I gave up! I had been searching for a sourdough multigrain seed bread recipe for about 3 months to absolutely no avail. And yes, there are lots of recipes out there. But many call for ingredients that I simply don’t have on hand. Or ever want to include in my recipes. Or are way too healthy for the likes of me and mine. Or vegan. Or gluten free. Or whatever!!! My objection list could fill this whole page. I just wanted a straight forward, simple recipe that included basic ingredients I almost always had on hand. Was that too much to ask? Apparently – yes it was! (And yes, I was being lazy and wanted the perfect recipe just handed to me. Waahh………….)

So yesterday I stopped researching recipes and decided to don my mad scientist’s hat instead. After all, I’d been baking and messing with bread recipes since the early 70s. So why not just take a chance. Start with a basic recipe, add ingredients with sheer abandon, and see what happens? Well, what happened is the recipe you find below. And in all honesty, I wouldn’t change a thing about this bread. Really flavorful, lovely crumb, moist but still slices beautifully, and perfect for either toast in the morning or to imprison the likes of meat, cheese, mustard, and mayonnaise for lunch. In other words – I got lucky!

And the beauty of my sourdough bread is that you can start it in the morning and bake it off later that same day. (That’s what a small inclusion of active dry yeast brings to the table, or in this case, the oven!)

So if you too are looking to build a sourdough sandwich bread that is easy to prepare, includes healthy ingredients, and tastes like it came from an exclusive bakery, then give this recipe a try. And change up the seeds, or add more seeds, if that is your desire. Matters not. We just happen to love fennel seeds, so I threw in a couple of teaspoons for good measure. But poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, or flax seeds would also be delicious. Or some of all the above. Live it up! It’s your bread after all.

So as always – happy baking, stay safe, laugh outrageously every chance you get, and never let down your quest to make the lives of those around you just a little bit better by your presence. Virtual hugs from Chez Carr.

1 c. sourdough starter

¾ tsp. active dry yeast

2/3 c. slightly warm water

2 T. honey

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp. fine sea salt

2 T. flax meal

2 T. rye flour

¼ c. whole wheat flour

½ c. whole oats

2½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more if needed

¼ c. sunflower seeds

2 T. sesame seeds, plus more for top

2 tsp. fennel seeds

Combine the sourdough starter, dry yeast, water, honey, and olive oil in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Add the salt, flax meal, rye flour, whole wheat flour, oats, and 2 cups of the unbleached all-purpose flour to the liquid ingredients. Using your bread hook, mix just until combined. Add the seeds and enough of the remaining unbleached all-purpose flour to make a dough that is still a bit tacky to the touch, but basically cleans the bowl. (This process usually takes about 5 minutes.)   

Pour a bit of olive oil over the dough, and using your hands, roll the dough into a ball making sure the entire surface is lightly greased.

Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel, and let rise for 75-90 minutes or until when gently poked with a finger an indentation remains in the dough.

Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan. (I use cooking spray.) Deflate the dough, and form into a loaf shape. (I tuck about a third of the dough under from the right, then tuck another third under from the left, then tuck in both ends.) Place in the greased loaf pan and gently pat dough into the corners. (The dough is basically flat at this point.) Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let rise for 2-2½ hours. (It’s ready when the middle of the loaf is about ½ to ¾-inch above the rim of the pan.)

Lightly brush or spray the top of the loaf with water. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (or seeds of choice). Make 3-4 diagonal cuts across the top being careful not to deflate the bread.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 190 degrees.

Remove from oven and carefully place the bread (after you remove it from the baking pan) on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

And yes, I already have a couple of wonderful focaccia recipes on this site, but they contain active dry yeast. And yeast is still unavailable in some grocery stores. But some good news. If your grocery store carries bulk items, you might find yeast in that section. In fact, the last time Mr. C. was at our local IGA, there was a sign where the regular jars and packages of active dried yeast usually reside that directed shoppers to the bulk section. But there was still no packaged active dry yeast available. They did however have a jar of instant/rapid-rise yeast. So Mr. C. not only bought me a jar of instant yeast, he brought home a little baggie containing bulk yeast. Neither of which I have used to date.

