The printable bread recipe

No work today!! Yay! So I had big plans for 

a) sleeping in till 8, and 

b) completing several errands and projects - projects I was really excited about!! 

Sadly, the day didn't go as I had hoped :( 

It was off on the wrong foot way before the start... Woke up at 5 am (thanks to the nonsensical meowing cat) and had a splitting headache. We wrangled the cat back to silence, and then I sent myself back to sleep, hoping I would wake up in 3 hours headache free and project ready! That didn't turn out to be the case though, I've been fighting with this stupid thing all day now. PMS SUCKS! So to save this day from being a total waste, I wanted to at least get this recipe on here for the people. :) 

Sourdough Starter and Bread 

First Time (omit if you received a starter from someone else)

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp instant potato flakes

2 1/4 tsp. dry yeast

Mix well in large bowl, cover loosly, allow to ferment on counter for 2 days. After 2 days, you can choose to immediately continue with feeding and bread making process, or refrigerate in coverd glass jar 3-5 days. 

Subsequent feeding 

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. Instant potato flakes 

1 cup warm water

Add sugar, potatoes, and 1/2 cup water to large bowl and mix well. Pour in starter, use remaining 1/2 cup water to loosen and rinse any settled sugar/potatoes from jar. Mix slightly. Cover loosly and let stand on counter 8-12 hours. Stir mixture and measure out 1 cup to make bread. Return remaining starter to refrigerator. Repeat this process every 3-5 days. If not making bread, give away or throw out 1 cup of the mixture before refrigerating. Do not go longer than 5 days without feeding.

To make bread

1 cup starter 

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/12 cups warm water

6-7 cups flour (feel free to experiment with flour ratios) 

Mix first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add flour 1-2 cups at a time. Amount needed will vary, depending on humidity, etc. Incorporate as much as you can, leaving your dough tacky, but not sticky. Pat top with oil, or spray with cooking spray. Cover loosly and let rise 8-12 hours. 

Punch dough down, turn onto floured surface and knead briefly. Divide into 3 parts, and place in oiled loaf pans. Pat tops with oil, or spray with cooking spray. Cover with waxed paper and let rise 4-6 hours, until dough almost doubles. 

Preheat oven to 350. Bake loaves for 30-40 minutes, until golden. Remove from pans and brush tops with melted butter. Be cautious of the steam if you cut into it right away!! 

*Just a note on the scheduling. I've found that it works well to feed the starter in the morning, make the dough in the evening, decide into loaves the following morning, and bake in the early afternoon. That saves you from being stuck baking bread at 2 am. Unless you're normally up then, in which case, go for it! 

So that's it!! I'm sure it sounds complicated, but trust me, it's simple once you get the hang of it. The most hands on part of is adding the flour to make the dough, and that only takes maybe 15 minutes! 

Let me know how yours turn out!! :)