Sourdough Bread

I don’t know about you but I love bread. I could eat it at every meal. I try to be really good if I know we are having bread and not eat so much of it, but when I bake fresh homemade bread…all I can say is “watch out”.
This week, I made sourdough bread AND Amish Friendship Bread. I thought I would share both recipes with you since you know how I love to cook and then share what I made!

Sourdough Bread
In order to make sourdough bread, you have to have a starter. The process can be a bit long, so here is the link to an easy sourdough starter. Once you have your starter complete, you can make this bread.

• 2 Cups of proofed starter
• 3 Cups of unbleached flour
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil or softened margarine
• 4 teaspoons of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of salt

Add the sugar, salt, and oil (the oil is optional - you can use softened butter instead, or no oil at all) to the 2 cups of proofed starter. Mix well, then knead in the flour a half-cup at a time. Knead in enough flour to make a good, flexible bread dough. You can do this with an electric mixer, a bread machine on "dough cycle," or a food processor. You can also do it with a big bowl and your bare hands.
Let the dough rise in a warm place (I use my oven) until doubled in size. This can take anywhere from an hour to two hours depending on how proofed your starter was.
Once it has risen, punch it back down and knead a little more. Divide dough in half and place in a slightly greased loaf pan. Allow to rise again until double in size.
Place bread in a 350 degree un-preheated oven for about 35 or 40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when thumped. Allow it to cool for an hour before slicing.
Tomorrow I will share my Amish Friendship Bread recipe with you!