Artisan 75% Whole Wheat Hybrid Bread

I have always loved baking but I particularly like baking bread. After baking a whole array of breads using commercial yeast I decided to make my own levain or sourdough starter. I started Bubbles (as she was called) a couple months ago. She was active and bubbling for about 2 weeks and I was able to bake soda bread and Baguettes with her. But then she started smelling like nail polish and had to go.

That was when I realized I needed information about how a sourdough starter worked before I could start a new one. I found a Facebook group Artisan Bakers and that changed everything. People in that group were baking the kind of bread I had drooled over. True artisan bread loaves! I started gathering information. I bought Ken Forkish's Flour Water Salt Yeast on my Kindle app and read it end to end. It has a lot of information about bread making with commercial yeast and homemade starters. I would highly recommend it to anyone venturing into this area.

I started Bubbles II based on instructions in the book. I use King Arthur Flour for baking. After baking a few breads from the book on a baking sheet I invested in a couple of toys, a dutch oven and a pastry blender. Forkish breads in the book are all baked in a dutch oven. This is my first attempt at baking bread in one.

I started my baking cycle on Friday morning. Here is more information about feeding and maintaining your starter if you are interested.

On Saturday morning I fed the starter around 7 am and we all had sourdough pancakes for breakfast with the discarded or spent starter. I kept aside the fed starter for 6 hours.

After 6 hours I mixed the flour and water with the starter.

As per my baking plan I have about 100 gm of starter left over and that goes into the refrigerator until the next baking cycle starts on Friday.

Since this recipe is a Hybrid bread it uses a scant 1/8 tsp. of commercial yeast. I added the yeast along with salt to the bowl with the flour, water and levain and made a sticky dough from it. By this time it was 4 pm. I let the dough rest covered for 5 hours on the kitchen counter.

During the first hour I uncovered and folded the dough a couple times. Folding strengthens the dough.

By 9 pm after 5 hours the dough had risen to more than double the volume.

I transferred the dough to a floured board to be divided and shaped. I placed the shaped dough seam side down in a floured dry bowl, covered it and put it in the refrigerator overnight. I would love a Benetton or a cane proofing basket but that will have to wait. I do not like to buy too many toys at once.

On Sunday morning about 12 hours after the bowl went into the refrigerator I set the oven to preheat to 450 F with the lidded dutch oven inside.

When the oven was hot I removed the dutch oven and placed a parchment paper on the bottom. Next I took out the shaped dough from the refrigerator.

I inverted it and placed it seam side up in the hot dutch oven.

I replaced the lid and returned the dutch oven to the middle rack of the oven. I let it bake for 25 minutes with the lid on. Then I removed the lid and let it bake uncovered for another 15 minutes. When done I slid the bread out to a cooling rack. Inverting the shaped bread puts the seam side up. As the gas build in the bread the seam is ripped open.

This bread has a crispy crust but the crust is so thin that it is never hard to chew. The bread is very soft and very flavorful. I do not believe I could go back to a regular loaf of bread. The ultimate goal is to retain the gas in the dough during the shaping to ensure an open crumb. I got a fairly even crumb but not as open as I would have liked. I am working on getting that right.

This bread is great for sandwiches. For the exact recipe refer to the book Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish.

Enjoy!

Spent / Discarded / Unfed Sourdough Starter Eggless Pancakes (What do I do with Spent Starter / Using Spent Starter)

Now that I have a stable active sourdough starter I needed a recipe to use up the discarded starter after every feeding. This pancake recipe works very well. It does not need eggs or additional flour. Just add a few flavoring mix-ins and you are set.

I bake once a week and every Saturday morning I have about 2 generous cups of discarded starter that needs to be used up.

I do that with these pancakes.

You will need
2 to 2 1/2 cups of sourdough starter (fed 24 hours prior to use)
1 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. maple syrup, honey or sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder (optional)
2 tbsp. milk (optional)

How active your starter is will depend upon the weather even if the ingredients are meticulously weighted and are always the same. This could determine how thick or thin your batter looks. If the batter is too thick for pancakes use the milk to thin it. Else skip the milk. Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Heat a griddle pan on high heat. Lower the heat to medium high. Drop a 1/3 of a cup of batter in the hot pan and let it browns. Flip it over to the other side and let it brown. Remove from the pan.

Repeat with the rest of the batter. Serve hot with maple syrup.

Variations:
You could add chocolate chips to the batter. Or fresh berries.

Breakfast Banana Bundt Cake #BundtBakers

Presenting a very simple banana bundt cake.

Mother's day in our house always makes me feel happy. I usually get a beautiful hand made card (the summer scrap booking class all those years ago is still paying off). I also get a bouquet of some very unique tulips made just for me (that would be the balloon shaping class). All this is presented at breakfast.

This is my second month baking with the bundt bakers. Last month I forgot to add baking soda to the batter. This month I made a mistake that was way worse. It almost ruined the cake. While I was running a spatula down the sides to loosen the cake I completely forgot about the center. I turned the cake over and the center stayed put. What did fall out on the plate was threatening to fall to pieces.

