I'm going to experiment with the sourdough starter I just brought back from Buffalo. My Aunt Marcia received the starter about 50 years ago while she was in Alaska. I thought my first attempt would be a no knead recipe since I've made the almost no-knead recipe weekly for quite a while now. I would love to have a nice sourdough alternative and after some searching online, I see the bread will be more sour if you leave it in the fridge for a couple days before rising at room temp.

1 cup wheat Flour
2 1/2 cups white bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups purified water
1/8 cup sourdough starter

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a plastic container with a lid or a bowl that you can wrap in plastic. Stir the starter into the water and then pour the wet into the dry ingredients and mix until it forms a shaggy ball. Put the cover on or wrap with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 days. After 2 days, take the bowl out of the fridge and let the dough rest at room temp for 18 hours. Sprinkle some flour or wheat germ on a tea towel and pour the dough onto it. Spread the dough out and fold it over itself 3 times so that it's a larger ball and cover it loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for an hour and a half. 30 minutes before baking time, turn the oven on to 500 degrees and place the dutch oven including the cover into the oven. After 30 minutes, the dough should not easily spring back when pressed and is ready for baking. Take the dutch oven out and drop the dough into it and replace the lid. Turn the oven down to 425 degrees and bake it covered for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake it for another 15-20 minutes until a tap on the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow.

Posted by Maggie at 09:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

ingredients:
2.5 cups All Purpose Flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 oz red food coloring
1.5 tbsp water
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp orange zest
1 cup buttermilk

icing: 3/4 cup unsalted butter, 1 lb cream cheese, 4 cups sifted confectioners sugar, 2 tbsp milk

Set oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans.
Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together twice. In a separate small bowl, whisk the cocoa, red food coloring, and water to form a paste, about 1 minute.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar, adding the sugar slowly - about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla and orange zest, beating for 15 seconds after each is added. Add the red cocoa paste and mix until incorporated.
Add the flour mixture to the butter in thirds, alternating with the buttermilk. To avoid overworking the batter, gently mix with a spatula after each addition. Once the ingredients are incorporated, beat the batter 2-3 times.
Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then release the edges with a knife and invert the cakes on a cooling rack. Let cool.

icing: beat butter with electric mixer 30 seconds until creamy. Add cream cheese and beat 1 minute until fluffy. Add the confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time, beating 30 seconds after each addition.

Ice the cake!

Posted by Maggie at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)