Bread Machine Sourdough

Thursday, February 17, 2011

I mentioned earlier this year that we have been making sourdough bread since September for our family.  I've found sourdough to be not only a tasty alternative to store bought breads, it is also a more economical option for us. I've had some queries about how I do this & thought I'd share with you our sourdough venture!




 We began by making a sourdough starter.  This takes a couple of weeks to be ready for bread making.  I recommend following the instructions located HERE  because they are simple to follow & they work (note: we only ever used bread flour instead of the two different ones they mention)!
Once you have your starter going you need to give her a name - after all she will serve your family well for years if you look after her- we named ours "Nana"!  Once you have your starter ready it is an easy matter of refreshing her by adding 100g bread flour & 100g water (we use tank water for everything - be careful with town water as the chlorine can kill the yeast) each morning & mixing well.  She will be ready to go by the evening. 

My first loaves of sourdough were handmade & although they were delicious, they were a lot of hard work.  I knew at this time in my life it wasn't feasible to be making this every day, yet I really, really wanted to begin making our own bread -&  I knew that sourdough is the most natural kind!  I began to search the internet for a bread machine sourdough recipe, but whether I was searching in the wrong place, or whether there really is a lack of them, I couldn't find one.  I decided to experiment myself (after all I didn't want all that time & flour that we'd used in creating Nana wasted).   After a few unsuccessful trials, I was able to come up with a combination that we are all happy with & that makes tasty loaves (the proportions are from a  recipe once again located HERE) - all while being made in the bread maker!  

So onto the recipe - I put this together each evening after evening clean up is done & by morning it is made & waiting for breakfast!

In the bottom of the bread making pan add 100g of starter;
on top of this add 200g of water;
Then 300g of flour
Finally 7g of salt (do not forget the salt - trust me it was a memorable loaf for all the wrong reasons when I forgot the salt);

Then place pan into machine.

I set the machine using the manual setting -this is basically a bread setting with the rise times extended out as far as possible.
I use :
Preheat - 0 mins
Knead 1 - 15 mins
Knead 2 - 20 mins
Rise 1 - 100mins
Punch down - 20 seconds
Rise 2 - 100 mins
Shaping - 16 seconds
Rise 3 - 100 mins
Bake 60 mins at 150 degrees celsius.

(NOTE: Don't forget to turn off the beeping - otherwise you will be awakened at various intervals during the night)

This makes a relatively small loaf - perfect for our family at the moment as we use one loaf this size a day!
I have experimented with adding more mixture using these proportions, but found that it was too doughy - I'm sure that there is a way, but since this works for us I haven't worried too much.  If you do find out a way to make it bigger - I'd love to hear about it!  Of course I asked my sister what am I going to do when the boys are all eating a loaf each every day - she just said to get a line of bread machines!!!LOL

Hope this is some help & if you have any questions please don't hesitate to email me!

I'd love to hear about your sourdough adventures!
Have a wonderful day


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love that you named your starter Nana. Cute! The bread looks yummy, too.

Ann at eightacresofeden said...

Congratulations on the sourdough in the breadmaker Renata. I did try once but it just didn't turn out well. My machine has a 45 minute pizza dough cycle which I have used occasionally but do you know I only knead my dough for a short time - no more than 10 minutes. In fact I find it easier to make it by hand - no bread pan to wash but I do have a very stable starter that has been in existence for 100 years! I notice you are using white flour whereas I use wholewheat - freshly milled. Have you tried a wholewheat flour for sourdough in the bread machine? In fact, now we have returned from holiday we have decided to adhere more strictly to the Maker's Diet which means no refined flour, no sugar and no commercial baked products. I even managed to make a dessert for Valentine's with just a little honey! Thank goodness sourdough is on the Maker's Diet. I'm making our favourite sweet fruit and nut sourdough tonight. Unsulphured apricots add a tangy sweetness and it makes wonderful toast. One useful tool I found for working with the wet dough was a little plastic scraper - helps get the dough off the bench. Once you have tasted sourdough there is no going back - ordinary supermarket sliced bread will taste like squishy plastic. Sourdough is real bread and so good for you - my twins have been raised on it and they have never been to the doctor - not bad going for 5 years! I have always wondered whether it was the sourdough that has kept them in good health. Keep going with your sourdough baking - you will never regret it!

"Are These Kids All Yours?" said...

MMMMMMMM.....we make our own bread too, but we use the rolls recipe or I like making biscuits- pretty quick and easy.

I would love to make sour dough too!!! Maybe after we move though :) he he he.....

I'll have to e-mail you then.

Unknown said...

My that looks tasty!! Beautiful Renata! I'm going to try sourdough bread... someday.

Kimmie said...

beautiful Renata...oh how I love bread! Enjoy time with your Nana!

Rachel~At the Butterfly Ball said...

Thanks for the link! I had been wanting to get a sourdough starter started, but wasn't sure what recipe would really work! We love sourdough bread around here.

Smilie girl said...

It looks wonderful. Thanks for all the tips. I've been wanting to get back into making bread. I've ordered a book called 5 minute bread or something like that and it uses a starter as well.
Enjoy that yummy bread.

Unknown said...

You are so brave. I don't think I could do it. yeast and I have never gotten along!

Frizzy said...

I am so impressed and amazed that you were able to figure this out. Congratulations. I know I wouldn't have had the patience to take it on let alone w/o instructions. Good job!

Kath said...

On my list of things to accomplish in 2011 is baking bread. I doubt mine will be as beautiful as yours!!
I tried 23 years ago and gave up as it was an expensive failure over and over. The loaves were pathetic. Tho my husband graciously ate some of them.

Unknown said...

MMMMM! That looks so yummy!

Cassandra said...

I agree your bread looks yummy!
We havent done any bread making for a few weeks and i just started again this week so your post was good timing for me!
I will just have to give your sourdough bread a try i think. It looks too yummy not to. LOL at your sisters comment. We have 3 bread meakers going at the same time :-)

Linda Stubbs said...

Hi Renata, thank you so much for sending ladies from my blog over to this wonderful recipe. I want to try. I had a sourdough going and then work. I must try again. Very very beautiful bread. You did amazing!!!

I am so excited about being home. I can hardly contain my joy!

Hugs, Linda

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