sourdough bread

Discard Sourdough Bread Made with a Preferment

This is my new favorite bread recipe. You need to make a gf starter; lots of directions online. its not that difficult and you can buy a freeze dried one on-line. I prefer one made with brown rice flour and it needs to be at least 2 or 3 weeks old before using it. The weeks of forming it include lots of discarding a portion of it in efforts to get rid of harmful or poor tasting bacteria. I suggest you read up on the process, so you have a good idea of the process before you make one.

This is a pretty easy bread recipe for a beginner. You do need these assorted flours but trust me, if you have to eat gf you are probably sick of expensive and flavorless store breads so buying these flours is well worth it. I keep the sorghum, brown rice, millet and psyllium husk powder in the freezer, so they each stay fresh. You should put them in a freezer bag if their container is flimsy.

You could probably use a portable mixer, but a stand mixer is best. I use a scale to weigh most of my ingredients, necessary for exacting measurements. They aren’t that expensive and if you bake much, one is a necessity. My recipe is a take-off of one by Gluten Free Gourmand. I added the preferment step to my version to increase flavor and improve texture.

The preferment is a fancy term for a mixture of the sourdough starter, flour and warm water that stands around for 4 to 24 hours, some people let it stand even longer. Its purpose is to add sour flavor to the bread; without it your bread will be a bit bland, and it also can help the texture especially if you use an active starter (fed with flour and water that day so it is bubbly and active). I find the use of the preferment step makes this bread deliciously sour and with a lighter texture. It isn’t hard to do; I actually use a 32 oz yogurt container with a lid and just leave it sit for that day to get sour; simply dump the entire contents, including any separated liquid, into the bread dough mixture. Super easy and it definitely improves flavor and texture.

There is no tricky kneading or shaping of this bread. I roll it into a tube shape and bake in a metal loaf pan so I have the traditional bread shape for use in sandwiches. This bread made great grilled cheese or panini sandwiches. I slice up the loaf the day after baking it and freeze it in a freezer Ziplock; defrost in microwave for 50-60 seconds and you are ready to toast it or make a grilled sandwich! You can make it in a round or oval boule if that floats your boat; you might want to use a banneton to shape it as it rises and a cast-iron Dutch oven to bake it in. I generally like the boule recipe on Bakerita.com for that sort of sourdough but this recipe below could be shaped, risen in a mold called a banneton and baked in a boule. My Dutch oven is oval, so I tend to make oval loafs in it; they slice in nice slices which are mostly the same size.

Discard Sourdough Bread Made with a Preferment

Preferment:

200 gms (grams) active starter

80 gms sorghum

100 gms warm water (95-115 degrees)

Mix in a plastic lidded container and let stand for 24 or more hours

Dough directions – Ingredients:

Mix in stand mixer bowl

65 gms potato starch (you could do 115 gms potato starch and leave out the cornstarch)

50 gms cornstarch

40 gms millet flour

40 gms tapioca flour

9 gms sea salt

20 gms psyllium husk powder

Mix well and add 1 tsp active dry yeast

Add 280 gms warm water and the preferment. Mix with beater of stand mixer for 1-2 minutes until well blended. I have a beater with a built-in scraper; use it or a separate scraper to push all dough together into a rough ball. Cover with a damp lint free kitchen towel and put in a warm place for 60-90 minutes. I leave the beater in the bowl for this first rise.

Add these three things: 75 gms tapioca flour, 1 tbsp. sugar and 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, Blend well with the stand beater. Turn out onto lightly floured bread board, form into a log; I like to roll it back and forth to smooth the bumpy surface. Place in a metal baking loaf pan sprayed with gf cooking spray. Cover with the damp cloth and put back in the warm place for 60-90 minutes. It should have risen some but doubtful it will double. I like it to be puffy but not too puffy or it might become over risen, not good!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees when the bread is close to ready for baking. While it heats put a low pan of hot water in the oven so it comes to a boil while in your oven. I like my baking shelf set in the middle slot. Bake the bread 30 minutes covered loosely with aluminum foil and then 20 minutes more without the foil. Remove from pan within 5 minutes and cool for a minimum of 4 hours; I like more than that. I often bake this in the later afternoon to evening and then cut it in the morning. Enjoy!