Now I don’t normally use instant/rapid rise yeast, so I thought I better do some research. What I learned was that active dry yeast and instant (or rapid-rise) yeast are the two most common yeasts available to us as home bakers. The two yeasts can be used interchangeably in recipes, but fast-rising, or fast-acting yeast can shorten the rising time by as much as 50%. And basically it’s just as easy to use instant yeast in recipes calling for active dry yeast. Simply use the same amount of instant yeast in your recipe as regular active dry yeast. One difference to note however, is that you don’t need to dissolve instant yeast in water like you do with ordinary active dry yeast. You can simply add instant/rapid rise yeast along with your other dry ingredients. But always keep in mind, if you use instant or rapid-rise yeast in place of active dry yeast, you will need to shorten the rising time specified in your recipe, or at the very least, pay greater attention to the dough as it rises.

So now you know as much about instant or rapid rise yeast as I do. (Actually you probably already knew about instant yeast. I’m the one that needed a good learnin’ on the subject!) Which is to say, I didn’t really know anything about using rapid-rise yeast. But I’m going to learn. And as I discover more about the subject, I will share my knowledge with you. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

I made this focaccia for dinner last evening, and it was so good. Kind of chewy, a faint sourdough flavor, and a lot of garlic power. And although I had played with the dough a lot during the day (you’ll see what I mean when you read the recipe directions), the dough itself was really easy to build. And since I’m pretty much confined to quarters anyway, what better thing to do with my time than play with bread dough instead of thinking about how the world is falling apart around us!

So as always, stay calm, stay focused on what really counts in your life, and if you have any kind of influence with your favorite deity, could you please ask for some additional help here. Mother earth is in dire need of any positive assistance it can get. Thank you.

½ c. sourdough starter

½ c. slightly warm water

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, or more as needed

¾ tsp. sea salt

¼ c. extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus a bit more to oil the dough before letting it rise and to grease the baking pan

3-4 garlic cloves, finely minced 

1¼ tsp. roughly minced fresh rosemary  

fleur de sel or other flaky sea salt

In the bowl of your stand mixer, using your paddle attachment, combine the starter, water, and 1½ cups of the flour to form a thick batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.

Switch to your dough hook. Add the sea salt, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and as much of the remaining all-purpose flour as needed to form a sticky dough, but one that clears the bowl and clings to the hook after kneading for about 5 minutes.

Pour a bit of oil in the bowl, and using your hands, form a lightly greased ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 3-5 hours.

Every hour punch down the dough and flip it over in the bowl. When the dough is ready, it will have an almost elastic quality. (My dough took a little over 4 hours.)

While the dough is rising, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Add the garlic and cook over low heat, stirring often, until a very light golden brown. (Be careful not to let the garlic burn.) Remove from heat and set aside.

When the dough has finished its long first rise, lightly oil a small rimmed sheet pan with olive oil. Place the dough onto the oiled pan (trying not to deflate too much) and flip it over to coat it with the oil. Use your fingers to spread the dough to a ½-inch thickness. Cover the dough with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for about 1 hour until well risen and puffy.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Use your fingers to dimple the top of the dough all over. Brush with the garlic and infused olive oil. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and the roughly chopped rosemary.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. The internal temperature should register at least 190 degrees.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before slicing.

And yes, you can easily double this recipe.   

Some of the time, the easiest recipes turn out to be the tastiest. And this recipe from the Red Star Yeast site is a perfect case in point. Because I honestly don’t believe a sourdough English muffin could get any better. There is just nothing about this muffin I don’t like. And frankly, this could not be an easier recipe to prepare. Honest!

And what’s not to like about English muffins? They make some of the best toast imaginable. And like this morning, I made a breakfast sandwich with the muffins. At Chez Carr, they are referred to as “egg McPatti’s”. Toasted English muffin, thin layer of sharp cheddar cheese (or cheese of choice), cooked bacon (cuz that’s what I had, but a cooked sausage pattie works great too), and a scrambled egg. Lovely way to start the day. And a nice change of pace from breakfast meat, toast, easy-over egg, etc.

So, what are you waiting for? OK, not everyone has a sourdough starter in their refrigerator at all times. And in case you are one of those people, I have provided you with my recipe for a sourdough starter below. Now you really have no reason not to make these sourdough treasures.

And just think of the money you’ll save making your own muffins as opposed to buying them. And the environmental impact of not using gas to run to your local grocery store. And you can save a mask and set of gloves for another occasion. OK, I’ll stop now. I know for most of you, I’ve whipped this dead horse long enough!

