Ssssourdough

Having fresh sourdough bread at your beck and call is a blessing when you have a carb-fanatic family like mine, and with the success of my previous boules behind me, I'm looking forward to keeping both the yeast and the tradition behind it alive for years to come. The problem with keeping a sourdough starter, though, is the inevitable toss-off it creates when you don't bake often enough!

Apparently, I'm not the only baking blogger with this problem - I saw this recipe at My Kitchen in Half Cups and decided to play with it a touch, using what I had at my beck and call in the pantry. I used my starter (made with a mix of whole-wheat and spelt flour) and added Kamut and all-purpose flours to the dough instead of the Durum Tanna called for. I also used a touch of honey instead of malt syrup (since I didn't have any!) and cut the salt in half (damn that nutrition class on the effects of sodium intake!). Everything else is the same, though... I promise!

I had this dough (as well as a batch of pan de sal) in the works while I was working on the fig cookies a couple days ago... we paired it with last night's porchetta meal and it was a hit! The seeds I tossed on top (stuck on with a light brushing of water) are chia seeds, which I've used and talked about before when I made lemon cookies and some muffins a while back. Sesame seeds would be good too!

Thanks, Tanna, for a great idea! I'm sending this off to Susan's YeastSpotting event, so everyone can have a taste!

Sicilian Sourdough
Serves 30
Pre-Ferment
70g unfed whole-wheat sourdough starter
1/2 cup warm water
165g spelt flour

Dough
200g all-purpose flour
80g Kamut flour
2 tsp salt
All pre-ferment (above)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp honey
3/4 tsp dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm water

1. Combine pre-ferment ingredients until well-hydrated. Cover and let stand at room temperature two hours - overnight.
2. For the dough, whisk together the dry ingredients (except the yeast) in a small bowl.
3. In a separate large bowl, mix pre-ferment, oil, honey, yeast and water. Let stand 5 minutes.
4. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until everything is incorporated. Dough should be soft and smooth.
5. Place into an oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, until doubled.
6. Gently deflate dough and knead briefly.
7. Cut in half and shape into two long ropes, curling into "S" shapes. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
8. Re-cover and allow to rise 1 hour longer.
9. Preheat oven to 425F.
10. Mist loaves with water and sprinkle with seeds if desired.
11. Bake 10 minutes, misting the oven with water every 3.
12. Reduce oven temperature to 400F and bake loaves a further 20-25 minutes, until hollow sounding when tapped.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 62.8
Total Fat: 0.8 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 13.4 mg
Total Carbs: 6.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
Protein: 0.8 g