1800's Sourdough Bread

[Teresa]

This is one of the most simplest sourdough breads to make.... it is the way that the pioneer women made it in the early 1800's.   It also makes a great  pizza crust.

The times will vary much more with sourdough than with commercial yeast, your starter may be more or less active than mine and temperatures will affect the time more than with regular yeast, but the extra time is well worth it.
I always start my sourdough the night before and bake on a day I'm going to be around most of the day.  Being slower though it will take longer than regular yeast dough.
If you want a more sour flavor..either proof your primary batter longer..( at least 12 hours )
or proof your starter longer.

2 cups sourdough starter
1 cup of warm water
about 5- 6 cups of flour
1 teasp. of salt ( salt will slow down the action of yeast, so don't be alarmed)
1 teasp. of lard or crisco (melted)
1 egg for a glaze (optional)

**** If it is cold and your kitchen just isn't warm.. I add about 1/2 teaspoon of regular yeast to the warm water, the night before.**

The night before baking, put the starter and the water in a large bowl, use one much larger than you will need, this will prevent escapes, if things work faster than you expect. 
Mix in one cup of flour..  cover and keep in a warm place. (I said warm,... if it gets too warm it will work faster.)

In the morning it should be foamy on the top, add a couple more cups of flour, lard and the salt, this should be enough to make a soft dough, but thicker than a batter, this is often called a sponge.

When this rises up a couple of inches, (1-3 hours) work in enough flour to make a stiff, almost dry dough, cover and let rise till double. (1-3 hours)   Punch down the dough and separate into 2 pieces.  Roll them out by hand into long loaves or the size desired.

Grease your pans.
Place these on a cookie sheet ( if you want and Italian/ French bread) or in bread pans if you want a softer, bigger loaf.
 
(Optional...Take the white of the egg and mix well with about 2 parts water with one part egg white.  This makes a glossy slightly browner crust.)

Let rise till double, coat again if desired and bake at 400 for about 35-45 minutes.  Let cool on the sheet before removing.


For Pizza crust, just roll it out after it rises till double.