I mentioned in my last post that I had recently acquired some sourdough starter, and that since that fateful day I had been trying to make sourdough everything. I had tried making bread, obviously (it’s the classic), but also crackers, pancakes, waffles, banana muffins, and chocolate chip cookies. The one item I really wanted to crack was sandwich bread in the bread machine. I’ve been making my own bread since I moved to the US almost nine years ago, and the majority of that bread is a sandwich loaf I make in the bread machine. Is there a way to make a sourdough sandwich bread? Surely there must. Trader Joe’s sells a loaf of sourdough that’s neatly sliced and looks like sandwich bread; sourdough sandwich bread does exist.
I went on the hunt for recipes. I found one that required me to keep returning to the machine at various cycles to add things or check things. I had to press a button to knead and let it do its thing before letting it rest and going back to press other buttons. It seemed a bit fiddly and I decided I couldn’t be arsed. If I’m going to use a bread machine, I want to press buttons once and be done with it. Otherwise I’ll just make, you know, actual sourdough.
The search continued. I ended up back at the ever-reliable King Arthur website, and discovered their recipe for bread machine sourdough. Happily, this was a recipe that only required button-pressing once. I did have to check the dough after ten minutes of kneading, but that was fine. I decided to try it because I generally trust their recipes, and only pressing buttons once really appealed to me.
The bread was good. The texture and crumb was great, and it was a perfectly acceptable sourdough sandwich loaf. I think my starter has a very strong flavour (it’s been sitting on the counter and I’ve been feeding it daily; it has a fabulous sour tang), and that was reflected in the bread. Which is probably why the kids didn’t like it, and why I’m unlikely to make it again. The kids like my regular sandwich bread, and they like my sourdough, but they didn’t like it when the two were combined.
This recipe had more sourdough starter than flour, and hardly any water, which is very different to the regular loaf of sourdough I have been making (that one has a lot more flour and water than starter). My guess is because doing it in the machine meant it didn’t have the 9.5 to 12.5 hours of resting/proofing/rising/fermentation time that the regular loaf has, so the ratios had to change. The one in the machine only took about 3.5 hours to make, which is very appealing in its own way.
So there you go: a successful bread machine sourdough, but only to an extent. It turned out like the recipe said it would, and it tasted good. The texture and bread-ness of it was excellent, and I’m a big fan of how easy it was. But my two primary customers rejected it, so I’ll be sticking to regular sandwich bread in the machine and a traditional loaf that takes a day to make.
Some other baking and sourdough musings
I’ve attempted sourdough chocolate chip cookies twice now, both times using this recipe. Both times they tasted fine (good, even), but frustratingly they DON’T LOOK LIKE THE PHOTOS. They aren’t flat! They aren’t chewy! Why not?!? I creamed the butter and sugar. The first time I used cold butter and the second time I used softened butter. The first time I didn’t chill the dough; the second time I chilled the dough for three hours. I used a bit less sugar the second time because I thought the first batch was too sweet. But both times they were taller and rounder than I wanted them to be. They never flattened while baking. Whyyyyy. Why have I never baked chocolate chip cookies that are flat? Is there some kind of cookie curse I’m under? My next attempt is going to be the King Arthur sourdough chocolate chip cookie recipe. I fear it might have the same outcome because the recipe is very similar to the one I’ve used twice so far, with the exception of browning the butter — but I don’t think it’s the browned butter that flattens cookies. I’m going to keep making these damn cookies until I get flat ones, dangnammit. We’re getting through a lot of butter.
I’ve made what feels like a lot of loaves of sourdough now (about one every two days since I got the starter two weeks ago; I made two loaves yesterday). I’ve reached the point where I have the ingredients memorised, and the timing of each step memorised. I can make the whole loaf from beginning to end without consulting the recipe or notes. And the most pleasant surprise of this whole endeavour is how impressive it is, and how easy it is. The bread is delicious, it looks beautiful, and it’s very similar to the loaves of sourdough you’d buy at a local bakery. But it is so easy to make! One of the easier bread recipes I’ve made, especially once you figure out the timing of things. The starter is doing all the work, really.
Speaking of different bread recipes, a quick update on the different kinds of breads I’ve made since I discovered I can make bread:
Bread machine sandwich bread (the original, old faithful, still made about twice a week)
Flatbreads (excellent with chicken shawarma)
Tortillas
Pizza dough
Challah knots/challah rolls
Challah
Sourdough bread
Sourdough bread machine sandwich loaf
King Arthur has a new book out, The Big Book of Bread, which has 125 bread recipes. I guess I still have about 110 more breads to make (I just put the book on hold at the library). It kind of feels like I can make any bread now. I’m drunk on yeasty power.*
*Stupid cookies are still beating me though.
Any update on the flattened cookie?