Sourdough Bread

To read about the benefits of Sourdough Bread, see my post on how to make a sourdough starter. Although I have included cup measurements, for best results, I recommend making sourdough by weight as the density of sourdough starter can be very variable.

(makes four loaves)

Ingredients

• 26 oz sourdough starter (about 3 cups)
• 43 oz wholemeal flour (about 9 cups)
• 1 tbsp yeast (optional but it gives a slightly less dense loaf)
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 30 floz warm water (3 ¾ cups) - I make it with two parts tap water to one part boiling water.

Method

• The night before, prepare your sourdough starter.
• Mix flour, salt and optional yeast in large bowl.
• Add warm water to the starter and mix

• Add the combined water/starter to bowl of flour/salt/yeast and mix until no dry flour remains. (If using shop bought flour you may need to add an extra 2-4 floz water.)
• It should be thick but runny enough that it spreads when you stop stirring.

• Divide evenly between four 2lb loaf tins and leave to rise for 8-12 hours.

Before and after rising.

• Bake at 200°C/GM4/400°F for 35 minutes.
• When ready, turn out immediately and leave to cool before slicing.

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough starter makes use of naturally occurring yeasts and removes the necessity of using shop bought yeast. Sourdough also has the benefit of reducing the phytic acid content. (Phytic acid can inhibit absorption of various nutrients.) Sourdough bread does not go stale as quickly as yeasted bread.

How To Make Sourdough Starter

You will need

• a large bowl or jug
• a tea towel or other cloth to cover bowl/jug
• water
• wholemeal flour (rye is reputed to be easier to start from scratch than wheat)

Making Your Sourdough Starter

• Place a cup each of flour and water in bowl/jug, stir, cover and leave to stand overnight.
• Each day for around a week, add equal amounts of flour and water, stir, cover and leave overnight again. (I recommend half cups to avoid being overrun with starter.)
• After a while it will start to get frothy and smell a little "beery". It will hopefully look something like this:

• After a week to ten days, if your starter has become frothy then it is ready to use.

Maintaining Your Sourdough Starter
Once you have used your sourdough starter, you no longer need to keep it at room temperature. (You can if you want but you may need to stir it every day to prevent it going mouldy.) I put mine in a small plastic tub in the fridge until the day before I will next need it. The night before I want to use it I mix up equal volumes of flour and water according to how much sourdough starter I will need in my recipe and stir in the starter from the fridge. The next day once I have used the starter, I put the remainder in a clean tub and back in the fridge.


See also:

• Sourdough Bread

Slow Cooker "Roast" Chicken

or Crockpot Chicken

If (like me) you like your meat tender and juicy, this is definitely the way to cook it.

You will need

• One chicken
• One crockpot
• A little water
• Seasonings (I use black pepper, sea salt, sage and sometimes and a chopped onion)

Method

• Place chicken upside down in slow cooker
• Add about an inch of water.
• Sprinkle seasonings on top.

• Cook for about eight hours on low or about four hours on high. (You may need to adjust timings according to your slow cooker and the size of your chicken.)
• You can also use the slow cooker to make chicken stock with the carcass.

Apple and Sultana Porridge

or Apple and White Raisin Oatmeal


I could eat porridge plain but my husband prefers it sweeter so I made up this recipe so that he would eat it too. I would call this recipe 2 1/2 servings because it serves two adults and a toddler.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (120g) oats
~1-2 tbsp whey (I just slosh a bit in)
A handful of sultanas (40g)
one chopped apple
1 British Pint (2 1/2 cups) whole milk

Method

• Put oats, sultanas and whey in bowl or jug, cover with water and leave overnight.
• In the morning drain the mixture and return to bowl/jug (or saucepan if cooking on hob) with apple and milk.

• Microwave for approximately five minutes, stirring half way or bring to the boil on hob while stirring and simmer until thickened.

Nutritional Information
Nutritional facts per serving (daily value):
Calories 347kcal
Protein 14g (29%)
Total Fat 10g (15%)
Sat. 5g (24%)
Chol. 23mg (8%)
Carb. 52g (17%)
Fiber 5g (20%)
Sugars 24g
Calcium 288mg (29%)
Iron 2mg (11%)
Magnesium 88mg (22%)
Phosphorus 417mg (42%)
Potassium 597mg (17%)
Sodium 95mg (4%)
Zinc 2mg (15%)
Copper 0mg (11%)
Manganese 2mg
Selenium 22µg
Vit. C 2mg (3%)
Vit. B1 0mg (27%)
Vit. B2 1mg (30%)
Vit. B3 1mg (4%)
Vit. B5 1mg (14%)
Vit. B6 0mg (9%)
Diet. fol. eq. 25µg (6%)
Vit. B12 1µg (17%)
Vit. A 246IU (5%)
Vit. A1 64µg
Vit. E 0mg (2%)
Vit. K 2µg
Vit. D 92IU (23%)

Exported from Shop'NCook Pro 3.4.3 (http://www.shopncook.com)

Baked Porridge

or Baked Oatmeal


This is especially nice on a cold winter morning but can also be used as a dessert or on its own for a snack. The recipe gives nine servings.


Ingredients
½ cup (4oz) lard (or butter or coconut oil but I find it tastes nicest with lard)
¼ cup (3oz) honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch salt
1 ¼ cups (10floz) buttermilk
3 cups oats
½ cup raisins
2 eggs
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

• Mix together butter/lard, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, buttermilk and oats.
• Add raisins on top then cover and leave overnight.
• In the morning mix in eggs and bicarbonate of soda.
• Put in baking dish and bake at 350°F/GM4 for around 45 minutes until set in middle.
• Serve with yoghurt, buttermilk or milk.

Nutritional Information
(per serving when served with yoghurt)
Nutritional facts per serving (daily value):
Calories 439kcal
Protein 15g (31%)
Total Fat 22g (34%)
Sat. 10g (52%)
Chol. 85mg (28%)
Carb. 46g (15%)
Fiber 3g (12%)
Sugars 26g
Calcium 363mg (36%)
Iron 2mg (10%)
Magnesium 77mg (19%)
Phosphorus 420mg (42%)
Potassium 606mg (17%)
Sodium 566mg (24%)
Zinc 3mg (17%)
Copper 0mg (8%)
Manganese 1mg
Selenium 19µg
Vit. C 2mg (3%)
Vit. B1 0mg (19%)
Vit. B2 1mg (30%)
Vit. B3 1mg (3%)
Vit. B5 2mg (15%)
Vit. B6 0mg (8%)
Diet. fol. eq. 33µg (8%)
Vit. B12 1µg (18%)
Vit. A 300IU (6%)
Vit. A1 82µg
Vit. E 1mg (3%)
Vit. K 2µg
Vit. D 3IU (1%)
Exported from Shop'NCook Pro 3.4.3 (http://www.shopncook.com)