I'm kinda obsessed with sourdough right now. I'm talking about the homemade fermented kind. All natural yeast, no commercial store bought yeast here. To make these you have to plan a head. I bought a sourdough starter online and it took about 7 days to ferment and become active enough to use for baking.
Once you have your mature sourdough starter, let the fun begin! I've made pancakes, english muffins, doughnuts, and bread with mine; and I've only had it a few weeks.
Why is sourdough better for you than regular bread?
"Real" sourdough, the kind that is fermented (most of the stuff in the store is not real) is much easier to digest than regular bread and starches. The natural yeast in the sourdough naturally breaks down the gluten in the flour. A lot of people that are gluten intolerant can actually tolerate real sourdough. It is also chock full of good bacteria, that are essential for a healthy digestive tract. I also love the history behind it. Sourdough is a bread that has been eaten for century's. There are sourdough starters that have been passed down for hundreds of years. The one I used was from Lyon France and has been passed down for generations.
A little history about sourdough, and
5 Good Reasons To Eat Sourdough
Thanks to Real Food Forager
Originating in Ancient Egypt around 1500 BC, sourdough was probably the first form of leavening available. Sourdough remained the usual form of leavening into the European Middle Ages. Later on it was replaced by barm from the beer brewing process, and then purpose-cultured yeast.
Sourdough leavening is a traditional preparation of grains
Bread made from 100 percent rye flour, which is very popular in the northern half of Europe, is usually leavened with sourdough. We actually know that the people in the isolated Lötschental Valley in Switzerland, who were studied by Dr. Price, made huge loaves of sourdough rye that went through a two week fermentation process.
The fermentation process removes phytates and enzyme inhibitors
Sourdough is a dough containing a Lactobacillus culture, usually in symbiotic combination with yeasts. However, the lactobacillus is much greater in proportion to the yeast. In comparison with yeast-based breads, sourdough produces a distinctively tangy or sour taste, mainly because of the lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli.
Ancestral Pre-Ferment
The actual medium, known as starter or levain, is in essence an ancestral form of pre-ferment. It is not uncommon for a baker’s starter dough to have years of history, from many hundreds of previous generations. Sourdough was the main bread made in Northern California during the California Gold Rush. The bread was so common that sourdough became a general nickname for the gold prospectors.
Sourdough fermentation was carried into Alaska and the western Canadian territories during the Klondike Gold Rush. Conventional leavenings such as yeast and baking soda were not reliable in the conditions faced by the prospectors. Miners and other settlers carried a pouch of starter either around their neck or on a belt in order to protect the cultures from freezing.
5 Benefits to Sourdough Preparation
1- Increases beneficial lactic acid
The longer rise time needed for sourdough increases the lactic acid and creates an ideal pH for the enzyme phytase. This enzyme breaks down phytates (read more about the dangers of phytic acid here) more effectively than in yeast breads. Sourdough rye has the least amount of phytates (somehow the Swiss culture mentioned above must have known this) making it a healthier bread.
2- Predigestion of starches
The bacteria and yeast in the sourdough culture work to predigest the starches in the grains, thus making it more easily digestible to the consumer.
3- Breakdown of gluten
Here again, the longer soaking and rising times in the preparation of sourdough breaks the protein gluten into amino acids, making it more digestible.
4- Preservative
The acetic acid which is produced along with lactic acid, helps preserve the bread by inhibiting the growth of mold.
5- Better blood glucose regulation
There has been some research suggesting that sourdough bread — sourdough white bread — showed positive physiological responses. The subjects’ blood glucose levels were lower after eating sourdough white bread compared to whole wheat, whole wheat with barley and plain white bread. Interestingly, the subjects tested after eating whole wheat bread fared the worse — with spiking blood glucose levels.
Additionally, the researchers found that the positive response lasted through the next meal and for several hours after that. They concluded that what you have for breakfast will influence how the body responds to the next meal.
Another good read about the many health benefits of sourdough:
Kitchen Stewardship
So back to the english muffins. A little bit of work...yes, but honestly not that much. Its really more of needing to prepare before hand. Once you try these you will never want to eat the store bought ones again!
Here is the recipe I used
Thanks to The Fresh Loaf
Sourdough English Muffins
1/2 C starter (mine is a 100% hydration white starter)
1 C milk
2-3/4 C all purpose flour
1 TBSP sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Semolina or cornmeal, for dusting
Combine starter, 2 C of flour and milk in a large bowl. Stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap, and leave out for 8 hours or overnight.
After the overnight rest, add the sugar, salt and baking soda and mix well. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 4-5 minutes. Roll out to 3/4" and cut with a biscuit cutter into rounds. You can re roll the scraps, but you may need to let the dough rest before cutting more muffins from them.
Side note; I used my scraps to make a pizza crust. I let it rise the 45 min then topped it with sauce and cheese. Baked in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 min. It was really good and super easy!
Place muffins on a piece of parchment dusted with semolina and let rest for 45 minutes.
Coat the griddle with oil, I used a drizzle of olive oil. Heat to medium and cook muffins for about 6-8 minutes on each side, or until browned on the top and bottom and cooked through. (I cooked mine about 2 min each side).
I have eaten them with butter and honey, butter and jam, and butter and cinnamon sugar! Yum!
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