Cube the focaccia. Lay it out in a single layer on baking sheets. Spray with a little oil, then season however you want.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 to 15 minutes (until they just start to brown). Remove from oven and let cool completely.
For immediate-eating storage, put in a jar and store in the refrigerator (if you live in a warm climate, the oil on the croutons will go rancid after a month or so on the countertop). For longer term storage, place in quarter canning jars and bake at 250 degrees for one hour. Remove from oven, make sure the jars sealed, then store. This is an experiment. I have no idea how long they will last (this is how I store nut meats, like walnuts and pecans, which last YEARS without ever going rancid).
This all began when I read an article (which I can’t find any longer … I wish I could because it was fascinating) in which a chef stated that refrigerated old, neglected sourdough started was completely dead, so reviving it (bringing it to room temperature, then adding flour and water) was no better than starting from scratch.
So, I pulled out my 3+ year-old ignored-in-the-refrigerator starter and got busy. Then, I realized others may not have leftover starter, so I showed you how to make fresh sourdough starter, also.
Now, I had to show how to make bread! The problem was I obviously hadn’t made sourdough anything for over 3 years and it shows in the following video. I did (after failing miserably) end up making edible bread and now I need to make more! Hopefully my next loaves will be prettier. 🙂
I have this THIS POST with a ton of recipes but I just wanted to point you to King Arthur Flour. They have some fantastic recipes (and not just sourdough).
Since the sprouted grain flour is more like whole wheat flour (make sure you watch that video here: Sprouted Grain Flour), that’s the recipe I ended up using. I tried one written for all purposed flour and it did not work at all! This video is almost the entire process, including hand kneading, but in the description I included a link so you can fast forward past my kneading (and rambling).
In a large bowl, add the first 6 ingredients, about half of the flour, and the yeast. Mix for about one minute.
Optional step (I did this): for enhanced flavor and texture, allow the batter to sit for 15-30 minutes until it becomes bubbly.
Mix in the rest of the flour, a little at a time (about 1/2 cup at a time) until the dough pulls away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. You may not need all of the flour. On a lightly floured surface, place the dough and begin kneading in the rest of the flour until the dough is smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into equal portions. Shape into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). Bake at 350 degrees F 30-40 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F).
Mixer instructions:
In BOSCH mixing bowl with dough hook and dough hook extender in place, add forst 6 ingredients, about half of the flour, and the yeast. Mix on speed 3 for about one minute.
Optional step (I did this): for enhanced flavor and texture, allow the batter to sit for 15-30 minutes until it becomes bubbly.
Increase to speed 2. Continue adding remaining flour, a little at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. You may no need all of the flour. Knead on speed 2 for 6-8 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Lightly oil your hands and counter. Divide the dough into equal portions. Shape into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). Bake at 350 degrees F 30-40 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F).
So, I randomly decided to try my hand at sprouted grain flour. I went to the bulk bins at Winco to see what I could find. They didn’t really have as many whole grains as I wanted, but I bought some barley, red Winter wheat, white wheat, and some raw sunflower seeds. I am going to say this right now: do not try to sprout shelled raw sunflower seeds! They got slimy, stinky, and NEVER really dried out.
In a quart jar, I put one cup of each, put my sprouting lids on the jars, rinsed, then filled them with water and let them soak overnight. I then drained out the liquid, rinsed them, and stored them upside down. Rinse and drain twice per day until the grains are sprouted as much as you want them to be.
Then, to dry them, I put parchment paper onto rimmed baking sheets, spread the grains out, and put these baking sheets in the oven with only the light on. That produced enough heat to ensure the air was warm and dry enough to dehydrate the grains. Then, for about 48 hours, I stirred the grains around. The ones toward the outside of the baking sheets dry faster. Once they were completely dry, I put them in jars.
I tried to grind them into flour with my food processor first but the grains just spun around, so I tried my blender. That did a pretty good job! I first pulsed the grains on the “crush ice” setting, then just blended them on the lowest setting for 5 minutes. I had to strain it because the blender didn’t grind all of the grains and I didn’t want it chunky. It was at this point that I killed my blender. I ran it for 10 minutes and it overheated so bad that it wouldn’t start again.
I love this mill! I am so happy I went with this instead of a hand crank mill because I know how strenuous it can be to use my hand meat grinder. I can’t imagine how much more tiring it would be using a hand operated grain mill! I ran the grain through twice and BAM! I had really nice flour!
If you make too much flour, just store it in an air-tight container (if you won’t be using it again for a while, store it in the freezer). That’s it! We made flour! My next video is how to turn this into bread. 🙂
My son requested this today. It’s the recipe my mom has been using forever. It’s from a set of Women’s Day cookbooks from the late 60’s? Anyway, thought you might enjoy (I’ve tried other recipes but still go back to this one).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 1 loaf pan. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix thoroughly.
