"Falling" for Sourdough!

This apron was a birthday present from my husband! I love it!

I haven't posted anything for a couple of months, but I haven't stopped baking! I've been trying out several new recipes and want to share some with you today. Fall is one of my favorite seasons, and many of my chosen recipes reflect that. I love pumpkin, apples, and chocolate during this time of year, though chocolate is a favorite all year round. I've also been adding rolled oats to some new bread recipes, making them both tasty and healthy! A family member is watching his salt intake, so I experimented with a low-salt traditional sourdough loaf. It turned out well—not as flavorful as a typical loaf, but the texture was great, and adding low-salt toppings enhanced the overall taste while keeping the salt low.

Let's begin with a fantastic apple muffin recipe known as Sourdough Apple Fritter Muffins. I discovered this recipe on the website friendinknead.com. https://www.friendinknead.com/post/sourdough-apple-fritter-muffins/

It's quite simple to prepare and doesn't need any fermentation time unless you choose to refrigerate the batter overnight. It features a delicious crumble topping and an optional vanilla drizzle, which I highly recommend. You can find this recipe in the recipe section of my blog.

Sourdough Apple Fritter Muffins

The parchment cupcake liners I use are particularly useful for larger muffins or those with a crumble topping, like this one. I've purchased them from amazon.com or kingarthurbaking.com. They typically come in bulk and are quite affordable. I believe they give your muffins or cupcakes a "bakery" appearance.

Next, I tested a recipe I discovered on loskitchenco.com. It's named Sourdough Honey Oat Bread. The recipe yielded 2 loaves, so I gave one to our neighbors. I received enthusiastic feedback from the children. One child remarked, "she is the bestest bread baker," and another said, "she should open a bakery." High praise indeed. ☺️ The bread turned out wonderfully and is perfect for sandwiches, toast, or just as a snack.

This bread tasted great, sliced well and didn't last for the freezer, although I'm sure it would freeze well.

https://loskitchenco.com/2023/06/26/sourdough-honey-oat-bread/

You can find the recipe at the link above or in the recipe section of my blog.

This recipe uses discard and involves two rising periods. The first rise is in the bowl for about an hour, and the second rise is in the bread pan for 30 minutes before baking. Remember, the second rise is crucial for achieving a light, "raised" loaf.

The next recipe I tried was the Rustic Low Sodium Sourdough Bread from lowsodiumbigflavor.com. It begins with 15 grams of your starter (ready to be fed), which you nourish with a combination of bread flour, rye or whole wheat flour, and room temperature water. This mixture needs to "feed" for about 4 hours in total. The dough requires some hands-on attention, with folding every 15 or 30 minutes for a total of 4+ folds. After that, it should rise at room temperature for around 4 hours before being placed in your proofing basket for an overnight rise. Not entirely confident in my "starter," I added about 1/2 teaspoon of yeast to ensure a good rise. I wasn't sure if that was necessary since the starter was bubbly, but just to be cautious...

I made this loaf with whole wheat flour rather than rye. I think it turned out better.

The bread came out wonderfully, rising well. It's airy and tastes good, even without the usual amount of salt. I know some Italian breads are made without any salt, so you might want to give this recipe a try occasionally, even if you're not restricting your salt intake. This recipe is in the recipe section of my blog also.

I will finish with a recipe for delicious sourdough brownies. These brownies are simple to make and remarkably fudge-y and flavorful. The original recipe is designed for an 8-inch pan, but it can be effortlessly doubled for a 13x9-inch pan. I recommend lining the pan with parchment paper because the brownies are gooey. For tidy, neat slices, chill the cooled brownies before cutting them into serving portions.

I made the double batch, these are just a few of the yummy brownies!

Well that's it for now. I made sourdough apple cider donuts (baked) this past weekend. They were delicious and great for fall. More about those in my next post. At this moment I am waiting for my starter to ripen so I can try a cranberry pecan artisan sourdough bread. I think it sounds great and will go nicely with the snacks I am preparing for a Mahjong event I'm hosting. I will let you know how that turns out. Until next time...

Just a little teaser...☺️