I would like to thank everyone on this list who offered me advice a
few months ago on making sourdough bread.

Since that time I have been making rye sourdough using Carl's starter
and although I have been making bread for many years, I think I am now
eating the best bread of my life.

I am afraid I am too lazy to use a recipe, doing everything by eye,
but here are some notes on how the world's best bread is made.

1. Get Carl's sourdough starter or make your own. Not a huge
difference, I think, but I am happy with the bread I am making from
Carl's.

2. Make sponge by adding more white flour and water to starter and
leave for a few hours in 2 1/2 gallon paint bucket with lid until
foamy.

3. IMPORTANT: take out starter for next time and put in jam jar in
fridge. Do this before you add anything else.

4. Add rye flour and more white flour until ratio is about 1/3 rye to
2/3 white. Make quantity required. I usually make 2-3 loaves per week.

5. Add salt, 1/2 tablespoon per loaf or to taste.

6. Add two tablespoons per loaf olive oil or other oil.

7. Add generous handful caraway seeds. Add a spoonful of chocolate
powder if you want a darker color.

8. Knead. I use one hand in an oiled plastic disposable glove. This
way you have less clean up. Knead until stiff and smooth and stretchy.
Add more water or flour as needed to get right consistency.

9. Place in dough in oiled bread pan half full. Brush a little oil on
top and press down with back of hand or spatula until top of loaf is
flat and even.

10. Cover with plastic and leave in warm plac e until doubled in size.

11. Bake 10 mins at 425 and then 25 minutes at 375. At the start
spritz the oven with water to create steam.

12. Turn out loaves and cool, then refrigerate overnight before
slicing.

13. Change any of thes instructions as you wish, it is your bread.

I find that having got the routine down this is pretty easy and takes
up very little of my time. Using the paint bucket for all mixing and
kneading operations reduces cleanup. The bread has a wonderful
fragrance.Sometimes I even eat it dry.

jmm1951 wrote:
> I would like to thank everyone on this list who offered me advice a
> few months ago on making sourdough bread.
>
> Since that time I have been making rye sourdough using Carl's starter
> and although I have been making bread for many years, I think I am now
> eating the best bread of my life.
>
> I am afraid I am too lazy to use a recipe, doing everything by eye,
> but here are some notes on how the world's best bread is made.
>
> 1. Get Carl's sourdough starter or make your own. Not a huge
> difference, I think, but I am happy with the bread I am making from
> Carl's.
>
> 2. Make sponge by adding more white flour and water to starter and
> leave for a few hours in 2 1/2 gallon paint bucket with lid until
> foamy.

Why such a big bucket? How big a quantity of starter are we talking
about here?

Serene

On Nov 20, 6:50 am, jmm1951 > wrote:
> I would like to thank everyone on this list who offered me advice a
> few months ago on making sourdough bread.
[wnip]

Oh heaven to betsy, I wish you'd adopt me!

Karen

On Nov 20, 6:50 am, jmm1951 > wrote:
[snip]
> I am afraid I am too lazy to use a recipe, doing everything by eye,
> but here are some notes on how the world's best bread is made.
> [snips]
> 12. Turn out loaves and cool, then refrigerate overnight before
> slicing. [snip]

Refrigerate? Of course the bread needs to cool, but I've always found
that refrigerating it does its quality no good. Have you tried just
leaving it out in a breadbox or something similar? -aem

On Nov 20, 12:02 pm, Serene > wrote:
> jmm1951 wrote:
> > I would like to thank everyone on this list who offered me advice a
> > few months ago on making sourdough bread.
>
> > Since that time I have been making rye sourdough using Carl's starter
> > and although I have been making bread for many years, I think I am now
> > eating the best bread of my life.
>
> > I am afraid I am too lazy to use a recipe, doing everything by eye,
> > but here are some notes on how the world's best bread is made.
>
> > 1. Get Carl's sourdough starter or make your own. Not a huge
> > difference, I think, but I am happy with the bread I am making from
> > Carl's.
>
> > 2. Make sponge by adding more white flour and water to starter and
> > leave for a few hours in 2 1/2 gallon paint bucket with lid until
> > foamy.
>
> Why such a big bucket? How big a quantity of starter are we talking
> about here?
>
> Serene


Not a lot, but I find with a mixing bowl there is a tendency to splash
over the sides, and the paint buckets come with a convenient snap on
lid. Anyway, they are what I have lying around.

On Nov 20, 12:38 pm, aem > wrote:
> On Nov 20, 6:50 am, jmm1951 > wrote:
> [snip]
>
> > I am afraid I am too lazy to use a recipe, doing everything by eye,
> > but here are some notes on how the world's best bread is made.
> > [snips]
> > 12. Turn out loaves and cool, then refrigerate overnight before
> > slicing. [snip]
>
> Refrigerate? Of course the bread needs to cool, but I've always found
> that refrigerating it does its quality no good. Have you tried just
> leaving it out in a breadbox or something similar? -aem


I put all food in the fridge. Not leaving food out helps keep away
ants and cockroaches. I guess it would not hurt to put in a a bread
bin overnight, but then where would I put the spare packets of coffee?
Here in Florida temperatures can be quite high overnight, and the
bread slices more easily when cool. Anyway, as I said, I approve of
everyone doing what works best for them.

jmm1951 wrote:
> On Nov 20, 12:02 pm, Serene > wrote:

>> Why such a big bucket? How big a quantity of starter are we talking
>> about here?

> Not a lot, but I find with a mixing bowl there is a tendency to splash
> over the sides, and the paint buckets come with a convenient snap on
> lid. Anyway, they are what I have lying around.

That makes sense. I have two big pottery bowls that I use for
letting dough rise (I have a two-loaf ball in one now that I just
<ob cross thread> kneaded in the stand mixer), so I would probably
use one of those. They hold heat well and have a pretty huge
capacity. No built-in lid, but two sheets of plastic wrap seem to do
fine. I may build a lid for them one of these days, though.

Serene