It’s just that I’m so darned excited to share this recipe with you. I’m nothing if not zealous about great food. And this recipe has all the attributes that fire my culinary passion. Hope it inspires you the same way.

As always – have fun in the kitchen. Peace and love to all.

1 c. sourdough starter

1 pkg. or 2¼ tsp. active dry yeast

½ c. water

2 T. vegetable oil, plus more to grease the dough

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 T. granulated sugar

3 c. bread flour

cornmeal

Combine sourdough starter, yeast, water, 2 tablespoons oil, salt, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the paddle, beat the mixture for 4 minutes on medium speed. Gradually add the flour and knead with dough hook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Pour a little veggie oil in the mixing bowl, and using your hands, roll the dough into a ball making sure the entire surface is lightly greased. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Indentation remains after lightly poking with a finger.)  

Sprinkle cornmeal on a clean surface and pat dough to ¼-inch thickness. (I use a large rimmed baking pan as my clean surface. The pan sides prevent the cornmeal from going everywhere!) Cut into 12-13 circles 4 – 4.5 inches in diameter. And don’t waste the dough that is left after you cut out the first set of circles. Just moosh the remaining dough back together, pat it out, and cut out more muffins. Believe me, you won’t be able to tell the difference between the first and even the third set of cut muffins.

After each muffin is formed, flip it over to also coat the topside with cornmeal. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet at least 1½ inches apart.

Cover the pan with a light weight tea towel and let the muffins rise until indentation remains after gently touching with a finger, about 90 minutes.

Carefully place muffins on a lightly greased (if your griddle is not non-stick), or dry griddle (if yours is non-stick) over somewhere between medium and low heat. (You will just have to figure out the best level of heat on your stove as you go. Not too hot or the muffins will burn before the inside is done. Not too low or you’ll be at it all day!) (On my BlueStar range, straight up “low” works perfectly.)

Bake for about 4-5 minutes on each side or until bottoms are a deep golden brown. (The internal temperature should be 200 – 205 when the muffins are done).  

Place cooked muffins on a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container or freeze for longer storage. Lovely toasted, buttered, and spread with honey, jam, or jelly. Peanut butter is also a great choice for these muffins. But my personal favorite – room temperature unsalted butter. Yum.

SOURDOUGH STARTER

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

2 T. sugar

1 T. or 1 pkg. active dry yeast

2 c. warm water

Combine all ingredients in a glass or plastic juice pitcher using a wooden or plastic spoon. (Don’t worry about lumps because the little yeasty beasties will make short work of dissolving the lumps!) Cover with lid and open the pouring spout as if you are about to pour juice into a glass. (This allows air to reach the starter.) Let ferment 3 days at room temperature, stirring several times daily. After the third day, transfer starter to a covered glass container and refrigerate.

To use, remove desired amount for recipe and replenish starter by stirring in equal amounts of flour and water or follow the instructions for the particular bread you are making. Let stand at room temperature overnight. Return to refrigerator.

If a clear liquid forms on top, stir back into starter. Every time you use, replenish with equal amounts of flour and water. Even if you don’t use every week, replenish every 7 – 10 days with equal amounts flour and water. (First remove about ½ cup of the existing starter. This allows room in your container for the new flour (yeast food) and water.)

Use in any of your favorite bread, muffin, or pancake recipes.

I am truly a sucker for really good rye bread. Especially if the rye bread has an extra little something in it to enhance the earthy flavor that rye flour imparts to bread. That’s where the tartness from the sourdough starter comes in, along with the savory goodness provided by a touch of onion and a tiny bit of dill seed. Altogether this combination is unbeatable. Now, something you should know right off the bat. This is not a dark, heavy on the rye, bread.

This bread is blessed with just a light touch of each of the strong flavors that intermingle to produce this delightful loaf. So no worries that the onion or dill will be overpowering. You might even wonder if they are really there at all. But that’s the beauty of this bread. It’s just perfectly balanced.

Now I have been very remiss with all of my recent postings for bread. A few years ago, I actually went so far as to create a post entitled “Bread Baking 101”. Now granted, I didn’t address baking with a sourdough starter in that instructional post. But I did provide a fairly brief but comprehensive overview of ingredients used and “how to” directions that should be of assistance if you are a novice bread baker.