Eggs Benedict 2.0

I happen to love eggs benedict especially with high quality home raised eggs and my homemade hollandaise sauce. plus decent Canadian bacon and good gf English Muffins. I give my mom’s easy and foolproof hollandaise sauce recipe below. It is far superior to those weird blender recipes I see out there. and is really easy. Your welcome!

Recently I found a new recipe that I really prefer for the muffins. I have posted about this meal before not not with this particular recipe for English muffins. These are gf sourdough muffins. I used Mock Better Batter flour in mine. The recipe can be found at welcometomyglutenfreejourney.blospot.com

The ingredients are:

2 cups gf flour

1 tsp. xanthan gum (I used 1/2 tsp as my blend has some xanthan gum)

1 tsp. ground chia seeds

2 tsp. sugar

1.5 tsp salt

1/2 cup gf sourdough starter, active (no substitutions will work)

1 tsp. yeast (my insurance policy for no fail muffins)

1 cup warm filtered water; divided in half

1/2 cup room temp butermilk

1 large egg room temp

1 tbsp. sunflower oil or melted butter; I used oil

yellow cornmeal for sprinkling in rings before and after a big dollop of the dough which you spread with your fingers before more cornmeal sprinkles on top.

Go to that site mentioned earlier for specific recipe directions. I added a full cup of water plus a bit more by time I got the dough to be like thick cake batter. Then I let my dough bulk rise in warmed oven for 2 hours. I used cooking spray to grease the rings and a 10 inch cast iron pan which was a bit of a tight fit. I actually had to remove the rings from most during the flipping process. I think they turned out great but mulling over a bigger pan for next time. I got 11 muffins but I think I want them slightly thicker; going for 10 next time. Definitely will be a next time as these had a superior texture and were less work.

My Mom’s Perfect Hollandaise Sauce

Makes about ¾ cup.

1 stick salted butter
2 egg yolks (from large eggs)
Juice of ½ a lemon

Please, no substitutions of any kind will work for this recipe and you MUST make it in a Pyrex measuring cup placed in a pan of hot water; just below the boil and going no more than ½ the way up the sides of the glass measuring cup. The glass insulates the contents and allows for a slow measured melting of the butter and an equally slow and almost alchemical blending of these three ingredients into a smooth sauce. Unsalted butter gives a pale unbalanced sauce and not enough lemon makes the flavor insipid. Any leftover sauce can be gently reheated in a microwave or over water; stir a lot and you can add ¼ tsp. hot water if it separates. Beat it with a spoon until it comes back together.

Anyway, back to the recipe! Cut the stick of butter into 8 chunks and place in a Pyrex glass measuring cup; one cup size please. Add the yolks and the lemon juice, no pits either! Place in a sauce pan half full of hot water. Do not let the water boil or go more than half way up the measuring cup. Stir often with a long handled ice tea spoon; I leave the spoon right in the cup. It will be hard to stir at first as the butter is still solid but the stirring will get easier. Stir almost constantly until the sauce thickens to coat the spoon and then continue stirring it to an almost custard like thickness. Take the cup of sauce out of the water bath and cover it with aluminum foil while you poach the eggs.

Egg Directions:

4 eggs
2 English muffins
4 slices Canadian bacon (round thin slices)

Eggs: get the best and freshest quality eggs possible. Old eggs spread out as they poach and you will have the perfect shaped poached eggs with really fresh ones. I got mine from a friend who raises chickens; far superior in flavor and freshness to anything from a store.

Spray a sauce pan with cooking spray, for two eggs I use a 1 quart pan; use a bigger one for more eggs. Fill it with warm water. Bring the water to an active bubble, add a tbsp. white vinegar. Break each egg into a short cup and use a fork to swirl the bubbling water into a tiny whirlpool then gently tip the egg into the hot water. Do not boil the water. Poach them 3 minutes for a soft squishy egg and 4-5 for firmer eggs. Some like lots of egg yolk liquid and others like a firmer textured egg. Do not overcook them or they are just hard boiled eggs. They should not be firm when you remove them. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on a paper towel.

While those eggs were poaching gently heat the bacon in a small frying pan with a tsp of butter. Cook on low about 2 minutes and flip, cook 1 more minutes.

