Bread Machine Sour Dough

What a glorious day! I woke up in such a wonderful mood and was quickly rewarded by the Universe: the sun was brightly shining and the boys were particularly happy to see me. Their excitement and love for me each morning is a great way to start the day. It feels good to be needed. Maybe that's why I like making sour dough bread. It kind of needs you to get started.

I have been obsessed with making sourdough bread since we got a bread machine last October. I tried endlessly to get my sourdough starter going with poor results. Everything always started out right, but in a couple of days I would only have a sad jar of yuck. I tried again and again. I finally discovered the King Arthur Flour website and they had just what I needed - Classic Fresh Sourdough Starter and complete directions. Apparently, it is descended from a starter in New England that has been nurtured since the 1700s. Wow, it's more than just an ingredient, it's almost like a pet!

My little plastic jar of started arrived with complete instructions and the request to feed it. I placed it right in the jar that I just had to buy and fed it according to the instructions. Four hours later that starter was going to town! It had more than doubled in size and was bubbling like mad. Finally, I had a happy starter. After a couple of weeks feeding I was ready to make my bread!

Since I was determined to make this in my bread machine, I went to one of my many cookbooks and found what I thought looked like a good recipe. The result? Failure. Boo! The bread was doughy inside. Determined not to give up I searched the web and it didn't take long to find a recipe on Recipezaar. Not only did it have great reviews, it was surprisingly simple. The result? Fantastic sourdough bread. The crust was crunchy and the inside was soft and chewy, just like it should be. I have made this bread four times and each time it's been delicious. I have no idea how it stacks up to other recipes besides the one I tried because this one is a hit!

The recipe below makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf. Use the basic bread setting on medium or light. (We prefer light.) Don't use the delay function with this recipe.

Oh! By the way, this starter is honestly going to town, so if you live near me and want some hit me up!

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cup bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast*
• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 3/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Take your starter out of the refrigerator and feed it about 4 - 12 hours before you want to make the bread.
2. Add all the ingredients to your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
3. Bake on the basic cycle with medium or light crust setting.
4. Remove and cool immediately when finished.
   

Notes

Depending on the brand of yeast you have you might need a little less. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons of yeast, but I have found in general that my machine and yeast brand usually requires more than the recipe so I used 2 teaspoons.

Chef Joe's Culinary Salon

I have wanted to take cooking classes for a long time but they always were either totally inconvenient or way too expensive. Enter The Culinary Salon. My friend, Greg, heard about them and asked if I wanted to take classes with him. I jumped at the chance. The location, right in Castro, couldn't be more convenient for me and with the variety of classes and prices I could easily find something in my price range. In fact I signed up for Thursday night classes for the entire month of September.

Chef Joe offered a "Tribute to Julia Child & The Art of French Cooking" series and we decided to take all four of the Le Bistro classes . Since we had just seen "Julie and Julia" the classes seemed perfect. There are only six people in each class so you are sure you get a hand at all tasks. You also get personalized attention from Chef Joe who is not only an amazing chef, but a delightful person.

Each week we prepared a specific menu, but these are not random menus. They are well thought out and not only allow you to make a fabulous meal, but teach you invaluable cooking skills. However, the proof is in the pudding. Can you make these dishes when you get home? You betcha! The weekend following each class I tried my hand at the entire menu and we had four weekends of fabulous eating. I could never have whipped these meals up with such ease and perfection had in not been for Chef Joe. Once you have finished cooking, you dine with the chef and your fellow classmates, who by now are your new-found friends.

Whether you know how to cook or not, these classes are great for every level. There's lots of fun to be had and lots of learning to do. They also make a great gift! Check out Chef Joe's schedule. You are sure to find a class that's right for you.

Since I have personally made all the dishes from the Le Bistro classes I am dying to show off my skills. I will be blogging about each class individually next week, but until then check out this video from my four classes.

Potato Leek Soup

One thing Joey and I both want to do this year is lose weight. We all know it's "easy." All one needs to do is eat healthily and exercise. I wish there was a way to divide up those duties. I would gladly let Joey do the exercise part and I would do the eating. It seems totally fair to me. Of course that is not the case, so we need to do both together.

Another thing we want to do this year is save money. That ranks right up there with exercise for me. I have visions of myself waddling to The Dollar Store to buy discount SlimFast. At least I would have all my bases covered. Rather than do that I am going to focus on low-fat, inexpensive, healthy meals. I was shocked to find it surprisingly easy. There are a myriad of low-fat cookbooks out there and I have most of them! I recently purchased 1,000 Lowfat Recipes by Terry Blonder Golson and along with all the other great recipes is a fantastic soup chapter. I had a lot of potatoes and found this great recipe. Not only is it 123 calories per serving, it's completely nonfat. As with most soups you can make this well ahead of time and it can be served hot or chilled. Either way it's a light yet satisfying soup.

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped leeks, including the light green part, washed well and chopped
• 4 cups peeled, shredded all-purpose potatoes
• 6 cups reduced-sodium, defatted chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh chives
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt

Instructions

1. Simmer leeks, potatoes, broth, and salt in a pot for 30 minutes.
2. Add the chives and parsley.
3. Cook for 10 minutes more.
4. Season to taste.
5. Puree if a smoother soup is preferred.
6. Chill or serve immediately with a dollop of yogurt.

Notes

• I chopped my leaks first thing then soaked them in cold water while I gathered up all the other ingredients or ten minutes. Then rinsed and drained them. Leaks can have a lot of sand.
• If you intend to puree the soup, you can just cut the potatoes into small pieces, which faster than shredding them.
• I didn't have chicken broth so I used mushroom broth and vegetable broth. It was really tasty and is a great vegetarian way to make the soup.