Rustic Sourdough Bread

So quite awhile back I made a sourdough starter. I was all excited to use it, but instead I stuck it in my fridge and forgot about it! (oops!). So I pulled it out last week and made some sourdough bread. I have to admit I was pretty nervous about making the bread. Yeah... my sourdough starter looked and smelled right, but I had read all these stories online about how hard it is to get sourdough bread to come out right. But, I decided to be brave and just make it, and I am sooo glad I did, because my bread came out great.

I got my recipe for the bread from the King Arthur's Flour website. When I was on there I noticed that they sell sourdough starters. So if you want to attempt sourdough that might be a good way to start. But if you want to do it all by yourself- I got my sourdough recipe from this sight: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/SourdoughStarter.htm

And if you do try making sourdough bread... please let me know how it comes out!


1 cup "fed" sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 cups King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour (or whatever brand you use)

1. Combine all ingredients, kneading to form a smooth dough.
2. Allow the dough to rise, in a covered bowl, until it's doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
3. Gently shape the dough into two oval loaves. Place the loaves on a lightly greased  or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise until very puffy, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Spray the loaves with lukewarm water.
5. Make two fairly deep diagonal slashes in each.
6. Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, until it's a very deep golden brown. Remove bread from oven and cool on a rack.

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