"Ratliff, Betty" <betty.ratliff@mosescone.com> asked for a sourdough
recipe that works in a bread machine.
I suggest you purchase a copy of "More Bread Machine Magic" by Lois
Conway and Linda Rehberg. It has a 15 page section on bread machine
sourdough; some of the recipes are made completely in the the bread
machine, others only the dough, which is then baked in the oven.
I use a recipe I adapted from their first book (Bread Machine Magic)
and I don't add yeast to the dough. I make the dough in my bread
machine, shape it, let it rise in a warm place for 3-5 hours and
bake. Here's the recipe, with some liberties taken in interpretation.
In a non-metallic bowl (I use Pyrex) put:
1 cup 100% hydration starter (mine originally came from King Arthur)
5 oz filtered water
6 oz (1.5 cups) bread flour
Cover bowl loosely (I use plastic bowl covers; looks a bit like a
cheap, hotel-room shower cap). Set in warm place until bubbles form -
about like a pancake looks a bit before its ready to be
flipped. Then, dump into bread machine pan and add:
6 oz (1.5 cups) bread flour (I have successfully used all-purpose,
whole wheat and semolina)
(2 tbls wheat germ - if I'm making whole wheat.)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast (original recipe, I don't use)
Process on dough setting. When bread machine is finished, remove
dough, shape (original recipe called for baguette shape) and let rise
in warm place until doubled. Bake in 400F oven for 25-30 minutes.
Loaf:
Instead of baguette, I put my dough in a clay loaf pan from Sur la
Table; put the loaf pan on a dishcloth soaked in hot water, inside a
Rubbermaid "shoebox" size plastic container to rise. This provides a
warm, moist proofing environment. When raised by 50%, I open the
container, slash the loaf, close and let rise until doubled (the
dough is too delicate to slash at the end). Starting in a cold oven
(necessary because of the clay loaf pan), bake at 400F for 40-45 minutes.
NOTE: For 10 years, I made bread in my machine by measuring the flour in
cups and thought those who weighed the flour were nuts. I do believe
you can make great bread by how the dough feels and whether you
measure or weight doesn't much matter, you simply adjust the
flour/water mix until it feels right. BUT - with sourdough, I have
come to believe weighing IS necessary; thus, I have provided the
weight as well as cup measures.
Start with the Conway/Rehberg book, it is a great help; experiment,
learn and find your own way to a result you like. Flour is cheap.