But as helpful as my post might be, there are far better instructional sources out there that take you step by step through the process. My sister-in-law Katie clued me in to the video tutorials presented by Breadtopia. I have watched a couple now and they are very informative and very well done. And of course there are fabulous videos by my favorite chef – Chef John from Food Wishes. (The man’s a genius!)

Anyway, my point is – there’s no reason not to make your own bread. So please don’t be intimidated by bread baking even if you and your kitchen are not on a first name basis. Bread is very easy to prepare, and a lovely homemade loaf is so much cheaper than store bought. Plus you know exactly what goes into the preparation. Of course you might miss the flavor of preservatives or other additives with names you can’t begin to pronounce. And that’s too bad. But take my word for it – you’ll get over it! Remember – He/she who never undertook anything never achieved anything. Or in the common vernacular – nothing ventured, nothing gained! In other words – go for it!

And as always – peace, love, and happy baking to all.

1 T. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing on dough before baking

1/3 c. finely chopped onion

2 c. sourdough starter

2 T. unsalted butter

¼ c. water

2 tsp. kosher salt

4 tsp. dill seed

1 c. rye flour

3 T. vital wheat gluten (I use Bob’s Red Mill)

2 c. white bread flour

fleur de sel or other coarse flaky salt, opt.

Slowly sauté the onions in olive oil until they become translucent. Meanwhile pour sourdough starter into the bowl of your stand mixer.  

When the onions are translucent, remove from heat and add butter, water, salt, and dill seed. Cool to lukewarm and stir into starter.

Add the rye flour and mix well. Add the white flour gradually, until you have a very satiny and soft bread, about 7-8 minutes. Shape into an elongated loaf.

Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and let rise, covered, in a warm place for 1½ to 2½ hours, or until about doubled in bulk. (Rising time will vary according to your starter, but rising always takes longer with breads made with just a sourdough starter than with breads made with active dry yeast).

Make 3-4 diagonal slashes on top of loaf with a razor blade or very sharp knife. Don’t press too hard. Let the cutting implement do the work. (You don’t want to deflate the dough.) Lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with fleur de sel. (Not too much.)

Bake in a pre-heated 375 oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 205 – 210 degrees.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing.

OK, this is the easiest bread I have ever made. Four main ingredients and just 1 long rising. None of this let the yeast proof, mix the dough, let the dough rise till doubled, shape the dough, rise again, then bake. Just mix the dough, shape it, let it rise, and bake it off.

The first time I made this bread, the crust, internal texture, and taste was outstanding. But the top crust didn’t brown. So I baked another batch, raised the temperature from 425 to 450 degrees, and turned on the convection option on my oven for the last half of the baking time. This time the baguettes came out a light golden brown. In other words – fabuleux!  

Now I must say, I am truly excited about sharing this French bread recipe with you. First of all, like I said, it’s super easy to build. But the most wonderful part is how perfect this bread is for bruschetta and crostini. (And yes I know bruschetta and crostini are Italian dishes, and I’m advising you to bake a French bread.) The fact is – the texture is perfect anytime you want to use bread, either toasted or untoasted, as a base for other ingredients. But I have to tell you, the texture is not that super soft, fine grained quality that you find in some French breads. Which is fine with me. I prefer a more rustic, chewy mouth feel anyway. And I don’t for one moment miss the big holes that are often found in Italian baguettes. (Don’t get me wrong. I love crusty Italian baguettes. Just not for bruschetta or crostini.)

Italian baguettes often have holes as part of the texture we all know and love. But big holes allow bits and pieces of tomatoes, for example, to fall through and land on your lap. This bread is simply the perfect combination of slightly chewy, but with a crumb that happily supports ingredients either being dolloped, spread, or layered on top of the slices. In other words – perfect for bruschetta and crostini.

I really can’t wait to serve this bread to guests. Toasted and topped with tomatoes, basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Or pâté. OMG – this bread will be fantastic spread with pâté. Or soft cheeses. The list goes on and on.  

Now we can get really adequate baguettes at our local grocery store sometimes. If we are lucky enough to hit the grocery store at just the right time. But they are expensive, and like I said, not always available. But because these homemade baguettes are so darn easy to make, I don’t have to worry about obtaining fresh baguettes ever again. Not when I can spend 15-20 minutes building a product that is perfect and always available.

