I made a starter yesterday and my first batch of 3 loaves today - quite tasty! I had one of these starters going for many years, but I think I discarded it about 6 years ago, so I decided to get it going again. I use bread flour from Sams Club, but will make a batch of rye with caraway seeds soon.
Sourdough Starter & Bread
Initial Starter
6 cups lukewarm water
4 Tsp. Salt
2 Tbs. Sugar
1 package dry yeast (do not use rapid rise)
6 cups flour
In a large bowl, mix together first 4 ingredients and let stand 10 minutes. Add flour and mix thoroughly (should be about pancake batter consistency). Cover and store in a warm place for 6-8 hours or overnight. Mix thoroughly and remove 3 cups of the starter to a quart mason jar. Store this in the refrigerator with a loose fitting lid (glass mayonnaise lid with the liner removed works good). This is your starter. Use the remainder in the bowl for the first batch of sourdough bread (see below).
Replenish Starter
3 cups sourdough starter
3 cups lukewarm water
2 Tsp. Salt
1 Tbs. Sugar
1 package dry yeast (optional - about every 3 batches yeast should be added)
3 cups flour
In a large bowl, mix together first 4 (or 5) ingredients and let stand 10 minutes. Add flour and mix thoroughly (should be about pancake batter consistency). Cover and store in a warm place for 3-4 hours. Mix thoroughly and return 3 cups of the starter to the quart mason jar. Store this in the refrigerator.
Sourdough Bread
After the starter has been removed to the mason jar, add 6-7 cups flour to the bowl. Mix together with a butter knife or a mixer with dough hooks. Let sit 10 minutes and knead. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Punch down and knead. At this point there are at least 3 options:
1. Cut the dough into thirds and use for 3 pizza crusts.
2. Cut the dough into thirds and form into 3 long narrow loaves and place them on a cookie sheet. Let loaves double in size. Preheat oven to 350. Cut 3 diagonal lines into the top of the loaves with a sharp knife. Brush the loaves with either an egg wash (of 1 egg white, 1 Tbs. water and 1 tsp. salt) or melted butter. Place a pan of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven and bake the loaves on a middle rack for 30-35 minutes.
3. Spread the dough on a cookie sheet and let rise until doubled. Cut into 4 rows and 5 columns with a pizza cutter or sharp knife to form dinner rolls. Bake as in the loaves above.