Sourdough bread

By EMILY GRILLO

I started making this sourdough bread recipe back in elementary school. We were learning about the movement of early settlers to the west. Without refrigeration, their milk would sour. They never wasted anything because they had so little. Hence the invention of the delicious and tangy sourdough bread with their soured milk.

The starter

1 cup milk

1 cup unbleached flour

Let the milk stand in a warm room for 24 hours. Stir the flour into the souring milk. Leave for two to five days in a warm room.

The bread

1 cup starter

6 cups all-purpose flour

1 package dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar or honey

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 egg (optional) for glazing

Mix yeast with ½ cup warm water. Add sugar/honey and stir until dissolved. Set aside 10 minutes.

Sift 4 cups of flour into a bowl. Add salt and baking soda. Stir in 1 cup of the starter and mix bread dough. Move dough to an oiled bowl and cover with a warm damp towel. Let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

Take the dough and add the remaining cup of flour into the mixture and the other to a kneading board. Knead well for 10 minutes. Put the dough back into an oiled bowl and let rise for 2 more hours with a warm damp towel.

Brush the risen loaf with a beaten egg. Bake for 50 minutes. Loaves are done when medium brown.