Making Bread

This year I learned a great deal about commercial bakers yeast ("he who increases his knowledge, increases his sorrow" comes to mind right now), and decided that I did not want to have it in my family's diet. You can do the research on the internet for yourself, you need not take my word for it. The one thing that really rang true for me was the fact that it works by "exploding" much the same way that cancer cells react in the human body. I have no desire to ingest something that mimicks the action of cancer cells in the body!

A friend of mine who had also gotten wind of the woes of commercial bakers yeast joined me in a quest to eliminate this substance from the diets of our families. Together we learned about harvesting our very own wild yeast and making a natural "sourdough" starter. Here is what we learned.....

Just because you are using a sourdough starter, does not limit you to making only sourdough. (Though I must admit that I love a good sourdough, crusty on the outside, with a wonderful chewy interior full of holes, and a zippy strong flavor!) Natural (sourdough) starter can be used in any yeasted bread recipe. To alter a recipe, you substitute ½ to 1 cup of starter for every 2½ t to 1 T of commercial yeast. The amount of starter will depend on the strength of your starter. The less starter you use to get the desired results, the better.

My Country Living Grain Mill

My favorite grain for making bread is Hard Red Wheat. I believe that the full bodied flavor of the red wheat gives you a less sour sandwich bread. When I use the white wheat, I can taste more of the sour from the starter. Of course, this will all depend on your own tastes. You may prefer a bit of the sour taste in your sandwich bread. For the absolute best in nutrition, flavor, and results I suggest using freshly ground flour. I know that sounds daunting, but it really isn't that much trouble to grind flour just before using it, and once you taste the difference you will be convinced. I did a lot of research on grain millls, both manual and electric, and I chose a Country Living Grain Mill. It is an absolute delight to use.

Making bread with a natural starter is a wonderful, enjoyable experience. Making bread with a commercial starter was always a hurried, high stress, high energy, high risk project that took up too much of my time and energy. The slower pace of a natural starter is far less disruptive and makes for a much more pleasant experience. The ingredients for the bread recipe are the same with the exception of the yeast.

Now for a step by step process of making bread! The process will be the same no matter which recipe you are using. I have made pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, sandwich bread, and sourdough bread following this procedure. In the following example I am using the whole wheat (sandwich) bread recipe.

Whole Wheat Bread

½ C of starter
½ C honey or maple syrup
1½ C water
2 T olive oil
5 C whole wheat flour (hard red wheat)
1½ t salt (optional)

STEP 1:	STEP 2:	STEP 3:

Remove starter from refrigerator. In this photo you can see a clear liquid on top. That is called hooch, and it is perfectly normal. The color of the hooch can range from light amber to nearly black. A darker colored hooch is just fine. Stir the starter well.	Measure out the amount of starter needed for your bread recipe.	Pour starter into a large glass or ceramic bowl. Set aside.
STEP 4:	STEP 5:	STEP 6:

Measure remaining starter and pour into a clean glass jar.	Add equal amounts of freshly ground wheat flour and distilled or reverse osmosis water. (example: if you have ½ C of starter, you will add ½ C of flour and ½ C of water.) Stir well.	Place a loose fitting or breathable cover on jar. Here I am using a lid sold for sprouting in canning jars. A cloth and rubberband work equally as well. Set aside.
STEP 7:	STEP 8:	STEP 9:

Measure liquid ingredients and add them (honey, water and olive oil) to the bowl with the starter.	Stir the liquid ingredients into the starter with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. I have a wooden spoon that is reserved for making bread and used for nothing else. This helps to ensure that no off flavors are imparted into the bread from a wooden spoon that may have been used for making salsa etc...	Measure flour and salt (if you are using salt). Add flour to bowl with starter. Set the salt aside in a small bowl to be kneaded into the dough the next morning.
STEP 10:	STEP 11:	STEP 12:

Stir in flour until it is well mixed. You may prefer to use your hands and mix the dough in the bowl if it is easier for you. This should be a stiff dough. One that you can knead though it will be sticky. If you do not have a stiff dough, then add more flour. I use freshly ground flour, and have had reports from others using store bought flour, that they do not have a stiff dough at this stage with only 5 C of flour.	Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and satiny. The dough should feel very strong and springy, almost resisting being kneaded when you have kneaded sufficiently. This can take anywhere from 5-15 minutes depending on your strength, and ambition.	Here we see what the dough should look like when finished kneading. Place the dough in the bowl and cover with a cloth or plate (I use a plate because I have cats).
STEP 13:	STEP 14:	STEP 15:

Set the sponge and starter in a warm place on the counter and leave undisturbed overnight.	The next morning your sponge will have doubled in size. (The jar of starter should now be returned to the refrigerator.)	If you are using salt, add it now and work it into the dough. If you are not using salt, deflate the sponge, turn out onto lightly floured surface, and knead briefly into a ball.
STEP 16:	STEP 17:	STEP 18:

If you are making multiple loaves you will need to cut the dough into equal parts with a sharp knife. I make 4 small loaves (2X5) of bread, or a pan (9X13) of rolls with this recipe. Regardless of the size and shape of pan you choose, the bread must be proofed in a form to give it structure. Otherwise, if you place it on a cookie sheet or in too large a pan to rise, you will make a very nice pizza crust.	Shape the dough into the proper shape for your loaf pan or bread form.	Place the dough into buttered bread pans and set in a warm spot, free from drafts. Inside an electric oven with a light on, or in a gas oven with the pilot light on, are ideal places.
STEP 19:	STEP 20:	STEP 21:

When the bread has risen sufficiently, it is ready to bake. This rise can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. I do not allow it to rise longer than 2 hours. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 ° F. for 30 minutes. I set a pan of water in the oven while it is preheating to "steam" the oven. I then remove the pan of water before I place the bread dough into the oven to bake.	Remove from oven and leave in pans for 20-30 minutes longer. This allows the bread to finish baking.	Remove loaves from pan and allow to cool on a rack. If you just can't wait until it is cooled, give it at least 5 minutes before slicing so that it doesn't colapse.
	Enjoy!