I was sure I was going to have to bake another cake for this post. Having nothing to lose I decided to try to salvage the cake. I quickly placed the bundt pan back on the fallen cake and turned it over to put the cake back in the pan. The cake was still pretty hot. I let it sit in the pan for about 20 minutes.

Then I ran my spatula around the hole in the middle and turned it out on a plate again. The cake came out in decent shape, only two pieces. The original plan was to dust the top with sugar but this cake needed something more. I searched for and found a completely opaque glaze to cover the not so pretty top. As you can tell from the pictures the cake has been in distress but it tasted so good it was all gone at breakfast the next morning. And in the process I found a recipe for a really tasty cream cheese glaze.

I sincerely hope I have an uneventful baking day next month when I bake the next bundt baker cake.

Recipe adapted from here and the glaze adapted from here.

You will need

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
2 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (I used fat free yogurt)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda

For the cream cheese glaze
2 ounces cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat variety)
Couple drops vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar (I powdered a little less than half a cup of regular sugar)
1 tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 6-inch bundt pan. In a mixing bowl beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until the well combined and creamy. Add the vanilla extract and the egg and beat well. Mash the bananas and fold them into the bowl. Next fold in the sour cream or yogurt. Sift the flour and baking soda. Add it to the wet ingredients in the bowl. Mix well and transfer the batter to the pan. Smooth the top and bake for 55-60 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool for 10-20 minutes. Run a spatula around the edges as well as the hole in the center. Place a plate over the top of the pan and flip it over to transfer the cake on to the plate. Allow the cake to cool completely. In a separate bowl, mix the ingredients for the glaze and pour it over the top of the cooled cake.

Enjoy!

How do I Maintain Sourdough Starter / Once a Week Baking with Sourdough Starter / Baking Schedule

Updated: 10/26/2018
I have had the starter for almost 5 years now. Yesterday a blogging friend asked a question about maintaining starters and that prompted me to revisit this post. Everything in this post holds true today too but my baking habits have changed. I do not bake every week anymore. Sometimes I bake weekly, other times I bake after 2-3 months. My starter works perfectly every single time. I have updated this post for the infrequent baker.

Original post:
If you are here then you have a new/active sourdough starter that is just about ready to use to bake bread or you have one that you are already actively using to bake bread. You need some help in getting the process into a schedule that fits your families needs. You have come to the right place.

If you do not have a starter yet then you should get one started. All it takes is flour, water and time. I used the book Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish to get me started. I now have an active starter that I keep in the refrigerator to be revived when needed.

It was when I started to maintain the starter that I realized I needed a schedule to ensure I had an active and bubbling starter when I was ready to bake. While there is a lot of information available on how to schedule a baking cycle and the proportion of the flour/water for the feed there is very little on how to customize this for your needs.

Another problem is that most processes described online result in some amount of discarded or spent starter. The quantity of the feed directly impacts the amount of discarded or spent starter. A very small quantity is needed to keep the starter going, the rest is discarded. While you could find recipes for discarded and spent starter a better idea would be to work the quantities of the feed and tweak your process to never have to discard your precious starter.

When I was a weekly baker I refrigerated and refreshed the starter every week. I revived the starter on Saturday morning and mixed the dough on Saturday afternoon/evening. I returned the starter to the refrigerator after I had taken out what I needed to mix the dough. I baked on Sunday. If you do not wish to bake as frequently don't worry. The same process can work for you. Just start on the day before you are ready to bake.

NOTE:
1. ALL QUANTITIES ARE BY WEIGHT. THIS WOULD NOT WORK AS WRITTEN IF YOU WERE TO MEASURE BY VOLUME.
2. I use 100% hydration, equals parts of water and flour. This process will work with most high hydration starters. To increase hydration you can gradually, over a few weeks, increase the percent of water to flour. I had started with a 85% starter as the pictures show and increased to 100%.

My schedule is as follows

The day before I am ready to bake
I take out all 50 gm of my starter from the refrigerator and place it on the counter top for 30 minutes. It starts to bubble and is ready to be fed.

I transfer it to a mixing bowl. Feed it with equal parts of flour and water, usually 50 gm or 75 gm each, giving me 100 gm or 150 gm for use in my recipes. If I need close to 300 gm then I use larger quantities of water and flour for the feed.

Covered with a plate, it rests on the counter top for the next 4-8 hours depending upon the weather. When it starts to bubble it is ready to be used. Please note a 100% hydration starter will have a thinner consistency than the picture below. Someday I will update the pictures here.

4-8 hours after feeding, typically the same afternoon/evening
I transfer all but 50 gm of starter to a separate mixing bowl. The 50 gm left behind is to be stored.

I put this 50 gm of starter back in the mason jar and refrigerate it until the next baking day. Again please note higher hydration starters have a thinner consistency.

I use the fed starter I have moved to a separate bowl to mix the dough as needed.

Baking day
I follow the recipe for the bread or pizza. Most sourdough recipes, with the exception of crackers, call for overnight bulk rise and fermentation. The day after the dough is mixed you are ready to bake. For crackers the dough is ready in an hour.

