Everyday Sourdough Bread, from The Casual Sourdough Baker blog.
The King Arthur Flour website is always a good resource for recipes and baking tips, but PJ Hamel’s blog The Casual Sourdough Baker is especially welcome in these times. As she puts it, “I’ve always been a rather casual baker. When I see a recipe for a spectacularly decorated cake or intricate lattice pie crust, I run the other way — fast.
I used to feel the same way about sourdough. All that terminology; so many rules! But everything changed last spring, when commercial yeast suddenly became scarce. I bake all my family’s bread; what if I run out of yeast? But with flour, water, salt, and homegrown sourdough starter, wonderful bread is just a few easy steps away. Still, I bridle against following The Sourdough Rules; I’d rather skip right to the yummy sandwich loaves and pizza and rolls (and cake).”
Bread Machine Sourdough Bread
Not sure what “rules” are so confining (maybe measuring in grams instead of cups and teaspoons?) but the explorations and discoveries of a seasoned home baker are welcome. I especially liked her piece on baking sourdough loaves in the bread machine, though most of the recipes (but not this one) cheat with commercial yeast.
For your first exploration of The Casual Sourdough Baker, a good place to start is the post on Everyday Sourdough Bread. It contains a wealth of how-to pictures as well as a solid recipe. Check it out!