Pour into loaf pan. Bake for about 60 minutes (until a toothpick inserted comes out clean). Let cool for about 5 minutes then remove from pan. Try to let cool, though this never happens in my house.
I usually double the recipe because I actually have people give me bananas just to make them some of this bread.
Bretzel Rolls (adapted from Recipezaar.com) 2 hours start to finish – Makes 8 sandwich size rolls
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast (or 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast which will need proofing)
1 1/3 cups warm water
2 tablespoons warm milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 quarts of water
1/2 cup baking soda
kosher salt
spray oil (I really like this stuff, the high heat canola is great)
Mix the flour and yeast in the bowl of a standing mixer (or a large bowl)
Melt the butter and warm the milk
Combine the butter, milk, water, and brown sugar in a separate bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved
Add the butter mixture to the flour and stir until all the flour is hydrated and you have a firm, pliable dough ball
Using the dough hook, knead the dough for 2 minutes, or if you’re kneading by hand, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes
Round the dough into a ball and cut it in half with a bench scraper or chef knife
Continue rounding and cutting 2 more times until you have 8 even dough balls
Arrange the balls on a lightly floured surface, cover with a damp cloth, and allow them to rest for 10 minutes
Pat the dough balls into rolls by slightly flattening them (you should have a semi-flat disc about3 to 4 inches in diameter)
Arrange the rolls on a lightly floured surface about 1 inch apart, cover them with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and allow them to rest for 30 minutes
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, line one large 3/4 sheet pan, or two 1/2 sheets with parchment paper, spray the paper lightly with oil
In a large stockpot, bring the water to a rolling boil and add the baking soda (make sure the pot is deep enough that it doesn’t boil over when you add the baking soda, you may also want to add the baking soda slowly to lessen the chance of boil over)
Drop 2 rolls into the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds, turning once
Remove the rolls from the water with a slotted spoon, drain them, place them on the prepared sheet pans, and sprinkle lightly with salt
Once all the rolls have been boiled, bake on the upper and middle rack of the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the rolls are nicely browned all over, shifting the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through cooking
Remove the rolls and transfer them to a wire rack
Serve warm or at room temperature
Keywords:
bretzel, pretzel, roll, dinner, bread,
These I am making now because my husband came home from work wanting a French Dip sandwich and we did not think the Pretzel Rolls would be the same:
“Simply delicious French bread rolls with a crisp crust and chewy texture.”
Ingredients
Instructions
In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.
In a large saucepan, combine the water, bouillon, pepper, garlic salt, and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 15 – 20 minutes.
Keywords:
beef, au, jus, dip, broth
Though next time I will try making some from scratch.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the stew meat and brown well on all sides. When the meat is well-browned, add the onion, reduce heat to low and cook until the onions are tender and beginning to caramelize around the edges, about 10 minutes.
Add the garlic clove and tomato paste and continue cooking for 5 minutes more. Add the beef broth, Worcestershire and bay leaf, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove cover, increase heat to medium and simmer for another 25 minutes or until reduced to 3 cups.
Taste broth and add as much of the remaining salt as is necessary to give a deep salty-beefy flavor. Remove bay leaf and meat, and pour into cups. Serve with French Dip Sandwiches.
Today was my day to deal with my sourdough starter. It had been sitting in the refrigerator for what feels like 6 months being ignored. I stored it in a gallon mason jar, and needed the room, so three days ago I took it out. I poured it all into a bowl, added 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour. I mixed it well, let it sit, and it was still alive! I’m telling you, I love this starter!
After my starter resurrected, I began my search for recipes. I have made bread and pancakes but knew there had to be more out there for me to do with sourdough starter. In addition to these first two recipes, I made two loaves of bread, except one I kneaded 2 teaspoons of minced garlic into the dough just before the final rise.
The best website I have found for anything sourdough is King Arthur Flour. They have the largest variety of recipes (with commercial yeast and without).
Well, this is what I came up with:
The big hit of the day was this Cherry Sourdough Coffee Cake from Better Homes and Gardens “New Cook Book”:
Bring cherries to boil; reduce heat. cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Combine sugar and cornstarch; add to cherry mixture. Cook and stir until bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Cool completely.
For dough:
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Mix Sourdough Starter, egg, and vanilla; add to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Spread half of the batter into greased 9X9X2-inch baking pan. Spread Cherry Filling on top. Drop remaining batter in small mounds over filling.
For topping:
Mix oats, brown sugar, nuts and flour. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle over batter. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden. Serves 9.
Next is the Sourdough Chocolate Cake. Now, I will share a recipe with you but it’s not the one I cooked. The one I cooked was not chocolate-y enough. So I searched and found this one. I won’t make it tonight…have to find someone who will eat the first one (I might have my husband take it to work…they eat anything! LOL!):
Now, for the recipes I will try. Looking around online I found some wonderful recipes. These are the ones I am dying to try, once I am finished with my baking frenzy today.
