Homemade Sourdough Bread

Sourdough bread is my absolute favorite type of bread. I don't know why but there is nothing quite like the zing of sourdough bread to push the yum factor of whatever I'm eating plum over (ya like that? Plum over?) the edge. My favorite way to eat sourdough is to cut a hole in the middle of a slice and fry an egg inside the hole. You wanna talk about yummy? That's yummy. (You can get this at Cracker Barrel, it's called "Eggs in a Basket.")

Buuuut it's an expensive bread to buy, so I never, and I mean, NEVER, buy it. Plus, it's hard to find in my local grocery stores. I'm not driving 30 minutes away to the next big town so that I can buy one loaf of bread. That's not money saving at all.


My sweet hubby got me a bread maker for Christmas. It's what I wanted, even though he tried to push jewelry off on me. I wasn't having any of that. Ever since I started staying home and not working, I've become super practical.... in a lot of ways (I'm not gonna lie, I've still got a ways to go.) and so after I drug him into Bed, Bath & Beyond and pointed out the bread machine and handed him a coupon for 20% off, he got the point.

Up to this point though, I've only been making white bread. Just whenever we needed it , either to tide us over until we can buy a loaf of "sandwich" bread or to have with a meal (that homemade white bread turns into amazing garlic bread-- just spread a little butter on top, sprinkle some Italian Seasoning and Parmesan Cheese and broil it until it's toasted. Boom! Insta-Garlic Bread!) But about a week ago I got a craving for eggs in a basket and frankly wheat toast just didn't taste the same.

So I went in search of a recipe that I could use in my bread machine. (Sourdough Bread is completely omitted in my little recipe booklet that came with my machine.) And I found it on unsophisticatedcook.com.


First things first, you've gotta have a "starter." Be sure you put your starter in a medium/large bowl to allow the starter to rise and fall. Don't be like the UnsphisticatedCook and try and put it in a mason jar. Or like me, in the beginning, and try to put it in a 2 cup measuring cup. Take our words for it, go with a medium/large bowl. This recipe made about 2 cups of starter, which made 2 loaves of bread. (Below is also the do's and don't's of maintaining your starter, so you could potentially keep it going, or keep it "fed" for months to come, but I was in a hurry when making both loaves of bread so I used all my starter.)

Ingredients:

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 c. warm water (105-115 degrees)
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 T. sugar or honey (I used honey because I love honey.)

Instructions:

1. Gather your ingredients. You'll need yeast, flour, water, and either sugar or honey to feed the starter.
2. Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water. (I gave mine a little stir just to be sure it was all mixed together.)
3. Whisk together the remaining warm water, flour, sugar or honey, and dissolved yeast mixture.
4. Cover the sourdough starter (I used a thin drying towel, but you could use plastic wrap or cheesecloth) and let stand at room temperature for 3-5 days, stirring three times daily. The starter is ready for use when it smells fermented and the vigorous bubbling ceases. (And it will smell fermented.)
5. When your sourdough starter is done fermenting, you may store it in the refrigerator in a covered plastic container.
Maintenance and Use of Sourdough Starter:
6. To use your starter, first stir it up. Then measure out the amount of cold starter that you need, and then let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding with your recipe.
7. Replenish your starter by adding 3/4 c. all-purpose flour, 3/4 c. water, and 1 t. sugar or honey to remaining starter. Let stand at room temperature for a day, and then you can cover and place it back in the refrigerator.
8. If you don't use your starter within 10 days, remove one cup of starter and add 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup lukewarm water and stir well. You can then refrigerate it again immediately.

5 days later....
Ok, so your starter is ready!  Pull out your bread machine and let's get started!

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (use the whole little paper packet)
• 3/4 cup milk, warmed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup sourdough starter

Instructions:

Bread Machine Directions - dark crust, 2 lb. loaf
1. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast to your bread pan. If your bread machine has a warming cycle, turn it off and start a basic bread cycle to stir these ingredients together.
2. Slowly add warm milk and softened butter to dry mixture while the bread machine is still stirring. Then do the same with the sourdough starter. The mixture will be extremely liquidy, but don't worry. Step 3 will solve that problem.
3. Add the remaining 2-1/2 cups of flour slowly to the wet mixture. It may seem like too much flour, the dough will get very crumbly, but it will all get kneaded into the bread. I've found that it helps to press down on the dough as the machine is still kneading to get it to pick up all of the bits of dough, or use a rubber spatula (a "scraper" some people call them) and encourage the mixing along.
4. Close the top of the bread machine and let it finish out its cycle. When the bread is done baking, remove it from the pan immediately and let it cool on a rack to prevent it from getting soggy.
 But Missy, I don't have a bread machine, and I want to try this recipe. NEVER FEAR! For I have included the directions for baking this scrumptious loaf of bread in a regular oven!
Oven Directions
5. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast to a mixing bowl.
6. Slowly stir in warm milk and softened butter to dry mixture. Then do the same with the sourdough starter.
7. Mix remaining 2-1/2 cups of flour slowly into the wet mixture. Then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes.
8. Place dough in an oiled bowl, turning to make sure it's coated, and let rise for one hour.
9. Punch down and let rest for 15 minutes. Then shape into a loaf and place in a greased 2-lb. loaf pan. Allow to rise for another hour.
10. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until done.

And there ya have it! I would have included photos in this post but we basically inhaled that bread, there's not even a crumb left. It's so beyond good. You've got to give this recipe a try. It's heavenly, and on top of it all, it makes your house smell amazing when it's baking!

Hope you guys like this as much as we did! Let me know in the comments below if you do!