Hybrid Semolina Sourdough Bread

[a_boleyn]

Yes, this is another sourdough recipe.

(WARNING: DO NOT buy or create a sourdough starter. It's addictive to play with.)After using up some excess sourdough starter for the hot cross buns, I was left with the remaining jar staring me in the face every time I looked toward the top of the fridge. I'm still searching for the perfect starter only/no

Comments

[spikesgirl58]

Lovely and I can almost smell it. I've never tried cooking bread with semolina. What differences did you notice over all?

[a_boleyn]

I didn't have to add any additional flour (semolina or all purpose) for kneading as it didn't stick. It gave me a lovely crunchy crust without having to add water/ice cubes to the oven during baking.

It tasted like a regular all purpose flour bread otherwise.

[spikesgirl58]

Hmm, no bad. Is that how you get a crunchy crust? I've often wondered about that.

[a_boleyn]

That's what I've read.

In spite of my bread baking posts, I don't actually do a lot and rarely eat bread other than a slice of pizza for work lunches.

[edgeofthewoods]

Wow, really nice sourdough - I'm going to make a starter one of these days, altho it won't happen in the foreseeable for various reasons.

Did you buy or start your own?

[a_boleyn]

Thank you.

I started my own in July(?) of last year. Here's one of the first posts with a picture of it.

http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/236766.html

Kept it going for a couple of months, got tired of it, and froze some of the starter. That's what I brought back a couple of weeks ago for the recent sourdough baking. I also dried and ground some up and I'm keeping that in the cupboards.

You might want to buy one and see if you actually like the stuff. :)

[edgeofthewoods]

I tried starting one several years back, but used a commercial yeast, which after reading Cooked by Michael Pollan learned it not the best starter as it is a monoculture. I figured I would buy a started the next time I take a stab at this.

I love sourdough - we buy 2 loaves of it every time we are at Costco.

[a_boleyn]

For a sourdough 'purist', a sourdough starter is made up of flour and water (spring water if possible) and time for the wild yeast already present in the flour and the air in your kitchen (especially if you bake on a regular basis) to colonize the medium you've created for them.

If you click on the 'sourdough' tag in my previous posts, you can see other ways in which I've used the sourdough starter. If you like the taste but don't want a SOUR bread, combine your starter with commercial yeast for the best of both worlds. :)

[ext_1342602]

very nice Maria. you are an excellent baker!

[a_boleyn]

Thank you though bread is best eaten fresh out of the oven so I end up with a backlog which ends up in the freezer. Luckily I can give a lot of it away especially the sweet versions. :)