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San Francisco-Style Sourdough French Bread
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I also find that working with a sourdough starter can be very time consuming. Especially if you follow what most sourdough books say and feed them everyday. That's too much work for me as I already have a cat! You even need a sourdough sitter when leaving town! Because I don't use my starter everyday, I store it, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator until ready to use. When I decide I want to use my starter, I then remove it from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature (usually I let it sit overnight on the counter). I then feed it with 1 cup flour and 1 cup warm water. I let this sit 8 hours or
preferably overnight. It is now ready to use in your sourdough recipes! Check out all of Linda's great Bread Recipes for your bread making.
San Francisco-Style Sourdough French Bread
1 cup
sourdough starter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon baking soda 3 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour* Cornmeal * The thickness of your sourdough starter can determine how much flour needs to be used. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly - add warm water (a tablespoon at a time). Bread Machine Recipe: Add all the ingredients except cornmeal in the bread pan of bread machine. Process according to manufacturer's instructions for a dough setting. NOTE: Don't be afraid to open the lid and check the dough. It should form a nice elastic ball. When the bread machine has completed the dough cycle, remove the dough from the pan to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough several times and form the dough into an oval; cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
Standup Mixer Recipe: In a large bowl or in the bowl of a 5-quart stand mixer, add
all the ingredients except cornmeal. Using dough hook, mix everything together into a uniform dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until elastic, about 15 minutes.
NOTE: In an electric mixer, it should take about 9 minutes.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
Lightly dust your work surface with all-purpose flour or bread flour. Place a small mound or a measuring
cup of flour near the work surface as you will use this flour to
sprinkle over the dough as you knead to prevent sticking. Also lightly dust your hands with flour to keep the dough from
sticking to you.
Gather the dough into a rough ball and place on your floured
work surface.
When you knead, you will use only the heels of your hands. Push
down on dough with your hand heels.
Fold the dough in half. Turn the dough about 45 degrees and
knead with your hand heels again. Continue to knead, fold and
turn the dough for the required length of time or to the
consistency suggested. I usually knead the dough around 5
minutes. Well-kneaded dough should feel smooth and elastic.
Press your fingertip into the dough; it should spring back. After resting, knead dough on a lightly floured board by pulling the dough towards you and then pushing down and forward with the palms of your hands (kneading gives the bread the elasticity and lets it rise). Place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl. Place a damp towel over the bowl and then cover with plastic wrap (the humidity in the bowl helps in the rising process). Let rise until it doubles in volume (when you can put your finger in the dough and it leaves and indentation and doesn't spring back out) approximately 4 to 8 hours (depending on the temperature and the starter used, the rising time can vary as much as 2 hours). Oven Bread Rising: Sometimes I use my oven for the rising. Turn the oven on for a minute or so, then turn it off again. This will warm the oven and make it a great environment for rising bread. If you can't comfortably press your hand against the inside of the oven door, the oven is too hot. Let it stand open to cool a bit. Sourdough rises more slowly than yeast bread; Always remember, the longer the rise time, the more sourdough flavor. Cool or Refrigerator Bread Rise: If I don't have the time to wait for the rise to finish or I know that I will be interrupted before the completed rise, I do a cool rise. A cool rise is when the dough is place in the refrigerator and left to rise slowly over night approximately 8 to 12 hours. I usually do this after the first rise and the dough has been shaped into a loaf. As this is a longer rise time, it improves the sourdough flavor in your finished bread. After dough has risen, remove from bowl, and place on a lightly floured board. Knead in flour to feed it one more time before baking. (See Kneading Dough Hits and Tips on the right.) Shape dough into a loaf shape and place on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet that is dusted with cornmeal (I use the new silpads instead of cornmeal). Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 to 3 hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. After rising, slash the bread with a bread razor or a very sharp knife making three 1/2-inch deep diagonal slashes. Brush or spray the top of the bread with cold water and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until nicely browned. A good check is to use an instant digital thermometer to test your bread. The temperature should be between 200 and 210 degrees. Remove from oven and place the bread on a wire rack to cool. Let baked loaf cool for 30 minutes before cutting (this is because the bread is still cooking while it is cooling).
Makes 1 large loaf.
I wanted to let you know that I tried your recipe for San Francisco-style
sourdough French bread and it was wonderful. I have never been a good "bread
maker" until after traveling to Scotland last September, and staying at a B & B
where we were served warm homemade bread every morning. I became very friendly
with the owner and she gave me several recipes and also recommended her bread
machine. As soon as arriving back in the states, my Husband ordered the machine,
Panasonic and very inexpensive. We loved the bread it made but I could not get a
good sourdough.
When browsing on line, I came across a recipe to make my own starter and found
your website with the bread recipe. I kept a close watch on the consistency
while being kneaded. I did not have to add any additional flour or water. It
made a perfect loaf.
My twin Granddaughters, who live with us and go to the University, drove up as
it was baking and said there was a wonderful "bread" smell coming from our house
and was hoping I was baking. They were impressed as I am not the Grandmother of
the last generations who cooks, bakes, cans, and grows her own garden. Well,
needless to say, the bread was gone quickly as we all had to sample the "warm "
product. I just put another recipe in the bread maker and I am anxious to see if
the adjustment to the starter will affect the consistency.
Question:
I make that recipe all the time. In
fact, I made
two loaves this Saturday. It is
important
that you read the following information from the above recipe:
* The
thickness of your sourdough starter
can determine how much flour needs to be used. If you think the dough is too
moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if
the dough is looking dry and gnarly - add warm water (a tablespoon at a
time).
Every time I refresh my
sourdough starter, the thickness of the starter changes. I always check to
see if I need more flour or water.
Please also read my web page on Secrets on Using the Bread Machine:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/Secrets.htm
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I've spent much time experimenting with sourdough to come up with a recipe that I feel can rival the famous San Francisco Sourdough French Bread. I find that using my bread machine for the kneading process only, saves me a lot of time and saves my wrists.