Pioneer Woman Sourdough Starter Recipes

SOURDOUGH BANANA MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light colored and fluffy. Add bananas and beat until they're well "mashed." Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined.Add sourdough starter and beat on low just until combined. Then add the flour mixture and beat again on low just until combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips.Divide batter evenly between the muffin tins. If muffin cups are on the small side, you may need to bake excess batter in a ramekin.Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.Cool in the muffin tin on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the muffins to loosen. Invert onto the cooling rack.Serve with good quality butter. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.Recipe adapted from my Sourdough Banana Bread recipe, which was adapted from a recipe from Pinch My Salt.

SOURDOUGH CRANBERRY ORANGE ROLLS

Steps:

• For the cranberry filling:In a small saucepan, place cranberries, orange juice, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes. Most of the liquid should have evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in the orange zest. Cool completely. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.For the dough:Warm the milk and 2 tablespoons butter over the stove. Set aside to cool a bit.In the bowl of a stand mixer, add egg, starter, sugar, flour, and salt. Pour the warm (not hot!) milk and butter mixture on top. With the paddle attachment, mix until a dough forms (this can take about 1 minute). You want the dough to be soft, but not overly sticky. Add more flour as needed.Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.Switch to the dough hook attachment and knead on medium-low to low speed for 8 minutes. The dough should be smooth and cohesive. Grease a medium-sized bowl with butter. Transfer the dough to the buttered bowl, turning once. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. Grab one "corner" of the dough, stretch it up, and pull it over towards the middle. Repeat for the other 3 "corners" of the dough.Cover and let rise overnight at room temperature until the dough has doubled in bulk. Since this is sourdough, it will take 8-12 hours to double, depending on how warm your kitchen is.After the initial rise, lightly butter a clean work surface and dust it with flour. Gently dump the dough out onto the work surface and deflate it by pulling the "corners" into the middle. Let rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Roll the dough into a 16x12-inch rectangle, dusting the dough and rolling pin with flour if needed to prevent sticking. Spread the dough with remaining 2 tablespoons of soft butter, leaving 1/2-inch around all the edges. Spread the cranberry filling evenly over the butter, leaving 1/2-inch around all the edges. Starting on the longer (16-inch) edge, roll up the dough gently but tightly. Cut the dough into nine 1 1/2-inch rolls using a serrated knife. Transfer the rolls to the parchment-lined baking dish. Cover and let rise for 2-4 hours, or until the rolls have visibly risen. They won't get crazy puffy, but they should increase in size.30 minutes before you plan to bake the rolls, preheat oven to 400°F . Once rolls are ready to bake, pop them into the oven for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven door, lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for 25-35 minutes more, or until the rolls are deep golden brown and the bready part registers 200°F on an instant read thermometer. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove, parchment paper and all, to a cooling rack to cool further.Once the rolls aren't too hot, frost them with the cream cheese drizzle:For the cream cheese orange drizzle:Place cream cheese, maple syrup, and orange zest in a small bowl. Beat until smooth. Gradually add enough orange juice to make a nice thickish drizzling consistency. Drizzle over the warm rolls. Serve warm with butter for spreading!Notes:• For the cranberry filling, you should use about 1/2 cup of liquid. If your orange doesn't yield quite 1/2 cup, you can fill the measuring cup the rest of the way with water.• Unfed sourdough starter means that it's bubbly, active, passes the float test, and has been fed about 8 hours in advance. It should also be 100% hydration, which means it was fed equal weights (not volumes) of water and flour. • I have used all all-purpose flour, and also half all-purpose, half bread flour. My favorite version was made with half bread flour, so use that if you have it!• There are several schedules that you can use to bake the rolls:Bake immediately: The morning before you plan to bake, feed your sourdough starter. 8 hours later (that evening), mix together the dough. Let it rise overnight. The next morning, fill and shape the rolls, let rise for 2-4 hours, and bake.Refrigerator rise: 2 nights before you plan to bake, feed your sourdough starter. The next morning, mix together the dough. Let rise 8 hours. In the evening, fill and shape the rolls and place in a pan. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, pull out of the fridge and let rise at room temp for 1-2 hours. Bake.Recipe for the dough adapted from Emilie Raffa of The Clever Carrot.

SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• For the sourdough feeder: Eight to 15 hours before mixing the levain, feed your starter by mixing the bread flour, water and old sourdough starter together in a medium bowl until smooth. Transfer to a storage container with a lid.
• For the levain: Mix the bread flour, water and ripe sourdough starter together with your hands in a medium bowl until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow to rest at room temperature for about 12 hours. The levain will be very dense and sticky.
• For the dough: Mix the water, levain, bread flour, whole wheat flour and salt with your hands in a large bowl until smooth and well combined. It will be slightly tacky. Transfer to another bowl that's been lightly coated in nonstick spray. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow to rise at room temperature until roughly 1 1/2 times its size, about 1 hour.
• Working in the bowl, stretch and fold the dough over itself on its 4 sides, and flip to seam-side down. Cover and allow to rest for about 30 minutes. Repeat this process 3 more times (for a total of 4 stretching, folding and resting turns). At this point, the dough should feel soft and pillowy, and spring back to the touch of your finger.
• To give the boule its final shape, start seam-side up. Grab the top portion of your dough (as if it were a "corner"), pull and fold into the center. Repeat with the remaining 3 corners of the dough. Flip it over and while pushing down, rotate in a circle bringing the dough towards and away from you. This creates tension and seals the bottom. It should be tight and spring back to your touch.
• Line a large bowl with a clean kitchen towel, then dust generously with bread flour. Place the boule seam-side up in the prepared bowl and allow to rise at room temperature until about 1 1/2 times its volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Cover and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Place a large Dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F. Place a piece of parchment paper flat on the counter.
• Flip the boule onto the parchment, seam-side down, and dust with flour. Using a serrated knife (or a baker's lame), score the top of the boule as desired. Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and transfer the boule on the parchment into the Dutch oven, using the edges of the parchment to lift.
• Bake, covered, for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to bake until the boule is dark brown, about 20 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• Day 1: Make sure neither your hands nor your containers have any traces of soap or detergent, which will prevent your starter from growing. Place grapes in a medium bowl and use your hands to crush them, reserving as much liquid as possible in the bowl. (You can also do this in a food processor.) Alternatively, purée the soaked raisins with the water in a food processor. Add the rye flour and mix with your fingers until all of the flour is wet and fully incorporated. Place in a small lidded container. Cover and let rest at room temperature until Day 3 (48 hours).
• Days 3-6: Place 100 grams (¼ cup + 2½ tablespoons) of the Day 1 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 100 grams (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 100 grams (¾ cup + 1½ tablespoons) dark rye flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 24 hours.Repeat this step of feeding 100 grams of the previous day's starter every 24 hours, for a total of 4 feedings.
• Days 7-9: Place 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) of the Day 6 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 75 grams (½ cup + 1½ teaspoons) whole wheat flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 24 hours.Repeat this step of feeding 75 grams of the previous day's starter every 24 hours, for a total of 3 feedings.
• Days 10-20: Place 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) of the Day 9 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 75 grams (¼ cup + ½ tablespoon) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 75 grams (½ cup + 1½ teaspoons) whole wheat flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature 12 hours. Repeat this step of feeding 75 grams of the previous day's starter every 12 hours-that's twice a day-for a total of 22 feedings.
• Days 21-24: Place 50 grams (3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) of the Day 20 starter into a container; discard the remaining starter. Add 100 grams (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) water, and stir to combine thoroughly. Add 150 grams (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) whole wheat flour and stir again until there's no visible flour. Cover and let rest at room temperature 6 hours.At this point, it's preferable to refrigerate the starter for 60 more hours before using it to bake bread, for additional fermentation. But it will be fine to use after 6 additional hours at room temperature (i.e., 12 hours after final feeding). Congratulations, you have created the "mother" starter!
• Maintaining your starter: By "stiffening the mother," you can slow down fermentation while maintaining a healthy ecosystem for your starter.Once every 3 days, remove the starter from the refrigerator and leave at room temperature for 6 hours. Place 50 grams (3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) of the existing starter into a container; discard the rest. Feed the starter using the same proportions as Day 21: 100 grams (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) water, and 150 grams (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) whole wheat flour. Cover and let rest for 6 hours, then return to the refrigerator. If you're going to be away for more 9 days, you need to slow the growth of the starter. Remove from refrigerator place 100 grams (¼ cup + 2 ½ tablespoons) of starter into a container; discard the rest. Let it sit at room temperature for 6 hours; then add 350 grams (1¼ cup + 3½ tablespoon) water and 750 grams (5¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) of whole wheat flour. Mix well to incorporate. Refrigerate for up to 9 days. If you're going away for up to 9 days, have a friend feed it according to the 3-day feeding schedule. (Think of your starter as you would a pet: it's a living creature that must be fed and watered regularly!)

