No-Knead Sourdough Bread

I found this recipe on the website www.Breadtopia.com. Eric has a wonderful video on making this bread. I was intrigued and decided to give it a try. I made the sponge yesterday afternoon and have let it proof over night. Since the house is cool, I let it proof in my oven with the oven light on. It is an extremely wet dough, so you need a lot of flour to work with this. Right now the dough is doing it's last 1 1/2 hour rise. So we will see what happens. I am not used to working with such wet dough. Eric does have a lot of neat variations that I am anxious to try, so I am hoping this works out. Of course, I can use those variations in my other bread recipes.

On another note, I made the Portuguese Sweet Bread again this week. Instead of dividing the dough into 3 loaves, I made only 2. The dough almost spilled over the sides of the bread pan and made really HUGE loaves of bread (great for sandwiches!). I think next time, I will go back to 3 loaves.

Verdict - Portuguese Sweet Bread

I am very pleased with how this bread turned out. Good texture, tastes great. I divided the dough into 3 loaves. Next time, I will make only 2 loaves because the loaves seemed a little small - no big deal. This recipe is very versatile - can be used as a bread, dinner rolls or buns. Definitely a keeper!

Portuguese Sweet Bread

Today I am trying a new recipe I got from Mark Sinclair (Back Home Bakery in Montana). I promised Mark that I would not share the recipe. I made the sponge last night and will be adding it to the other ingredients in about an hour or two. The sponge has to proof for 12 to 16 hours. I checked on it the first thing this morning and it is rising beautifully - so far, so good!

I also got another recipe from Mark - Sour Rye Bread. The recipe calls for Dark Rye flour. So I will have to check a few of my sources on the Internet to see if they carry Dark Rye. Most of the retail stores here carry "Medium" Rye flour. I am sure that would be OK, but the Dark Rye has a stronger flavor. I have started working on a Rye Sourdough Starter, which should be ready to use next week. Again, I promised Mark I won't share this recipe, but if you would like a loaf of either of these breads, just give me a holler.

Cinnamon Rolls Verdict

They look good. I will definitely shorten the bake time to 35 minutes, they did seem a little too brown. Also, on a couple of the rolls, the cinnamon/sugar mixture melted a little causing the bun to stick to the parchment paper. Raisin would be a definitely plus to add to the cinnamon/sugar mixture..

Normally, I use Peter Reinhart's Cinnamon Roll Recipe in his book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I think his recipe is better than this, but I will have to see what my local critics say (Bob and Nathan, my son).

Cinnamon Rolls

I am trying something new today thanks to my good friend in Oklahoma - Old Camp Cook- cinnamon rolls using sourdough. The sourdough starter is called Spuds - made using mash potato flakes. It makes a very "sweet" sourdough bread. I have been feeding the starter for over a week, so it is very active.

The recipe I am using is Old Camp Cook's basic sourdough recipe.

Bob's Basic Sourdough Recipe

Sugar - 2/3 cup (222 grams)
Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup (120 grams)
1 teaspoon salt (8 grams)
1 cup active starter (273 grams)
1-1/2 cups warm water (364 grams)
6 cups bread flour (810 grams)

I combine all the ingredients to make the dough and let it "proof" overnight. Normally, I put the dough into an oiled plastic bowl, cover the top with saran wrap and a dry dish towel. I place the container in my oven with the oven light on. By morning, the dough has doubled.

I divided the dough into two equal balls, flour my countertop, and knead the dough balls for about a minute. With a rolling pin, I roll the dough into a rectangle, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (6 1/2 T sugar, 1 1/2 T cinnamon). Roll the dough into a jelly roll and cut about 1" "rolls". I have two baking sheets covered with parchment paper. I evenly space the rolls, cover with a dry dish towel and let them rise for about 1 1/2 hours. I will then bake them at 325 for about 35 to 40 minutes. I will take pictures of the finished product.