Carl Griffith's 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter

Joan's Banneton Loaf -- Details

	1. Carl's starter (bubbling away in a plastic container -- no special sourdough crock) which I keep either in plastic or glass containers.
	2. A basic sourdough white bread recipe (flour, water, sourdough culture, bit of salt, sugar, small amount of olive oil) which has been kneaded in the Cuisinart with dough blade. The consistency is almost like yeast bread dough. Pliable but just a bit more slack than a yeast dough. Of course one can hand knead this dough too. I have even used a bread machine to mix the dough.
	3. The dough placed in the floured banneton to rise. I often place the banneton with dough in a large plastic closed cake container letting it rise in a warm place in my house. The moisture stays in and I can see the rising process through the container. Other times I put the banneton in a large turkey roasting bag to rise.
	4. The dough risen to just the top of the banneton. Remember the dough will be flipped over onto a cornmeal sprinkled oven stone. The top will be the bottom of the loaf and the bottom will then be the top with the markings of the banneton. The tricky part is not having the dough deflate when turned out onto to the stone. Over risen dough or too soft dough's have the tendency to deflate. I often have some kind of an oven spring with the white bread recipes. Good luck!! This 100% sourdough (no yeast) took about 9 hours to reach this stage as you see it. It was rising in a warm room .
	5. This is the intriguing part: The risen dough inverted from the banneton onto the cornmeal-dusted oven stone. Hopefully there will be only minimal deflation! Note the markings from the flour. Any excess flour may be brushed off from the baked loaf if desired.
	6. The baked bread. Note the floured markings of the banneton. The outside crust will be chewy and the insides moist. A nice contrast. I often use a water mister to mist the bread while it is baking.
	7. The bread sliced. Note the texture. Neither too fine grained nor too coarse. Just right for sourdough white. Of course the texture of the bread you bake depends on your recipe, ingredients, techniques, time and temperature factors etc.. Make the bread the way you like it!! This recipe uses Carl's starter and the taste is definitely a moderate sour flavor.

Banneton White Bread

• 1 cup thick active bubbly sourdough starter
• 3 cups bread flour (more for the counter)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 to 2 Tbs. olive oil
• Enough bottled water, warm (varies related to each recipe : humidity, sourdough culture, quality of flour, etc.)

Procedure

• Place culture, flour, salt, sugar, oil into Cuisinart with plastic dough blade.
• Using the plastic dough blade I turn on the machine and gradually add enough water (via feed tube) until a soft, pliable dough ball forms.
• I machine process for about 3 to 5 minutes. I may need to add a bit more of flour if the dough seems too wet when felt with my fingers.
• If using dough hooks in a stand mixer or a dough mix cycle of the bread machine, the important thing is to achieve the quality of a well mixed, pliable, non sticky dough similar to a yeast based textured bread dough. The above is what I do though one may achieve similar results by using any method one may choose.
• I then turn the dough out to a lightly floured surface and hand knead a few minutes longer. I form the dough into a round ball. The dough is placed seam side up in the banneton because when inverted the smooth bottom with floured impressions now becomes the top of the loaf.
• The prepared bread dough is simply risen in the floured banneton until it reaches the top of the banneton. 100% sourdough takes many hours whereas yeast included breads take much less time to rise. Prevent over rising which causes a dough which easily deflates.
• When properly risen, the dough is carefully inverted onto a baking stone. (The risen boule is delicate so I recommend to avoid the possibility of deflating it, by lifting it into the oven on the surface, like a baking sheet or stone, on which it will rest during baking. Experienced bakers may prefer to bake on a preheated stone, using a cornmeal-dusted peel to receive the risen boule from the banneton and to convey it onto the hot stone.)
• Bake the bread on the middle rack, at 425-450°F., about 25 to 30 minutes or until well browned. Mist bread with water if desired during baking. (Some people prefer to put a small pan filled with water on the bottom of the oven or bottom oven rack or throw in a few ice cubes into an empty pan -- all which generate steam and also help achieve a good crust.)
• Use a peel or oven mitts to remove bread carefully to a rack to cool. Let cool completely before slicing. Slicing a warm loaf will compress it's airy structure. Bread freezes well.

Joan Ross 21MAR2002

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