Sourdough Sandwich Loaf

When the COVID-19 lockdown started and people started panic buying food and household items, I ran pretty quickly into an empty bread aisle. “No problem,” I thought. “I can bake bread.” Then I found the baking aisle was devoid of any yeast to make bread with. YIKES.

Now, my mom used to keep sourdough starter in her kitchen, so I knew it was possible to draw down yeast from the air and create a yeast colony. And. I found lots of info on the ‘net about how to get a starter going. So I started working on my own starter.

Well, after several attempts my bread was still coming out like bricks. I tried several different recipes but the truth seems to be that my starter just wasn’t robust enough.

While I wasn’t able to produce bread I was happy with, I did find other things I could make with the starter that I was happy with. One was a recipe for crackers made with leftover starter. (Here's my variation that includes parmesan cheese).  And more recently, I found you could make a nice coffee cake with starter.

But after several weeks of mistreatment (missed feedings, long periods in the fridge, etc.) I seem to have finally gotten a colony that is consistently producing nice loaves of bread. It’s my belief that the “mistreatment” caused natural selection to let only the strongest yeast survive, thus strengthening the starter.

The current recipe I’m using is this one: Basic Sourdough Bread on Food.com. I have been able to use both all-purpose flour and bread flour with this recipe, though the bread flour has produced a much finer texture and lighter bread.

If you try any of these, let me know how they turn out and any changes you make.

Homemade Pizza (Pepperoni & Sausage)

I got a hankering for pizza last week and rather than spend money at Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Papa Murphy’s or Marco’s, I decided to make my own. Since I’ve been working with sourdough starter, I found this recipe for a sourdough crust. By using bread flour, it made a nice, thin crust that was crisp and crunchy. All purpose flour would made a softer crust. 

Next, I opened a can of tomato paste and an 8 oz can of sauce. I seasoned with some frozen onions buzzed fine in the food processor and added fresh oregano, basil, and parsley from my garden along with some dried thyme and a pinch of cayenne. I added some water to the sauce to thin it a bit and spread half on the crust, freezing the rest for next time.

Ordinarily, I use an Italian shredded cheese blend but since I already had some Colby Jack on hand, I used that, putting down a layer of cheese, then some green pepper and onions, then a second layer of cheese. Lastly, I added the pepperoni and some fried Italian sausage. It made for a heavy pie!

But boy, was it good! And since so many of the ingredients were already in the kitchen, it cost a fraction of a delivery pizza!

Homemade Seafood Boil

Ingredients:

•  4 Tbs. yellow mustard seeds
  
•  3 Tbs. coriander seeds
  
•  2 Tbs. allspice (whole)
  
•  2 Tbs. dill seeds
  
•  1 tsp. whole cloves
  
•  1 Tbs. crushed red pepper
  
•  8 bay leaves
  
•  salt and cayenne or liquid hot sauce to taste.
  

Prep:
Combine all dry ingredients. Place in a square of muslin or cheesecloth and tie securely with string, like a large sachet. Add salt and cayenne or hot sauce to the water to taste, then bring to a boil.

When water for seafood is boiling, add the bag and boil for several minutes, until the boiling liquid is tinted and seasoned, then add vegetables and/or seafood and cook until done, depending on what you're cooking (4 minutes for shrimp, or until they are pink).

Makes enough to boil 5 lbs. of seafood.

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Ingredients:

•  2 cups mayonnaise*
  
•  2 cups buttermilk
  
•  1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  
•  2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
  
•  2 tablespoons parsley flakes
  
•  1 teaspoon black pepper
  
•  1 teaspoon salt or substitute
  
•  1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
  

Prep:

Combine ingredients in order given, whisking until smooth. Makes 1 quart

For spicy buttermilk ranch, add 3 tablespoons Picante sauce.

*Soy mayonnaise, cholesterol-free, homemade or commercial mayonnaise can be used. If fat-free mayonnaise is used, reduce amount to 1 cup and increase buttermilk to 3 cups.

Make Your Own Biscuit Mix (like Bisquick)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup Flour
  
• 1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
  
• 1 tsp Sugar
  
• 1/3 tsp Salt
  
• 2 1/2 TBL Shortening 
  

Prep:

Mix all the dry ingredients, then cut in the shortening until the mixture is the consistency of rough crumbs. Refrigerate up to six weeks. Makes 1 cup, for larger amounts the recipe scales up well.