If you are looking for ideas on what to bake, there are a lot of recipes in this space. Search for sourdough or look through the recipes to find the sourdough recipes.

Maftoul Mediterranean Salad (Palestinian Couscous Salad)

The May Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by the incomparable Sawsan from chef in disguise. Sawsan challenged us to try our hands (literally!) at making maftoul - hand- rolled Palestinian couscous that is as versatile as it is tasty!

Making maftoul from scratch is like playing with your food and ending up with a delicacy. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and will be making this again. Everyone in the family loved it. Leftovers were willingly packed for lunch the next day.

I followed the given recipe exactly. The instructions provided by Sawsan were very good and easy to follow. The only change I made was to half the recipe. I quickly found a rhythm in the moistening and mixing of flour in the making of the maftoul that worked with my untrained hands. I realized I was not very deft at mixing in the water so I used just about a tablespoon of water at a time. That allowed me to get the developing maftoul moist without clumping.

You will need
For the maftoul
1/2 cup fine bulgur
1 tbsp. salt
1-2 cups water
1 1/2 cups whole what flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Spice mixture to cook the maftoul
1/2 stick cinnamon (I used the stronger Indian variety)
3-4 pods cardamom
2 bay leaves

For the salad
2 cups maftoul (all the maftoul made from the recipe above)
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
2/3 cup Greek feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
2-4 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. dried oregano

Combine the all purpose flour and whole wheat flour in a bowl. Dissolve the salt in the water in a separate container. Put the bulgur in a flat big rimmed plate.

Add a couple tablespoons water to moisten the bulgur. Sprinkle a couple tablespoon flour over the bulgur and using your fingertips swirl in a circular motion to get the flour to attach to the bulgur.

Repeat until the bulgur grows to the desired size.

The next step is to steam the maftoul in a couscous pot. I don't have a couscous pot but I have a steamer attachment on my rice cooker.

Add the cinnamon, bay leaf and cardamon to the steamer water. Steam the maftoul uncovered for 15 minutes. During this time add a little warm water to the matfoul and turn it over to allow the top layer to come in contact with the hot steam. When done the color will change to golden.

Transfer the cooked maftoul to a bowl and mix in a little olive oil. Let it cool.

Meanwhile slice the pitted olives, cherry tomatoes and cilantro.

Sprinkle it over the cooled maftoul. Crumble feta cheese over the top along with dried oregano, lime juice and salt. Mix it all together.

Enjoy!

Potato Oven Fries with Basil and Oregano

French Fries are a favorite American food but they are so oily and unhealthy. Oven fries made at home are a much better option and every one loves them. I already have a couple of oven fries recipes on this blog, basic irresistible oven fries and sweet potato fries. But oven fries are so addictive that I keep trying variations.

Today I was trying to recreate a diner burger plate for the 2014 52 Week Challenge for the theme diner/drive-in food. It was important for the fries to look like their deep fried cousins. I figured I could tweak the seasoning a little and added dried basil and oregano as well as salt and pepper. They tasted great and my diner plate looked really good too.

I baked the burger buns and made the patti but that will be another post. Today I want to focus on the fries.

You will need
1 Russel potato
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash and peel the potato. Cut it lengthwise into rectangular fries similar to those that are fried.

Wash the cut fries to remove excess starch. Sprinkle all the other ingredients and mix well. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the fries over and bake for another 10 minutes or until they are browned and cooked through.

Enjoy!

Mango Smoothie

The third mango recipe for the week is a mango smoothie. It is refreshing and filling at the same time. My daughter who loves her fruits and vegetables enjoys this smoothie after school on hot spring days.

Growing up I was very particular about eating only mankurad or alfonso. Now I am not so picky. I get whatever is available.

You will need
1/2 cup mango pulp
1/2 banana
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder
a pinch nutmeg powder
1/2 cup milk
a handful ice cubes

Put all the ingredients together with half a cup of ice in a blender cup.

Blend together until smooth.

Serve chilled.

Ambachya Shira / Mango Sheera / Mango Halwa

Ambyacha shira or mango shira is a variation of regular shira made with cream of wheat or rava. I have the recipe for shira with banana here. This recipe is very similar except instead of banana use mango pulp. This makes a great after school snack.

You will need
1 tbsp. ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 cup rava or semolina
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. mango pulp
1/4 cup sugar (if using canned sweetened pulp reduce the quantity of sugar)
1 pod cardamon, shelled and seeds crushed
raisins and cashews to garnish

Heat the ghee in a pan and add the rava to it. Saute until the rava is roasted. It will run smoothly through your fingers if you pick some up.

Heat the water and milk together in the microwave and bring to a boil. Combine with the roasted rava. Cover and let it cook for a couple minutes. Cover, mix and cover again for a couple minutes.

Add the mango pulp and sugar. Mix well. Add the crushed cardamom seeds and mix again. Turn off heat. Garnish with raisins and cashews.

Enjoy!

This is my entry for week two, day one of BM #40 for the theme Mango Mania. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#40.