot water on the lower shelf of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Make shallow slashes in tops of loaves with a razor blade or finely serrated knife, held at a 30 degree angle.
• Place the loaves in the oven and immediately spray them and the oven walls with water from a fine mister, and avoid spraying oven light.
• Repeat this spraying 3 additional times at one minute intervals.
• Continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes or until brown, but remove pan of water from oven after the first 15 minutes.
• Remove loaves from baking sheet and cool on wire racks.
• *To proof sourdough culture, start with 1/2 cup of culture and stir into it 1 1/2 cups warm water and 1 1/2 cups flour.
• Cover with plastic and let sit 8 to 12 hours (the longer it sits, the more 'sour' your bread will taste).
• At this point, measure out the 2 cups required and proceed with recipe; returning any extra to the starter pot to save in the refrigerator until you want to use it again.

SUPER EASY SOURDOUGH BREAD - DUTCH OVEN STYLE

Steps:

• *Initial prep work*
• Dissolve salt into filtered water and set aside
• Combine all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour in large bowl
• Add in sourdough starter and filtered water (with salt dissolved in it)
• Mix everything together by hand until well mixed
• Knead/fold the dough in half, while working the bowl in a circular pattern using quarter turns
• Make about 10-12 folds in total
• Cover bowl and let sit to rise for 12-24 hours
• *After dough has finished rising*
• Preheat oven to 450°F with dutch oven on center rack
• Once oven is preheated, turn temperature down to 415°F
• Quickly form dough into a round shape and place on a piece of parchment paper
• Score the dough and place it (on parchment) into the dutch oven
• Bake with lid on for 20 minutes
• Remove lid and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes
• Move bread to a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes
• Slice a piece off and enjoy!

SOURDOUGH FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the Sourdough Starter, oil, sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough additional flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead gently 20-30 times (dough will be slightly sticky). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 1-1/2 hours., Preheat oven to 400°. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each into a 12x8-in. rectangle. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch ends to seal. Place seam side down on 2 greased baking sheets; tuck ends under. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , With a sharp knife, make 4 shallow diagonal slashes across top of each loaf. In a small saucepan, combine water and cornstarch. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Brush some over loaves. , Bake for 15 minutes. Brush loaves with remaining cornstarch wash. Bake until lightly browned, 5-10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

QUICKER SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• The day before or early in the morning, mix starter sponge, cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise till doubled - about 10 hours at 75°F.
• To make the dough, mix starter with flour and water and let rest covered for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle on the salt and knead the dough for 4 or 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface with floured hands until the salt is uniformly distributed.
• Stretch and fold by stretching the dough on an oiled counter with oiled hands into a rectangle and folding letter-style top down, bottom up and sides in to form a rough cubic package.
• Place in an oiled, straight-sided container covered. Clear containers work best to judge when the dough has doubled in volume.
• S&F every 30 minutes for one or two more times until the dough is silky smooth.
• When nearly doubled in size (about 2 hours), tip the dough onto a very lightly floured counter, divide into 2 equal pieces and gently form into ball or torpedo shapes.
• Place in floured or oiled bowls or proofing baskets (seams up). Cover with oiled plastic and proof at room temperature about 45 minutes to bake or refrigerate overnight for baking the next morning.
• preheat oven to 425F with a steam pan (a skillet you add 1 cup hot water to).
• when the loaves are 1 1/2 times the original volume (refrigerated loaves should be ready to bake even cold), turn out the loaves (seams down) onto parchment paper (not oiled) and score with a sharp knife or razor blade.
• Bake for 12 min with steam, rotate loaves, remove steam pan, and bake for 10 more minutes without steam until 205 F internally.