Classic Sourdoughs (27 page)

The flavor of ginger is unique in both bread and waffles. You have missed a treat until you try both
.
MAKES 3 OR 4 WAFFLES

Combine the culture with the egg yolks, milk, butter, molasses, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl and mix briefly. Add enough flour to attain a pourable consistency and mix until lump-free. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and gently mix into the batter. Just before cooking, dissolve the baking soda in 1 tablespoon of water and gently blend with the batter. Pour the batter onto a preheated waffle iron and cook for 7 to 8 minutes.

Whole Wheat Waffles

You may need extra all-purpose flour to get the ideal waffle texture in this recipe
.
MAKES 3 OR 4 WAFFLES

Combine the culture with the egg yolks, milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl and mix briefly. Add the whole wheat flour. Add enough all-purpose flour to attain a pourable consistency and mix until lump-free. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and gently mix into the batter. Just before cooking, dissolve the baking soda in 1 tablespoon of water and gently blend with the batter. Pour the batter onto a preheated waffle iron and cook for 7 to 8 minutes.

Sour Cream Waffles

Does sour cream make sourdough more sour? A little: we think you’ll enjoy the tang
.
MAKES 3 WAFFLES

Combine the culture with the egg yolks, sour cream, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl and mix briefly. Add enough flour to attain a pourable consistency and mix until lump-free. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and gently mix into the batter. Just before cooking, dissolve the baking soda in 1 tablespoon of water and gently blend with the batter. Pour the batter onto a preheated waffle iron and cook for 7 to 8 minutes.

Blueberry Waffles

Use fresh blueberries if possible, but frozen berries are a good second choice
.
MAKES 3 OR 4 WAFFLES

Combine the culture with the blueberries, egg yolks, butter, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl and mix briefly. Add enough flour to attain a pourable consistency and mix until lump-free. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and gently mix into the batter. Just before cooking, dissolve the baking soda in 1 tablespoon of water and gently blend with the batter. Pour the batter onto a preheated waffle iron and cook for 7 to 8 minutes.

THERE ARE MANY
home baking machines (bread machines) on the market but none currently available are designed specifically for sourdoughs. We have several of the Breadman Ultimate TR2200C, which has a bake-only cycle, but it is our impression that this machine, unfortunately, is no longer being produced. The bake-only cycle permits the user to allow the dough to ferment until it appears ready to bake and then the user, not the machine, makes the decision to bake. A used Breadman with the bake-only cycle appears occasionally on Amazon. Some machines advertise a cycle for building a sourdough starter, which seems of doubtful value. We are not as familiar with the Zogirushi S-15, but from our limited experience and what sourdough bakers tell us, its program can be used to bake sourdoughs. The critical factor is the ability of the machine to start the bake cycle without going through a mixing or kneading cycle. It must simply start to bake when the button is pushed.

The flavor of sourdough breads made in the machine is exceptional. But the time required for developing this flavor is the same as with traditional baking methods. When started with an active culture, the fermentation by which lactobacilli produce the sourdough flavor takes approximately eight hours. We call this the culture proof (see
this page
). It is followed by a dough proof of eight to twelve hours to further develop the flavor and increase the activity of the wild yeast, and a loaf proof of two to four hours to ensure rising. It doesn’t matter whether the
baker does everything by hand or with the help of a machine: authentic sourdough still requires the fermentation of these three proofs.

A versatile way to use bread machines is to mix the ingredients in the machine and leave them in it for the culture proof and the dough proof. Then shape and proof the loaf out of the machine and bake in a conventional oven. With this method, you can use any culture and almost any machine, regardless of its idiosyncrasies, and expect to have better sourdoughs than you can buy.

Many of the recipes in this chapter are adaptations of recipes from
chapter 4
, with instructions for proofing and baking entirely in the machine. Note that you may need to add a little more flour or water than is called for in the ingredients list to achieve the proper dough consistency (see
this page
).

To make sourdough in a bread machine, follow the steps outlined on
this page
to
this page
to fully activate and proof your culture.

Then, for the dough proof, add the proofed culture to the bread machine with the additional ingredients in the recipe and mix to knead for a maximum of twenty-five minutes, or until the dough has achieved the right consistency.

Correct dough consistency is critical for success with sourdoughs in a machine. It is a particular problem with sourdoughs, because one is never precisely sure how much flour and water come into the mix along with the culture. If the dough is too thin, it will often rise well and then collapse. If it’s too thick, it may not rise as well. The problem is fairly easy to correct providing you recognize it at the start of the knead cycle and add a little additional water or flour, whichever is indicated. The trick is to watch the kneading paddle. After the dough has been kneading for three or four minutes and all the ingredients are well mixed, it should form a soft ball that catches and drags on the sides of the pan as the paddle revolves. If it forms a firm ball that revolves with or on the paddle and doesn’t catch on the sides, it is too thick and isn’t kneading properly. Water should be added a tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to adhere to the sides. If it doesn’t form a ball, it is too thin and flour should be added a tablespoon at a time. Allow sufficient time between adding either flour or water for the flour or water to be assimilated by the dough before adding more.

After the dough is kneaded to a smooth, satiny consistency, take the machine pan out of the machine and cover it with plastic wrap secured by a rubber band. Proof the dough overnight (eight to twelve hours) at room temperature; it should rise above the top of the machine pan.

There are two ways to go from here: either bake the bread in the machine, or take the proofed dough out of the machine, shape it, and bake it in your oven.

To bake it in the machine, return the pan to the machine after the dough proof and “punch it down” by mixing for approximately one minute. You can remove the paddle after this mixing, but leave the dough in the machine pan. After the short “punching down” mix, allow the dough to rise in the machine until it again comes to the top of the pan, two to four hours. Then start the bake-only cycle, baking at 375°F (190°C) for 70 minutes.

To bake in a conventional oven, see
chapter 3
for guidance on shaping and proofing the loaves and baking them.

This is a universal and basic white bread available around the world. It has probably been baked with all known sourdough cultures
.
MAKES ONE 1½-POUND (680 G) LOAF

DOUGH PROOF
Mix (knead) all the ingredients for a maximum of 25 minutes in the bread machine, until the dough is smooth and satiny. Watch the dough form for the first 3 or 4 minutes and adjust the consistency as needed with additional water or flour, added 1 tablespoon at a time.

Proof the dough overnight (8 to 12 hours) at room temperature, about 70°F (21°C), in the machine pan (taken out of the machine and covered with plastic wrap secured by a rubber band). It should rise to the top of the machine pan.

LOAF PROOF AND BAKING
To bake in the machine, mix the proofed dough for 30 seconds and allow it to rise in the machine for 2 to 4 hours, until it again comes to the top of the pan. Start the bake-only cycle and bake for the time programmed in the machine for white bread.

To bake in the oven, knead the proofed dough for 1 minute in the machine to form a ball. Gently transfer it to a floured board, let rest for 30 minutes, and shape first into a ball and then into the desired loaf shape. Place the shaped loaf, seam side down, in a bread pan or on a baking sheet, and proof for 2 to 4 hours, until it reaches nearly to the top of the pan or doubles in bulk. Proof for the first hour at room temperature then at 85° to 90°F (29° to 32°C) in a proofing box.