And of course, you don’t have to use these baguettes just for bruschetta. I toasted some slices this morning for breakfast, and they were perfect with our easy-over eggs. And the other evening I served a few slices with an Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper infused extra virgin olive oil. Delicious.

And last night I made bruschetta with slices of this amazing bread. Toasted the slices, scraped the toasted bread with a garlic clove, drizzled on some extra virgin olive oil, and topped them with diced tomato, chopped fresh basil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Felt like we were back in Italy. (Close as we’re going to get this year. Boo coronavirus!)

And I can’t wait to use one of these baguettes as a roll for a subway style sandwich. And homemade croutons. This bread, cut into ¾-inch squares, sautéed in a bit of olive oil and butter, and finished with a light dusting of granulated garlic is going to produce perfectly delicious croutons. Caesar salad, here we come!

So if you too are a bread person, but don’t want to spend a lot of time or money in the preparation, this is the bread for you. Happy bread baking to all.

And yes, I love my new 15 x 13-inch 4 gutter baguette loaf pan. Worth the money just for the convenience. And yes this recipe can easily be doubled. (See picture below.)

½ c. sourdough starter

½ c. slightly warm water  

½ tsp. fine sea salt

2 c. fluffed* bread flour, or a tiny bit more if needed

Combine the sourdough starter, warm water, salt, and most of the flour in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using your dough hook, mix and knead until the dough is still a little sticky, but the bottom of the bowl is clean. (You will probably need all of the 2 cups of flour.) Form the dough into a ball and cut in half.

Place a small amount of flour on a clean surface and flour your hands. Shape each piece into a long baguette shape. I finish forming the baguette by rolling it in the flour until it is about 10-inches long. (Don’t use too much flour. Just enough to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and the shaping surface.)

Place the formed baguettes onto a parchment paper lined baguette pan (only if your baguette pan has holes in it) or a greased baking sheet. If your baguette pan does not have holes, give it a light coating of cooking spray, but no parchment paper required.

Cover lightly with plastic wrap that has been lightly greased with cooking spray and let rise until double in size in a warm place, 3-4 hours. Don’t over rise the baguettes. Mine took a little over 3 hours to rise on my kitchen counter. (The counter I use to rise bread is lighted. Don’t know if the light helps, but I feel like it contributes to making my bread rise really nicely.)

Bake baguettes in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until a very light golden-brown. Turn your oven to convection half way through the baking process. Remove from oven and place on a wire cooling rack for at least 20 minutes before serving. If you don’t have a convection oven, not to worry. However, it might not get as golden brown. Who cares! It will still taste delicious.

*How to fluff flour: As you’re spooning out the flour, lightly stir up the flour in the container, and gently shake the flour as you fill the measuring cup. Then level off the measuring cup with a table knife or other straight edged implement.  

When it comes to kalamata olives, fresh rosemary, and garlic – well – how can you really go wrong? And when they are baked into a beautiful sourdough boule (round loaf), there is just no finer way to display this incredible threesome. They are simply simpatico ingredients.

The first time I paired kalamata olives and rosemary together in a bread recipe was about 6 years ago. This bread is very similar with one important exception. Rosemary Olive Bread is leavened with a package of active dry yeast. This recipe calls for a cup of sourdough starter. And therefore has a lovely “tang” to it.

This recipe also includes a bit of garlic and some black pepper. (Got to change things up a bit to keep Mr. C. riveted!) Well anyway, to make a short story long, I wanted to use some of my CSS (Coronavirus Sourdough Starter) (or Renee as “she’s” affectionately referred to here at Chez Carr) in the production of yet another bread that most of you will never build. (Why some of you even bother to read my posts is beyond my understanding. But I am mighty glad you come along for the ride.) Anyway……..

If you have nothing better to do with your time, have all the ingredients, and love bread, give this delicious combination of ingredients a try. For lunch yesterday I toasted a piece of this bread and placed a thin slice of Black Forrest ham on top. What an amazing and simple open faced sandwich that made! I’m still reeling from the fabulous flavor combination.

So to all of you who like myself, believe that the act of baking bread is almost sacrosanct, I implore you to give this recipe a try. Of course, if you are not an olive lover, or abhor rosemary, or God forbid, can’t abide garlic – well – you may be excused! The rest of you – get busy. This bread is worth the effort.

