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| To match Most Wines and even the Morning... Semolina Sourdough A corny, eggy, soy-semolina, satisfyingly succulent sougdough - I n g r e d i e n t s - Sourdough Starter - 1 1/2 cups Non-Fat Milk - 2 cups, one of which is scalded Organic Polenta - 4 heaping Tablespoons Organic Yellow Corn Meal - 1 heaping Tablespoon Semolina Flour - 2 cups Egg Substitute - 3/4 cup Soy Flour - 1 cup White unbleached Flour - 1 cup Brown Sugar - 2 to 3 heaping Tbls. Coarse Sea Salt - 1 rounded Tbls. Non-stick Spray - T o o l s - One large mixing bowl about 14 to 16 inches in diameter Pyrex and regular Measuring cups - Tablespoon Rubber scrapper with a stout handle 3 Medium round ramekin-like baking dishes or cake pans Spray bottle that is only used to spray water - Cooling rack Reading the 'Big Picture for Sourdough' page - T h e B i g P i c t u r e - Semolina is a very high gluten, high protein flour, usually used for pasta. I couldn't resist that big bag of it sitting on the self, so I just said Yes. The yellow color of it suggested the polenta, corn meal, soy flour, and egg substitute to me, so I just said Yes again to all those yellow-y things. Although I use my 'increase' way of letting the yeast and bacteria multiply, this loaf doesn't get very sour. And it's sticky too. Don't try to knead it with your hands, use the stout spatula. If don't have the right baking dishes, try cake pans or even pie pans, it just spreads out too much if you use a cookie sheet. The important thing in the 'recipe' is to feel free to adjust the amount of corn and its grind so it has the right rustic loaf feel, but it's not classic steamy sweet corn bread, which is a great bread too, it just has a different use. - T h e I n c r e a s e - In the morning, take your big mixing bowl and start with the nonfat Milk. Get a large pyrex measuring cup that holds at least 2 cups. Measure out 1 cup of nonfat milk and put it in the microwave to scald it. Once it almost comes to a boil, take it out of the microwave, dump it into the bowl and add the second cup of cold milk to cool it down. This extra step changes the flavor of the milk and makes it a little more homey. Continue to let it cool until it is below 80 F. Once cooled, mix in the 1 1/2 cups of Sourdough Starter. This may or may not be a necessary step, but I rehydrate the polenta by adding the 4 heaping Tbls of Polenta to a pyrex measuring cup, and then just cover the grain with water. Put the wet polenta in the microwave on defrost and let it hydrate for a minute or so, come back in another few minutes, stir it, and give it another minute or so of defrost. Let it cool a little and add it to the bowl with 1 Tbls of Yellow Corn Meal, feel free to adjust the ratio or corn meal to polenta to your liking. To the increase, add 1 cup of Semolina Flour, reserving the second cup until later. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover with the clean kitchen towel. Set aside at cool room temperature for 3 to 5 hours. - T o t h e B a k i n g D i s h e s - I generally figure the 'increase' is ready when a few bubbles come to the surface. There a lot of flexibility on how long to leave it in the increase phase. With stout spatula in hand, mix in the remaining ingredients: 3/4 cup of Egg Substitute, 2 cups Soy Flour, the second cup of Semolina Flour, and 2 to 3 heaping Tbls of Brown Sugar. Mix this in well for a few minutes, as if you were kneading it. Then when it has first developed a gluttonous elasticity to it, add the 1 Tbls of Coarse Sea Salt. Sprinkle a little on, fold it in, sprinkle a little more, fold, etc., don't over mix. Spray your 3 medium sized baking dishes/pans with oil. I do not think using muffin pans for this recipe is a good idea because the bread texture is not fluffy enough for the signal a muffin shape gives. This is a rustic loaf. Put about an inch and a half of dough into each pan and set it in a warm place to rise. When it has noticeably risen, or now it's about two and half inches tall, pre-heat the oven to 375 F. Put them in at any point the oven is above 300 F and set the timer for 20 minutes. - I n t h e O v e n - Make your first assessment after 20 minutes. Spray them with water if they are looking too dry or too dark. Take them out for further investigation when they have browned. Using the smallest loaf, if they are not all the same size, take it out of the oven and give it a nice thump with the side of your thumb, and if it's done, it will give a nice hollow sound to your thump. If you are not quite sure if they are done, leave them in a little longer. For the larger loaves, the better error is on the over-baked side. - O u t of the O v e n , and . . . - The moment you take them out of the oven, give them a generous misting from your dedicated water spray bottle. In three or four minutes, take them out of thier baking dishes and put them on a cooling rack. Mist the bottoms of the loaves and turn them upright in a few minutes to continue cooling. If one of the loaves is on the small size, I'm sure you cannot resist a slice. That's fine. However wait until the second day to form your opinion to increase or decrease the amount of corn in the loaves. Waiting until the second day is also better for freezing them. All of these rustic offerings freeze quite well, don't hesitate to cut the loaves in half, wrap them up and then stick them in marked freezer bags. This way you can two or three different recipes available as you bring them in out of the cold. A simple match for this bread and gracious amounts of AHH would be... An egg-beater's omelet with a little diced tomato, mushroom or two, and seasoned with a modest amount of mild chili powder or... served with dry, aged, exotic cheeses like old Gouda, or Pecorino or... cassoulet. Next Page |