Sourbreads are delicious and are not difficult to make at home. Of course, if you live ina metropolitan area, buying good bread is not a problem. Where I live it is. You do need a stater and I bought mine from The King Arthur Baking company and follow their directions. Here is their guide: Sourdough Baking.

No-Knead Sourdough Bread

Ingredients

1 cup (227g) sourdough starter
1 3/4 cups (397g) lukewarm water
5 cups (602g) Unbleached Bread Flour
1 tablespoon (18g) salt

Directions

Stir together all of the ingredients (or use a stand mixer) to make a sticky dough. Continue to work the dough enough to incorporate all the flour, or beat for several minutes in a stand mixer.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature overnight, or for at least 8 hours; it’ll become bubbly and rise quite a bit, so be sure your bowl is large enough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. To make a single loaf, choose a 14″ to 15″ long lidded stoneware baker; a 9″ x 12″ oval deep casserole dish with cover; or a 9″ to 10″ round, 4″ deep lidded baking crock.

Shape the dough to fit, and place it in the lightly greased pan of your choice, smooth side up. Cover and let rise at room temperature for about 1 hour, until the dough has become puffy and fills the pan about 1/2 full.

Slash the loaf in 3 diagonal slashes just before placing it into the oven.

If baking in a lidded crock or pan, place it into a cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 450°F. Bake the bread for 45 to 50 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to bake for another 5 to 15 minutes, until the bread is deep brown, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers about 205°F.

To bake on a baking sheet, preheat the oven to 400°F, and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until bread is a deep brown. Remove the bread from the oven, turn it out onto a rack, and cool before slicing.
Yield: 1 large loaf.

 

Sourdough Rye Bread

Makes 1 large (about 2-pound) loaf

1 cup sourdough starter
2 1/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 3/4 cups rye flour
1/4 cup potato flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 teaspoons Deli Rye Flavor
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

Directions
Combine all of the ingredients, stirring until the dough comes together.
Knead the dough until smooth, adding additional water or all-purpose flour if needed — the dough should be soft and somewhat sticky.
Cover the dough, and let it rise until puffy, 60 to 90 minutes.
Lightly grease a hearth bread pan (or other 2-pound capacity loaf pan); a 10″ x 5″ loaf pan; or a long covered baker or 13″ pain de mie pan, both without the cover, work well here. Use long hearth metal pan
Gently deflate the dough and shape it into a log the length of your chosen pan. Place it in the prepared pan, and let the dough rise until it’s just about doubled in size, 60 to 90 minutes. If you’re using a long baker, it will crown about 1/2″ over the lip of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes, tenting it with aluminum foil after about 20 minutes to prevent it from getting too dark. The bread should be a nice golden brown when finished, and its internal temperature will register at least 200°F on a digital instant-read thermometer.
Remove the bread from the oven, turn it out of the pan, and allow it to cool completely before slicing.
Yield: 1 large (about 2-pound) loaf.


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