Sourdough Bread

King Arthur's Kitchen

1 Cup fed Sourdough Starter
1 1/2 Cups lukewarm Water
5 Cups All-purpose Flour
1 TBSP Sugar
2 1/2 tsp Salt

Directions:
1. Combine the starter, water, and 3 cups of the flour. Beat vigorously for 1 minute.
2. Cover, and let rest at room temperature for 4 hours. Refrigerate overnight, for about 12 hours.
3. Add the remaining ingredients: 2 cups of flour, sugar, salt, and sour salt, if you're using it. Knead to form a smooth dough.
4. Allow the dough to rise in a covered bowl until it's relaxed, smoothed out, and risen. Depending on the vigor of your starter, it may become REALLY puffy, or it may just rise a bit. This can take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours.
5. Gently divide the dough in half.
6. Gently shape the dough into two oval loaves, and place them on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise until very puffy, about 2 to 4 hours. Don't worry if the loaves spread more than they rise; they'll pick up once they hit the oven's heat. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.
7. Spray the loaves with lukewarm water.
8. Make two fairly deep diagonal slashes in each: cutting it with scissors works well.
9. Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, until it's a very deep golden brown. Remove it from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Sourdough Banana Muffins

1 cup unfed sourdough starter
1 cup banana
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 medium egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with paper muffin cups and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sourdough starter, mashed bananas, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg until the mixture is smooth.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and fold together with a spatula until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
4. Fill the prepared muffin cups about 3/4 full of batter.
5. Bake the muffins for 18 - 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean (or with a few wet crumbs).
6. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Sourdough Starter

Ingredients:
2 Cups Warm Water
1 TBSP Sugar or Honey
1 TBSP Active Dry Yeast
2 Cups All-purpose Flour

Instructions:
1. In a large glass or ceramic bowl, stir honey or sugar into warm water until dissolved. Stir in yeast.
2. Slowly add flour to mixture, whisking to combine, and cover with a towel or dishcloth. Use a towel rather than plastic wrap so the wild yeast in your kitchen can "catch onto" the starter, but be sure to use a towel that you don't mind getting dirty. Leave in a warm place to develop. If you don't have a warm place, it should be fine, as my kitchen was cool when I made my starter.
3. Let your starter sit out for 2-5 days, stirring once per day to reincorporate the liquid that will settle on top. Once your starter has stopped bubbling and has developed a sour aroma, stir it once again and place in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Sourdough starter needs to be fed about once every two weeks. To feed your starter, you first need to remove one cup. Use this cup of starter for baking, Then, feed your existing starter with 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup water. Stir until smooth and let sit, covered, at room temperature for about 12 hours before placing back in the refrigerator.

From brighteyedbaker.com