THE BREAD, IN HIS WORDS

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients together in the KitchenAid stand mixer with the dough hook (it can be done by hand...it just takes longer).I mixed them together for about 10 minutes or so until I could successfully achieve a windowpane with the dough. This is where you can pull off a small chunk of the dough you're kneading and stretch it gently to see if it is somewhat translucent. If you can do this without it tearing, it's ready.Preheat oven to 450 degrees.After the dough starts rising, it should be kneaded for a minute or two so that the yeast can redistribute. Form it into a dome and place in a covered cast iron pan after coating it with olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt. Cut a large 'X' into the surface of the bread dough so it can bloom!Bake on the center rack of your over for 30 minutes with the lid on, them remove the lid to finish it off for another 15 to 30 minutes.

SOURDOUGH NAAN

Steps:

• Place all of the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. Give it a brief stir with a whisk or wooden spoon to make a shaggy dough. Attach to the base of the stand mixer and fit with the dough hook. Knead on medium-low speed for 8 minutes. Cover and allow to ferment and rise for 6-8 hours, or until doubled in bulk.Preheat a cast iron skillet over high heat. If you have 2 cast iron skillets, get them both going to cut down on cooking time.Place the risen dough onto a well-floured work surface. Form into 12-16 balls, depending on how large you want the final naan to be. Roll each ball into a circle that's 1/8-inch thick and about 6 inches across. Place a circle of dough onto the preheated skillet. Cook for 2 minutes, or until the bottom is deeply browned. Flip and cook for 2 more minutes, or until the bottom is very dark (almost black) in places. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining dough.Serve warm or at room temperature. Note: An active sourdough starter is one that has been fed 8-12 hours previously and is active and bubbly. I keep my sourdough starter at 100% hydration, which means I feed it equal weights (not volumes) of water and flour.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• In large non-metallic bowl, mix together dry yeast, 2 cups warm water, and 2 cups all purpose flour and cover loosely.
• Leave in a warm place to ferment, 4 to 8 days. Depending on temperature and humidity of kitchen, times may vary. Place on cookie sheet in case of overflow. Check on occasionally.
• When mixture is bubbly and has a pleasant sour smell, it is ready to use. If mixture has a pink, orange, or any other strange color tinge to it, THROW IT OUT! and start over. Keep it in the refrigerator, covered until ready to bake.
• When you use starter to bake, always replace with equal amounts of a flour and water mixture with a pinch of sugar. So, if you remove 1 cup starter, replace with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour. Mix well and leave out on the counter until bubbly again, then refrigerate. If a clear to light brown liquid has accumulated on top, don't worry, this is an alcohol base liquid that occurs with fermentation. Just stir this back into the starter, the alcohol bakes off and that wonderful sourdough flavor remains! Sourdough starters improve with age, they used to be passed down generation to generation!
• Use this starter to make the Sourdough Chocolate Cranberry Cake, and the Sourdough Chocolate Cake.