And just because I usually bake this type of bread in a clay baker when others use an old fashioned cast iron Dutch oven, I decided to buy a 5 quart cast iron Dutch oven to see how well it actually worked. The result was just the same as when I use my clay baker. Beautiful crust, lovely crumb, and fabulous curb appeal.

So if you have been storing a “heritage” Dutch oven out in your garage or even out in your tool shed, now’s the time to dig it out. (You might want to clean it up a bit before you use it again.) But if it’s at least a 5 quart, it would be perfect for this recipe. Or most other bread recipes that call for a clay baker or Dutch oven. And isn’t it fun to “re-purpose” something that might even have sentimental value. Could have been given to you by your grandmother, or even passed down to her from her grandmother. I know the Dutch oven I have downstairs in my storage room that was handed down to me by my parents, is as old as the hills. Not large enough for the purpose of baking bread, but I wouldn’t part with it for any amount of money.

So to all, have fun in the kitchen. If you have never baked bread, now is the time to give it a try. If prehistoric humans could “bake” a gruel made from grain and water on a hot rock 30,000 years ago, you should be able to mix some flour, water, yeast, and salt together in your KitchenAid mixer and throw it in your perfectly heat controlled oven with fairly predictable results. Just sayin’!

As always, peace and love to all. And keep your sense of humor. Laughter is strong medicine. It helps protect all of us from the damaging effects of undue stress. And stress is the number one feeling of emotion most of us are experiencing right now. So fight back. If nothing else, go make a face at yourself in your bathroom mirror. A funny face, along with how your normally perfectly quaffed hair looks right now should do the trick. No wait! That could lead to tears. Never mind. Bad idea.

1 c. sourdough starter   

3 c. bread flour, plus more as needed   

1 c. lukewarm water

1 T. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl

1 tsp. kosher salt   

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary

¾ c. roughly chopped Kalamata olives

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the sourdough starter, 2 cups of the flour, water, and olive oil together. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 4 hours.

Add the remaining cup of  flour to the mixer bowl along with the salt, pepper, rosemary, chopped olives, and garlic.   

Knead till the dough comes together. If your dough looks wet, add more bread flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Your dough should be slightly sticky but not wet. Continue to knead on medium speed for five minutes.

Pour a bit of olive oil over the dough, and using your hands roll it into a ball evenly covered with the oil.  Cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm spot for two hours. The dough will rise a little, but it may not double. Punch down the dough and shape into a boule (round).

Cover a cookie sheet with a rectangle of parchment paper, and place the loaf on the parchment. Dust with a bit of flour and cover with a tea towel. Place in a warm spot for an hour.

In the last half hour of rising, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. If you have a baking stone, pizza stone, clay baker, or Dutch oven, place it in the middle rack of the oven. You want it to heat right along with the oven.

Five minutes before you place your loaf in the oven, pour a cup of hot water into an oven-safe pan and place it on the lowest rack of the oven. Please note: If you are using a clay baker (bread cloche) or Dutch oven, no need to place container with water in your oven.

Take a very sharp or serrated knife and score the loaf carefully, making a large X.  Don’t use too much force or you will deflate the bread. Just let the weight of the knife do the work.

Carefully pick up the parchment sheet and place the loaf directly on the baking stone or pizza stone. If you don’t have a baking stone or pizza stone, simply place the cookie sheet with the loaf into the middle rack of the oven.

If you are using a clay baker or Dutch oven, remove from the oven. Carefully take off the lid. Set the loaf complete with parchment paper onto or into the bottom and cover with the lid. (A trick I use to make lifting my clay baker in and out of the oven, is to place it on a low sided baking sheet before it ever goes into the oven. It’s much easier to lift a baking sheet than a clay baker. Much less likely to burn yourself.)

If using a baking stone, pizza stone, or a plain baking sheet, bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees, then lower the temperature to 350 and continue baking for another 45 minutes or so. The internal temperature should be about 204 degrees. Remove from oven and let the bread cool on a rack before slicing.

If using a clay baker or Dutch oven, bake covered in the 450 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove the lid (very carefully) and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches about 204 degrees. Remove from oven and let the bread cool on a rack before slicing.

Ok, disclaimer. I made these yesterday and they were fine. However, Mr. C. and I both agreed that (pardon me while I use a common vernacular) the muffins were just a touch too “Euell Gibbons” for us. (For more on Mr. Gibbons, see the short biography below.)

