Sourdough Heaven – Part 2 – Sourdough Wheat English Muffins

This was my first attempt at making a sourdough starter and English muffins. I was so pleased with the results. The English muffins were slightly sour with a nice chewy texture. They were also split nicely down the middle. I get a bit frustrated with Orowheat English muffins because many times the split is uneven. These muffins are soooo much better than store bought! See the next post for how to make sourdough starter if you don't have any on hand.

Ingredients
1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 TB honey or brown sugar
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1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
fine yellow cornmeal

Directions
Combine starter with whole wheat flour, sweetener and 1/2 cup warm water. Cover loosely and let sit overnight.

The next day, stir together 1/2 cup of the all purpose flour, baking powder and salt in separate bowl. Stir this mixture into the starter mix. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup flour and mix until dough is no longer sticky. I had to knead at this point.

Roll dough out 1/2 inch thick and cut out 8 muffins with 3 to 4 inch cutter. I like to place the cut muffins onto a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper and a dusting of cornmeal. Cover the muffins and let sit for about an hour until slightly puffy.

Heat up cast iron pan that is lightly oiled. Reduce heat to about medium and cook 2-3 muffins until lightly browned, about 3 minutes or so. Turn over and cook the other side until browned. You can insert a instant thermometer to see that it reads at least 198 degrees to be sure it's done cooking. Don't let them get too brown or you won't be able to toast them without burning them.

Cool 15 minutes or so before serving. Makes 8 delicious English muffins.

Sourdough Heaven – Part 1 – The Starter

Do you love sourdough bread? I know I do! However, I've been avoiding it in the store because it's all white flour, very expensive and has additives I don't want to eat. The March 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times has a very exciting article in their "Technique" section for quick start sourdough. You make a sourdough starter and it's ready to bake with in 72 hours! One thing I didn't know about sour dough breads is that you don't need yeast when you bake with it. Anyway, now I'm on a sourdough tangent. If you want to make a quick sourdough starter it's very easy. It has been so satisfying to make my own starter, keep it going, and bake with it. So far I've made two batches of sourdough wheat English muffins, and a loaf of sourdough bread. I will be making pizza dough very soon!

Okay, to make some quick sourdough starter, get the March 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times. It has other sourdough recipes you may want to try. However, if it's sold out, here's a mini-primer on quick sourdough starter. Further down I will have links on a couple other website with very useful information and videos to help you make incredibly good, wholesome, and tasty sourdough goodies of your own!

Quick Sourdough Starter
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp QUICK RISING yeast, such as Fleischmann's Rapid Rise
1 cup warm water (not hot!)

Directions
Combine flour and yeast in non-reactive bowl. Mix in water. Cover bowl loosely and let sit in ambient temperature – around 68-70 degrees – for 12 hours. After this time, it should be bubbly and smell yeasty. Stir starter, discard half, and mix in 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup warm water. Stir well, cover and let sit again for 12 hours. Then stir, discard, add flour and water. Do this every 12 hours for a total of 3 days (72 hours). Now you have your very own sourdough starter. Keep it in the fridge, feeding once or twice a week. Here is a very good website for making, maintaining, and baking with sourdough starters.

http://www.breadtopia.com/sourdough-starter-management/

Here's my sourdough wheat English muffins:

I put some Earth Balance margarine and strawberry spread on it. Doesn't it look delicious? It was! And I can't tell you how much better it was than the ones you buy in the store! The recipe is the next post.