Recipe(tried): Sourdough Starter & Bread

Sourdough Starter and Breads:

This soudough starter makes very good bread, indeed.
2 cups warm water
3 cups flour
2 tsps. salt
2 tsps. sugar
1 envelope yeast
1 1/2 cups grated, raw potatoes

Mix the warm water with the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and grated potatoes and blend well. Pour into a fairly large container made of glass or, better still, an earthenware bowl. Do not use plastic or metal.

Put the bowl in a warm place for 24 hours, uncovered. Then stir down well, cover with a sheet of plastic and let stand in a warm place for 3 to 4 more days. Stir a couple of times each day.

The starter should now look a bit foamy and start to smell. Pour it into a glass jar with a lid and store in the refrigerator.

You can begin to use the starter when a layer of clear liquid appears on top.

The night before you want to bake, take the starter out of the refrigerator, pour it into a bowl (not plastic or metal) and stir in 1 1/2 cups flour and 1 1/2 cups cold water. Stir with wooden spoon until well blended and smooth, cover with a piece of plastic and set in a warm place overnight.

The next morning stir the starter again and pour off 2 cups into your glass jar. Put this back into the refrigerator for the next time. The remaining 2 cups of starter are what you will use for your immediate baking.

Black Forest Rye:

A dark, hearty bread sliced thick with mustard and covered with smoked ham, maybe Bauernschinke if you can get it. Drink beer with your big sandwich and enjoy!
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. F.

1 package yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp. sugar

1 cup sourdough starter
1/2 cup lard
1 cup milk
1 Tbs. salt
1 Tbs. caraway seeds
3 cups coarse rye flour (rye meal)
2 cups whole-wheat flour

Proof the yeast in the lukewarm water with the sugar. Add the sourdough starter to the yeast sponge. Melt the lard, pour the milk over it and let stand until lukewarm. Then add to the yeast mixture.

Measure in the salt, caraway seeds and the coarse rye flour. Then add the whole-wheat flour.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic; then place in a large buttered bowl, cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

Take the dough out onto your work surface and punch it down a couple of times; divide into 2 equal pieces, and knead these for a couple of minutes. Then place into 2 small (8"by4") buttered loaf pans, cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Bake in the oven until the tops are brown and the loaves sound hollow when tapped with your finger, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool on a rack.

Baltic Bread:

The recipe for this bread was developed by a Lithuanian friend who, after many trials and errors, found that he had created a bread that tasted like the one on which he grew up. It slices beautifully and is spectacular with lots of butter and cheese.
2 large loaves. Can be frozen. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.F.

1 package yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp. sugar

2 cups leftover coffee
1 square (1 oz.) semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup molasses

2 cups sourdough starter
2 Tbs. caraway seeds
2 Tbs. salt
2 cups 100% bran cereal that's been ground in a blender
About 6 cups rye flour

Proof the yeast in the lukewarm water with the sugar.

Bring the coffee to a boil, turn off the heat, and stir in the chocolate to let it melt. Add the molasses and stir again. Let cool until lukewarm.

Blend together the yeast mixture, the coffee mixture and the sourdough starter. Add the caraway seeds, salt, ground bran cereal and stir in the flour, cup by cup.

When you have a dough that you can knead, place it on a lightly floured (all-purose flour) work surface, kneading until elastic and shiny.

Place in a large buttered bowl, cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk. This should take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Take the dough out again and punch down a couple of times. Divide into 2 equal pieces, shape these into two round loaves and place on a buttered baking sheet. Cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Bake about 50 to 55 minutes or until brown and the breads sound hollow when tapped with your finger. Cool the breads wrapped in a towel.

Bread From The Middle Ages:

The first grains to be cultivated in Scandinavia were wheat and barley. In the beginning, about 2000 B.C., no leavening was used in the preparation of grain. A porridge was made instead, very often including pieces of fish or meat. Almost three thousand years later, sourdough bread became popular. This recipe has an interesting sweet-sour flavor and has been handed down since the 13th century with a few slight changes.
2 large round loaves. Can be frozen. Preheat oven 375 degrees F.

1 package yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 cups sourdough starter
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter or shortening
2 cups barley flour
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Add the sourdough starter, salt, honey and shortening. Stir until well blended. Add the barley flour, whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour and blend.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a couple of minutes. Place the dough in a large buttered bowl, cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Punch the dough down a couple of times and knead for a couple of minutes. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and shape these into round balls. Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet, cover with a towel and let stand until doubled in size. This should take about 40 to 45 minutes.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely brown and the loaves sound hollow when tapped with your finger.

Cool wrapped in a towel.