Recipe: Sourdough Bread with Potato Flake Starter - June: Regarding Sourdough...

Good Morning June, I'm so sorry I took so long getting back! The children have been sick and I had my hands full. Well back to the sourdough starter. I agree I have had some that was terrible. I am not proclaiming mine is the best but Jim says it really doesn't taste like the typical sourdough bread. You know how I change recipes around. Here's mine.

SOURDOUGH BREAD

INITIAL STARTER:
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg. dry yeast
3 tablespoons instant potato flakes

Mix and let ferment on counter for two days.

Then feed starter with starter feeder.

STARTER FEEDER:
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. instant potatoes
I add 1/2 bread flour here.

Mix well, let stand 8 hours. Then refrigerate 3 to 5 days, and then make bread.

TO MAKE BREAD:
6 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 cup starter*

I add 1 pkg. of yeast to the warm water step above and mix together. It gives a better texture, a lighter loaf and does not have a strong flavor (if you want to cut down on time, use Rapid Rise Yeast and it only takes about 4 to 5 hours for the first rise and 3 hours for the second rise). I use a KitchAid commercial mixer and with the dough hook it only takes 2 minutes to mix and I knead the loaves about 8 to 10 turns if Brittany doesn't beat me to it.

Let dough rise 8 hours, or till double.

Punch down, make 3 or 4 loaves (depending on pan size) and let rise 8 hours, or till double. (Spray to top of the loaves with Pam before putting plastic wrap over to rise 2nd time (or brush with melted unsalted butter) It will let the air out of the loaves if the plastic sticks to it and you might as well throw it away instead of baking it. You'll have boat anchors otherwise!)

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes (until brown).

VARIATIONS:
- If making sweet rolls or monkey bread I add vanilla and butter flavoring and cinnamon to dough mixture. Sometimes chopped nuts. Do your own thing.
- For Italian Bread, leave out yeast and you will get what you had in SF.

*After using one cup of the starter, put other cup back in the refrigerator and feed every 3 to 5 days; discard any extra you don't use. In other words you only feed 1 cup at a time. I keep more because I make a sourdough chocolate cake the Jim thinks is God sent and a coffee cake as well as lots other recipes.

TIP:
- I put the dough on top of my freezer to rise both times. It gives just enough heat and always rises beautifully.

I hope I didn't confuse you with all this. You might want to print it out and re-read, not that you wouldn't get it the 1st time but I probably rambled too much. Sorry! Hope you don't wish you hadn't ask! Ha Ha I just didn't want to leave anything out. Enjoy!!!!