Muffins; split each open with a dinner fork and toast in toaster; pale tan; not really browned.

Assembly: place two hot muffin halves on each plate. Top with a slice of Canadian bacon and then a poached egg. Pour a big dollop of sauce on top. We like them served with briefly steamed asparagus spears in the spring and either green beans or steamed broccoli spears the rest of the year.  Dig in!

Sourdough Can be Gluten Free and Delicious!

I have been making some gf sourdough breads and other baked goods for quite a few months now; since last winter. Hiatus over summer due to hot kitchen although I did continue to make sourdough bagels regularly. I love them with eggs for breakfast and I often have an open-faced bagel sandwich for lunch. The starter I use is make of brown rice flour and water. Occasionally I treat it to some honey. Currently it sits in the fridge until the day before I bake. Then I feed it more flour and water and stir it up to get active. Hey, I know, sourdough is not for everyone, and it has the reputation of being super tricky and unreliable. I can attest to some of that, but I have my secret weapon; a teaspoon of active yeast is my little helper. Added to the dough with the majority of ingredients it gets that dough to puff up, albeit over about 5-6 hours. Shhh! Don’t tell any serious sourdough bakers; they are somewhat fanatical bakers who are incredibly dedicated to their starters, recipes, the lengthy process and are fairly willing to waste lots of ingredients and hours of time waiting for a rise that often is minimal at best. After a few months of up and down results I have gone over to the dark side; that teaspoon does the trick; it is less than half a packet of yeast but it is enough to boost the rising power of my dough to results that are delightful and give me great joy. Until this year, I hadn’t had sourdough since going gf in January – February 2007. My mom loved sourdough and I sure missed it and looked longingly at the loaf of it at family gatherings. No more longing; I am making my own delicious sourdough breads and bagels.

The recipes I use come from a few sources, Aran Goyoaga bakes an amazing looking loaf of sourdough, but my favorite site is Bakerita; I belong to a fb group dedicated to her recipes and advice. Her boule is delicious if exacting in construction. I use her recipe for gf sourdough bagels, and it is super easy and super forgiving. And for those who think bagels are too difficult to make; Wrong! It is a one rise of the dough in the mixing bowl, cut into 8 equal chunks, roll into a ball, poke a hole through the ball and shape into a bagel. Let rise an hour or more, give each bagel a bath in boiling water with baking soda in it; 30 seconds on each side; place back on baking sheet. Dress up with poppy seeds, sesame seeds or Everything bagel mix (my favorite). Bake for an hour and there they are, chewy, golden and just lovely to munch on. I was driven to making my own when I found all the store gf bagels were lacking in texture and flavor and when Aldi’s stopped selling gf Everything Bagels. The last straw for me!! I slice them in half and freeze. Usually get through them in 3 weeks and I bake again.

Bagels, bathed, sprinkled and ready to bake

You can look on facebook for Bakerita’s site. Also for a gf sourdough baking group although I warn you, they are so deadly serious about it! And on both these sites there are recipes in the notes for a wide variety of baked goods. I have two of Aran’s cookbooks. I do tend to do the Bakerita recipes more often; if you follow them closely and add that tsp. of instant yeast you will get great results. Aran’s cookbooks have a detailed step by step recipe for creating your own sourdough starter; not that difficult to do. I have made sourdough scones too; see a few past blogs. I tried sourdough crackers with some limited success. The most recent recipe was the Bakerita boule but made as a loaf and allowed to rise 6 hours before baking. It has lovely even holes in the bread and my guy swears it tastes just like sourdough bread he buys. [He is not gf except when he is at my house so he eats wheat-based products regularly and can easily compare my breads to them.]

blueberry rhubarb sourdough scones

I find it a fun and almost scientific process; you weigh all the ingredients; strongly urge you to get a good electric scale that can do both ounces and grams. Essential. As is a stand mixer for most recipes. The bagel recipe can be made without a stand mixer. And bonus, far cheaper than buying the bread and far better flavor! Plus your house wil; smell fantastic as the bread bakes. Finally, there are the family’s accolades at your amazing sourdough bagels. Who know it could be so easy and fun to make bagels. I promise you will love them. Have fun and be adventurous! Sourdough is for us gluten free types! Go out and bake some.