Sourdough Baguette
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Still in a baking mood, I embarked on a mission to create an old-fashioned, dense sourdough bread, like back in the day. I turned to a 1973 fundraising cookbook published by the Southern Conference Educational Fund based in Louisville, KY.
From the acknowledgements:
“SCEF Recipes is published by the Southern Educational Fund, a Southside interracial organization which has been working since 1938 to end racial injustice, poverty and war through a program of organizing.”
The cookbook is filled with basic, economical whole foods recipes. Not vegan, but still worth browsing through for the little gems like this one contributed by Grambs Miller, artist and designer of the 1972 peace card.
San Francisco Sourdough Bread
Sour dough starter:
1 envelope dry yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups warm water (not hot)
Mix above ingredients in a 1 1/2 quart glass container. Cover with cheesecloth. Leave in warm room 48 hours, to collect airborne yeasts. Stir 2 or 3 times. It will ferment and bubble and have a sourish smell. Makes 3 cups.
The bread:
1 envelope dry yeast
1 cup warm water (not hot)
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups starter
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
In a large bowl sprinkle dry yeast over water, stir in sugar and starter and gradually add flour mixed with salt.
Cover bowl with damp towel and let rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours in a warm place. Turn dough onto floured board, work in about 1 cup flour until dough is no longer sticky, knead until satiny–about 5 minutes ( I used a dough hook).
Shape into 1 large round or 2 long loaves.
Set on cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Let rise again in warm place for 1 1/2 hours. Put shallow pan of water on lower shelf of a pre-heated 400-degree oven. Make diagonal slashes in bread with razor blade ( I brushed the tops with aquafaba and sprinkled sesame seeds).
Bake 40 to 50 minutes until crust is medium brown.
Let me just say that this bread was so good we couldn’t stop eating it. I put the second loaf in the freezer for next weekend, otherwise I knew we would take it down in no time!