Let's talk SOURDOUGH!

Oh, Mother....

After a year of nursing along my last sourdough "mother," I finally used it up and freed my mind to wrap up my Engineering Science degree. It seems it was enough for me to just keep my many houseplants watered and tended to, along with my two fur-babies who seem to need far more attention these past few months. But I graduated in May and I am SO eager to get into baking again, and exploring the vast number of sourdough recipes available on the internet!

My last starter was created from this fun recipe at Paul Hollywood's blog

 Paul Hollywood's Apple Sourdough Starter

I love this recipe because it starts with an organic apple and has a deliciously sweet apple essence all the way through the process, from developing the starter to baking the bread.

~There is another good one in the Feb/Mar Issue of MaryJane's Farm Magazine~

[Click here to purchase Magazines]

Mary Jane's sourdough process is fun and easy to follow. I have started this "mother" two different times and have been very successful with it. 

In the early phases of these sourdough starters you'll be feeding the dough regularly. Paul Hollywood's recipe calls for dividing and discarding starter regularly in the initial phases. 

When following this process you'll be dividing the starter BEFORE feeding it, which will keep your dough from growing to epic proportions, but causes a dilemma for those of us who hate to waste. Instead of throwing out that "discard" portion, try some of these One-Cup wonder recipes!

Sourdough Discard Scones Recipe

[Printable Recipe Cards]

My favorite is the scones with dried cranberries, but I enjoyed all four of these.

I also developed a basic dog treat recipe which is how I used up the remainder of my "mother" when it became more than I could keep up with. Basically, I added bone broth (approx 1/2 cup) and mashed sweet potato, then enough quick oats to make a workable dough. I rolled it out to about 1/4 inch thickness and then just used a pizza roller/cutter and sliced it both directions to make 1 inch square pieces. I baked these at 250 degrees until they were crisp (30-45 min). It's important to make sure they are dried thoroughly and crisp otherwise they will become moldy before you can use them up. Feel free to add other ingredients such as diatomaceous earth (for worms or intestinal parasite control)  or nutritional yeast (for overall health and shiny coat). This is an "organic" recipe that can grow or change as you need, just balance the broth and oats to get the dough consistency that will be workable.

Truffles Galore!

My birthday was last week and I had two evening meetings to attend, so I decided to treat both groups to homemade chocolate truffles. I have never tried to make these before because I assumed them to be tricky or difficult. How wrong I was. They are ridiculously EASY! 

Here's my favorite truffle recipe, created from basic ganache:

10oz. dark chocolate, chopped up

2 T butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 T Kahlua 

Place chocolate in heavy glass mixing bowl. In small saucepan, bring cream and butter to a boil over medium heat. Immediately pour cream over chocolate and whisk until smooth. I like to do this by hand. Add Kahlua and whisk until very smooth. Allow ganache to cool on the countertop and then chill briefly in refrigerator, just enough to make it easy to handle. 

Roll ganache into balls of approximately 1" diameter. Drop into cocoa powder and swirl till coated. Place truffles onto a sheet covered with parchment or wax paper and chill thoroughly. 

Store truffles in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

For other flavors, try replacing the Kahlua in this recipe with:

• 2 T strawberry jam and 1 t vanilla
• 2 T instant coffee dissolved in 2 teaspoons of warm water
• 2 T Baileys Irish Cream
• 1 T vanilla

Also experiment with other coatings:

• Powdered sugar
• Chopped almonds or pecans
• Crushed cookies (peanut butter, Oreos, Nilla wafers)
• Melted chocolate, for dipping to coat