Bread Machine (102 page)

1 teaspoon SAF yeast or 1
¹
/
₂
teaspoons bread machine yeast

2-POUND LOAF

For the sponge:

1 cup
Next-Day Rye Sourdough Starter

1
¹
/
₂
cups water

1
¹
/
₂
cups light or medium rye flour

¹
/
₂
teaspoon SAF or bread machine yeast

For the dough:

1
¹
/
₂
tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 cups bread flour

1
¹
/
₂
tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon caraway seeds

2 teaspoons salt

1
¹
/
₄
teaspoons SAF yeast or 1
³
/
₄
teaspoons bread machine yeast

To make the sponge, place the sponge ingredients in the bread pan. Program for the Dough cycle; press Start. When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, press Stop and unplug the machine. Let the sponge starter sit in the machine for 8 hours, or as long as overnight.

To make the dough, place all the dough ingredients in the bread pan with the sponge according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on medium and program for the Basic or French Bread cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer.) The dough ball will be moist, tacky, and smooth.

When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

Bread Machine Baker’s Hint: Sourdough Baking Tips

• Use sourdough starters at room temperature. If a starter has been refrigerated, let it stand out on the counter overnight before you bake with it.
  
• Starters should be fed every 10 to 14 days when not in use to keep them fresh and active. There is nothing worse than a bright pink or black starter that has broken down and become unusable from lack of food and the presence of unfriendly bacteria! See
  Bread Machine Baker’s Hint: Tips for Sourdough Starters
  for more details about feeding. You can freeze any of your sourdough starters if you are baking only sporadically. For optimum potency, freeze for no longer than 2 months.
  
• Sourdough starters should always smell fresh and yeasty. If a starter smells bad, discard it immediately and make a new starter. Never chance working with a starter that may have taken in harmful bacteria.
  
• Use a glass liquid measuring cup to measure your starter. Just pour it from the cup into the bread pan; then measure the recipe’s milk or water using the same cup, without rinsing it out. The liquid will bring any remaining starter along with it as you add it to the pan.
  
• If the flavor of your sourdough starter is too strong, add
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  teaspoon of baking soda, which neutralizes acid, into the flour portion of the feeding or primary batter ingredients. You can also add the bit of baking soda to the ingredient list when making the bread dough.
  
• While most bread machine breads benefit from the addition of gluten, I found that gluten in combination with sourdough starter made too light textured a bread, so I have not included it in these recipes. If your bread is too dense, add 2 to 3 teaspoons gluten to your recipe next time you bake it.
  
• You don’t need as much yeast to raise a loaf when adding sourdough starter. The starter has substantial rising power on its own.
  
• The dough ball for a sourdough bread will be firm and shiny. After the kneading, the ball will relax and look slack. This is okay.
  
• It is very important that sourdough breads cool completely before you slice them. This is more true for sourdoughs than for other types of bread. Even when a bread is just warm, the moist crumb has not set yet and you will clump and tear the slices, even if using a serrated knife.
  
• You can use sourdough starter in a regular bread recipe. Add 1 cup of sourdough starter and decrease the liquid in the recipe by
  ²
  /
  ₃
  cup and the flour by 13 cup. Use the same amount of yeast as called for in the recipe.
  

SOURDOUGH CORNMEAL BREAD

M
y friend, California rancho cooking expert Jacquie McMahan, always asks for breads that incorporate cornmeal. Here’s a sourdough cornmeal combination. I’ve also included a variation with corn kernels, cheese, olives, and green chiles added, in case you are having a Mexican or South-western-inspired meal. Use any white flour sourdough starter. Toast some of this bread to eat with your poached eggs. Cornmeal bread is also great with strawberry jam.

1
¹
/
₂
- POUND LOAF

1
¹
/
₄
cups white flour sourdough starter
Next-Day White Sourdough Starter

¹
/
₂
cup plus 2 tablespoons fat-free milk

2 tablespoons olive oil or lard

3 tablespoons honey or molasses

2
¹
/
₂
cups bread flour

²
/
₃
cup yellow cornmeal

1
¹
/
₂
teaspoons salt

1
¹
/
₂
teaspoons SAF yeast or 2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

2-POUND LOAF

1
¹
/
₂
cups white flour sourdough starter
Next-Day White Sourdough Starter

⁷
/
₈
cup plus 1 tablespoon fat-free milk

3 tablespoons olive oil or lard

4 tablespoons honey or molasses

3
¹
/
₂
cups bread flour

³
/
₄
cup yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons SAF yeast or 2
¹
/
₂
teaspoons bread machine yeast

Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust on medium and program for the Basic cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer.)

When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.