Sourdough bread!

I decided to try making a starter for sourdough bread.   I found a recipe and tweaked it a little.   Here it is:

Sourdough Bread

I make the starter in a quart jar (canning jar) .  Cover with wax paper and put on the ring.  Use a tooth pick and poke a few holes in the wax paper.

Starter:

In a quart jar:  Mix 1 cup warm water, ½ cup sugar, 1 package (about 2 ¼ tsp) of dry yeast, and 3 level tablespoons of instant potato flakes. Stir with a wooden spoon. Cover it and put on the counter and let it ferment for 2 days.  Then feed with starter feeder.  Let it sit on counter over night and then refrigerate for 3- 5 days.

[ Starter feeder:  1 cup warm water, ½ cup sugar and 3 level tablespoons instant potato flakes.]

Every 4-5 days feed or make bread :

TO MAKE BREAD YOU WILL NEED:

            6 cups bread flour

            1 tablespoon salt

            ½ cup sugar

            ½ cup vegetable oil

            1 cup starter

1 ¼ cup warm water (I usually add a little more water to make the dough  softer –

                                            2 tablespoons)

Combine all ingredients.

Knead on floured surface 5-10 minutes and place in a greased bowl.  ( I put it in my oven with the oven light on)  [ I use my mixer that has a dough hook.  I knead it in there for only a couple of minutes until it all pulls away from the side of the bowl. Then I roll it a in a little flour on the counter before I put it to rise in the greased bowl.] Cover with a wet dishtowel and place in a warm spot for 12 hours.

Punch down and knead on floured surface and form into 3 loaves. Place in greased pans and put them in a warm spot and let them rise for about 6-8 hours.  They will not rise a lot but when you bake them they rise a little more.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

After you remove a cup to make your bread, you must feed the remaining starter and let it sit on the counter 12 hours then put it in the refrigerator.   Start process over.

IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO MAKE BREAD

Discard one cup of starter and feed the remaining starter then let it sit on the

counter 12 hours and refrigerate 3-5 days.  If you don’t make bread, this is a good time to give a cup of starter to a friend,  she then feeds her cup of starter , put it on her counter for 12 hours then refridgerate. In 3-5 days she can make bread  etc.

To have bread for around lunch time, I start the bread making process around 5 pm the previous day so it can do the 12 hour rising and then the 6-8 hour rising. 

We keep the bread in the fridge because it will mold quickly.  We slice and toast it and it taste like you just took it out of the oven.