The Saga of the New Pet with the Stinky Disposition Part 3 and the End of the Story

Photo by
www.rangerville.com
Remember in the last segment
of the Saga, I talked about the
"little yeasties"?  Well, this
is what they become when they are
veeeery happy!

Good morning, All. 

I have heard from ya'll that leaving comments is a real pain because you have had to get a google account if you didn't have one, or go through some similar rigamorole.  The other day I was was playing with the blog layout and I think I have fixed the comment problem.  You should now be able to leave me a comment with out going to an account and signing in.  I would really love to hear from you!  And if there is still a problem leaving comments let me know (stdragonfly@yahoo.com) and I will see what I can do to fix it!

Well, sadly the Sourdough Saga will come to an end today, then we will get on to more subjects herbal.
If you have never tried baking your own bread, you really must give it a try someday.  Baking bread is such a satisfying hobby.  Besides the out come of your labors are quite delicious (well, most of the time!)  And to me it really does seem like the Sourdough bread recipe is the easiest and remember any yeast bread recipe just takes a little time.

We have studied the history of Sourdough and met some interesting characters involved with Sourdough.  We even touched on some Sourdough science and I have given you a recipe to start your own Starter.  So, now it is time to share some recipes.

The loaf on the left was baked in a
4 x 8 loaf pan and
the loaf on the right in a
1 quart casserole.

Sourdough Bread

The King Arthur Rustic Sourdough bread recipe has been successful every time I have baked it.  It produces 2 small loaves, just enough to be eaten up in a day or two.

King Arthur also has an extra-tangy sourdough bread recipe.  In the Extra Tangy recipe you do not add extra yeast but the rising times are very long.  And since I am not a very patient woman, well, put it this way, I need to get the bread baked, in the oven, and slathered with butter as quickly as possible!

Ingredients:

1 Cup (81/2 ounces) "fed" sourdough starter

1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) luke warm water

2 1/2 tsps. salt

1 Tbls. sugar

2 tsps. instant yeast

5 cups (21 1/4 ounces) All-purpose Flour

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients, kneading to form a smooth, soft dough, adding a bit of additional flour if needed.  Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.

When first placed in bowl to
rise for 90 minutes.

After 90 minutes,
Doubled in size!

Divide the dough in half and shape into two oval loaves.   Place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.  Cover and let rise til very puffy, about 60 minutes.  Slash the tops, and bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from the oven, and cool on a rack. 

Yields:  2 loaves.

Sourdough Biscuits

Homemade Sourdough
Biscuits!!!!

This recipe is from the blog Sarah's Musings.  There is a trick to making good biscuits. DO NOT OVERWORK THE DOUGH! So, that being said, here are your ingredients....

2 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup lard, cold cut into chunks, or a mix of half lard and half cold/frozen butter

     Okay, we are making biscuits...so use lard...I am not sure biscuits were meant to be a health food.  And besides that, check into some of the new information on using lard and butter....oh, and remember, all things in moderation.  So, just eat one or two biscuits at a meal, preferable with some good local honey or StarDragonfly Herbals Elderberry Jelly!

1 Tbls. sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tsps. baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 C. sourdough starter, freshly fed a few hours earlier

Up to 1 C. milk

and

melted butter

Now there is nothing hard about making biscuits!

Measure all your dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix with a whisk.  Add the lard and smush and squeeze with your finger tips.  Incorporate good (well) but do this step as quickly as possible so the lard stays cold.  Then make a "well or hole" in the middle of the bowl.  Add the wet ingredients.

Now gently mix all of it together.  The dough should be kinda crumbly but should hold together....then turn out on a floured board and gently knead it a couple times.  Then I pat it out on the board, say about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into circles with cookie cutter, I use an old tomato sauce can.

Let biscuits rise in a warm spot for about 30 minutes. Brush the tops with melted butter if you desire.  I don't because I like the tops crispy.  Then bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes.

There are other things you can do with your sourdough starter.  Make pancakes, waffles, cookies, crackers and pizza dough,   And if you have spilled some of the stuff on your counter, you may have noticed it makes really good glue!

And to Barbara, who sent me a great photo of her Sourdough bread, my apologies.  I downloaded the photo to where I though it should be and of course, it has disappeared.

And so the Saga of the Pet with the Stinky Disposition comes to an end.  I really was afraid that the Sourdough Starter would become too much trouble with I started on this adventure.  But, hey, nothing else around here only gets fed once a week.  All the other critters get fed twice daily, except Cousin Sandra and I, we eat 3 x daily plus snacks.  Could be why my jeans are a little tight?

Yarrow
Achillea millefolium

Have you been noticing the frost?  I love the frost, it makes the world all sparkly!  I almost missed this great shot of the frost on the Yarrow because as soon as the Sun gets anywhere near the shimmering crystals they disappear!

“The end of THE END is the best place to begin THE END, because if you read THE END from the beginning of the beginning of THE END to the end of the end of THE END, you will arrive at the end.”
― Lemony Snicket, The End

Sun shining through kitchen window.