SOURDOUGH FRENCH BREAD
An old-fashioned sourdough French bread
This is a hearty bread, possibly heavier than many people are used to.
The flavor is wonderfully tangy, and complements just about any meal. Try
it with garlic butter!
This bread is slow raising. I usually spend two days on it!start the dough
one day, let it rise overnight, then form the loaf and bake the next day.
This recipe is from The Complete Sourdough Cookbook, by Don and Myrtle
Holm.
Ingredients
(1 loaf)
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1/2 cup milk
(any type, but I prefer whole milk)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp shortening
- 2 1/2 cups flour
Procedure
-
Combine milk, sugar, salt, and shortening in a pan. Heat until shortening
melts, then cool to lukewarm (about
-
Stir milk into starter. Add flour gradually, forming dough that pulls away
from sides of the bowl.
-
Kneed until smooth (about 15 min.), adding flour as needed to keep the dough
from sticking to the board. When done, the dough will be fairly heavy, but
smooth in texture.
-
Place in a well-greased bowl and raise in a warm place until doubled.
-
Form into a long loaf (about
16 inches
long). Place on a greased baking sheet and
let rise again, until almost doubled.
-
Cut diagonal slits in top of loaf with a sharp knife, and bake in a 400 degree
oven until done, about 30-35 min.
-
Remove from pan, and let cool in a draft-free location.
Notes
Be careful that the milk mixture has cooled before adding it to the starter.
If it's too hot, you'll kill the starter and the bread won't rise.
Since the dough rises for a long time, I usually cover it with a damp towel
to keep it from drying out.
If you want a chewy crust, brush the top of the loaf with a mixture of corn
starch and water before baking. Also, placing a pan of water in the oven
while baking will make the crust a little softer. I usually brush the loaf
with butter after baking.
Rating
Difficulty:
moderate.
Time:
1 hour preparation, long rising time, 1/2 hour baking.
Precision:
measure the ingredients.
Contributor
Bill Turner
Hewlett-Packard Personal Software Division, Santa Clara, CA
hppsdc!bill
Recipe last modified: 3 Jan 86
Original header
From: bill@hppsd2 (Bill Turner)
Newsgroups: mod.recipes
Subject: RECIPE: Sourdough French Bread
Date: 31 Jan 86 05:13:20 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard PSD, Santa Clara CA
Approved: reid@glacier.ARPA
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