My sourdough routine

More than a few people have asked me for this so I decided to share it here on my blog. I might include pictures some day if I have time ... but here is what I have for now.

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I like to do a few different sourdough items at a time rather than doing them on different days. SO ... following is what i would do:

Ok ... you'll need to plan your sourdough baking a day or two in advanced to get the starter going and get your recipes going after that. So let's say you want to make English Muffins, a cake and some other sourdough stuff this coming wedesday morning; the first thing you need to do is take the starter out of your fridge monday night, feed it about a 1/4c of flour and a 1/4c of water (I like mine a little thicker so I might use a little more flour than water), stir real well, scrape down the sides or pour into a clean jar, cover with the plastic wrap and leave it out on the counter over night.

In the morning (tuesday) you should see marks on the side of the jar indicating that the starter rose and then fell again. Take that starter and pour it into a bowl that has at least a 6 cup capacity, preferably a little more, just in case. Add 3 cups of flour and 2 1/2 to 3 cups of water to the bowl with the starter (once again, I like mine a little thicker but you might find that you like yours thinner; you'll figure it out sooner or later). Mix really well, scrap down the sides, cover and let it sit till it has risen and fallen back down; at least 8 hours.

In the evening, at least 8 hours before you want to make your English Muffins (I go up to 24 hours), get a bowl with at least a 6 cup capacity (or more, depending on how much you make). To this bowl add: 1c of the starter, 2c of milk or water (I use water), and 4c of flour. Mix well. I like my English Muffin batter thicker so I make it to where I can still stir it but it's really hard to stir. But yet not so thick that I would have to knead it by hand. Scrape the sides, cover with plastic wrap, sit over night.  You might want to take a sharpie marker and write "EM" (for english muffin) on the top of the plastic wrap.

Now notice that you still have 3 or so cups of sourdough starter left. Take about one cup out and save it for next time. Store in the fridge as before. Really this is the first step but I put the muffin stuff first already.

Cake: Take 1cup of the remaining starter, add 2c flour and 1c liquid. Mix well. Once again, I like mine thicker, but not as thick as the English Muffins. Scrape sides, cover with plastic wrap. Sit over night. You can use the sharpie again to write "cake" on the wrap of you'd like.

And then one more thing ... you should have at least a whole cup of starter left. How about some crackers? Take one cup of starter and add 1/3c fat (I really like coconut oil but olive oil is good too ... and butter is really good) - if you use a solid fat, melt it but do heat it up too much; if it's too hot, cool it down before adding to starter. Ok, so 1c starter, 1/3c fat and about 1c flour. Mix well. You will want a ball of dough that looks like you can roll it out easily. If it seems too thin, add a little more flour. Scrape sides, cover, sit over night.

OK ... now if you have any more starter left, be creative with it. Or you could just make a larger cracker recipe or add the remaining starter to a bowl with flour and water and make pancakes the next morning out of it (you are aiming for about 2cups of finished batter, so try to mix in enough flour and water to make 2c total when combined with the remaining starter ... and a little thicker is better!). Or ... you could compost it or throw it out.

THE NEXT MORNING

English muffins:
Preheat a cast iron skillet or other pan or electric griddle. Sprinkle dough with 2t salt and 2t baking soda. You may also add a few tablespoons of honey but i never do. Mix thoroughly with wooden spoon. Turn on to lightly floured or oiled counter top and knead for a few minutes (or knead in the bowl if your bowl is large enough) till dough is smooth. Divide into about 16 portions and lay on wax paper. Shape as best as you can into a ball and put on greased skillet/griddle. (for this part I actually use an ice-cream scoop and plop it right onto the pan; I do not care if mine are perfectly round). Flatten to about 1/2" thick. Cook till brown on both sides. After you carefully turn them over, you may cover the pan with a lid to hold in moisture. I have not tried this though. Cool on rack, slice when cool. You may store in an air-tight container or bag at room temperature or freeze.

Cake:

Preheat over to 350 (preheating is a must). Grease a 9x13 cake pan.
In a separate bowl, combine 1/2c oil (if it's solid, melt first over low heat; wait to cool a bit if it's too hot), 1 1/2c sugar (that's what the recipe calls for and that's just ridiculous to me; I use 1/4c sweetener and 1t stevia), 2t vanilla extract (opt), 2 eggs (I find it cooks ok without the eggs), 1t salt and whatever else you want to make it your own.

My variations (measurements are approximate):
Chocolate or Carob cake: add 3/4c cocoa or carob powder and 1t ground coffee.

Spice cake: add 1T cinnamon, 1t ginger and a 1/2t each of cloves and nutmeg

Morning glory cake: add 1T cinnamon, and 1/4c each chopped apples, raisins, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut
Banana coconut (our favorite I think): add 2 very ripe bananas mashed, 1/2c coconut and 1T cinnamon (or 2t cinnamon and 1/2 to 1t nutmeg)

Ok, mix it all up and then add it to the bowl that has the sourdough in it. Mix well. Now here is the key part (have a rubber scraper ready): sprinkle 1 1/2t baking soda over the top, mix quickly but well, and then quickly scrape into the cake pan. The soda causes a reaction with the acid in the cake and it starts to bubble and rise. The quicker you mix it and get it into the pan, the better. It will continue to rise a bit while in the oven. Bake for 25-35 minutes or till done in the middle.

TIP: A thicker cake batter will hold its height better!! If your batter is too thin your cake will be flat. No worries though, it will still taste good. Just call it a 'bar' instead ;)

I do not frost my cakes, but sometimes I will add some cinnamon and sugar to the top.

Crackers:

Break the ball of dough apart a little and sprinkle on 1/4t salt, 1/4t baking soda. (I have tried doing this BEFORE letting it sit and the results seem pretty much the same and it's a little easier but the instructions I have say to do it after.) Knead to incorporate. Take about a quarter or a third of the dough and roll it out as thin as you can directly on to the greased cookie sheet. I think it helps to stretch the ball a little first with your hands before putting it on the sheet. If the dough is too sticky to roll it out, make a mental or literal note of it for next time (add more flour!) and try covering it with waxed paper or plastic wrap before rolling. The thinner it is, the quicker it will bake and the crispier it will be. The thicker it is, the longer it will bake and it will not be so crispy. Outer edges tend to cook quicker so try to roll it out as evenly as possible. Sprinkle with coarse grain salt (you can roll it in a little to help it stick) and use a pizza cutter to cut the crackers to the desired size/shape. Bake for 15 minutes or so. Check after 10 minutes; remove the outer ones that are done (if any) and bake as long as needed to finish the rest (you will have to keep removing some as it goes along). Cool on racks, store in an airtight container.

We certainly like the thinner crackers more than the thicker ones!! You can add in flavors as well ... like 1t Italian seasonings for herb crackers, 1t garlic powder for garlic crackers, or both for garlic herb crackers, you can even add in 1/4 to 1/2c parmesan cheese but I have never done this. The last time I made crackers I added in a few tablespoons of honey and some paprika. These reminded me of 'cheese-it' crackers - a childhood favorite. YUM.

Pancakes (if you did them):

Get your griddles or pans or skillet warming up. Have grease ready.

In a mixing bowl mix: 1 egg, 1/2t salt, 1t vanilla (opt), 2T honey and 2T fat (I like coconut oil or butter). If you use solid fat, gently melt so it does not get too hot.  I've experimented and left out the eggs and it still does pretty well. Add your 2 cups of starter. Mix well. Now ... split this in half. This is an important step if you want fluffy pancakes. If you do not mind them being flat, don't worry about splitting in half. Also, if you double this recipe, then you will want to split it in fourths.

 Work with ONE half or ONE fourth at a time.

To one portion add 1/2t baking soda. Whisk quickly and scoop immediately on to your greased, hot pan, griddle, whatever. I like to use a 1/4 or 1/3c measuring scoop. Once you have used up your first portion of batter, take the next one, add 1/2t baking soda, whisk quickly and use right away. The longer the batter sits with the soda in it, the flatter it will be, that's why you are splitting the batter up and adding soda to each portion when you are ready.

Cook till done, be careful when you turn it.
A thicker batter will yield a thicker pancake, a thinner batter will yield a thinner pancake.

Cooking variation: use two cast-iron skillets (8" or 10"). Heat over medium-low. Grease them. Pour half the batter into one skillet and half into the other. Your pancakes should be about 1" thick. If you are using recipe, this will produce 4 pancakes. Cook until bubbly in the center and firmed up all over, about 4-5 minutes.

Make sure the top rack of your oven is NOT in the top position. Turn on the oven broiler and transfer the skillets to the oven to finish cooking under the broiler, about 3 minutes or until top is browned and pancakes are cooked all the way through. To onto plates or cooling rack.

Another variation: use a waffle iron instead. Make a very large batch and freeze the left overs (after they are completely cool; we cool individually on a rack) to reheat in the toaster. 

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Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Corrections? Helps? Post below!