The original recipe, the one I made yesterday and you see in the picture, called for all whole wheat pastry flour. This sounded perfect at the time, but we have since decided that all that whole wheat is just too “healthy tasting” for our palates. We like whole wheat English muffins, but apparently the kind we have purchased in the past, had a whole bunch of white flour in the mix. (And yes I know, we are wusses. But we both grew up on white bread. In my case it was homemade bread, but it was still exclusively made with good old white flour.)

But I must say, we did enjoy the all whole wheat muffins toasted this morning and slathered with butter and local honey. But I am looking forward to building a batch replacing some of the whole wheat flour as listed below. Now, have I made these English muffins per the recipe below? Nope! Would I stake my reputation on this recipe? Yep. In fact that’s exactly what I’m doing.

Now, the one thing I can’t stress enough, is how bloody easy these English muffins were to prepare. Absolutely nothing to it. And I must admit, before building these yesterday I was a bit wary. But isn’t that always the case when you haven’t performed almost any task. Must be part of the human condition. You know, the part where you don’t want to fail, regardless of how easy or difficult the task. But then when you do “win”, you look back on whatever the endeavor was and completely forget about any trepidations you had in the first place. Sound familiar? Bottom line: I would count yesterdays’ English muffins as a win-win-loss-win.

I won by not giving in to my fear of failure. I won because they baked up beautifully. I lost because the muffins were a bit too “whole wheaty” for our taste. But I won again be changing the recipe enough to better fit our tastes. Basically a 3-1 win. And I’d say that’s an acceptable score!

So if you too want to score well with your family, cook up a batch of these English muffins. They are absolutely divine right off the griddle. But toasted for breakfast, there is just not a better vehicle for enjoying peanut butter, honey, or your favorite jam, jelly, or spread.

As always, peace, love, and happy cooking to all. Stay safe!  

Day 1: (sponge)

½ c. sourdough starter

1 T. honey

1 c. whole milk (can use 1% or skim, but whole milk makes them more tender)

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour (can use white whole wheat or regular whole wheat flour)

1 c. bread flour

Mix the starter, honey, milk, whole wheat pastry flour, and the bread flour in the bowl of your stand mixer. (I use a simple table knife to mix the ingredients.) Cover with a tea towel and leave at room temperature overnight.

Day 2:

1½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ c. bread flour, plus more as needed (could be quite a bit more)

cornmeal  

Add the soda, salt, and ¼ cup of the flour to the sponge. Mix together with your dough hook and knead for 3-4 minutes, adding remaining flour, and even more as needed. (The dough is perfect when it is tacky to the touch. But if too much dough sticks to your finger when pressed, add another tablespoon or so of the flour.) 

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times into a round shape. Pat the dough to about ½-inch thick. Cut into rounds with a 3-inch biscuit cutter. Re-flatten the scraps to make additional muffins.

Place the muffin rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with a dusting of cornmeal. Leave a good 2-inches between each muffin. Dust the tops with a bit more cornmeal. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours. (They will not puff a lot.)

Very lightly grease a griddle, or leave it dry if you have a non-stick griddle, and heat to medium-low (about 275 degrees). If the griddle is too hot, the inside of the muffin will not cook properly and the outside will burn.

Place the muffins on the heated griddle and cook for about 3-4 minutes on one side until that side is hard to the touch and nicely browned. Flip and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes on the other side, or again, until nicely browned. They are usually done when the sides are firm. If the muffins are browned enough, but still don’t seem cooked through, place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.

Place cooked muffins on a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container or freeze for longer storage. Best if split apart with the tines of a table fork, toasted, buttered, and spread with honey, jam, or jelly. Peanut butter is also delightful on these muffins.

Euell Gibbons was a man ahead of his time or perhaps way behind (centuries) his time. He had a lifelong interest in food foraged from plants that were very nutritious but often neglected. In 1964 he wrote a whole-food cookbook entitled “Stalking the Wild Asparagus” and in 1967 “A Wild Way to Eat”. But his real claim to fame came in the 1970s when he starred in a television commercial where he asked, “Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible.” The statement was so bizarre, that it immediately caught everyone’s attention. And the commercial created a whole new set of customers for Grape-Nuts cereal.

In his later years, he and his wife joined a community of Quakers in Philadelphia where very morning he cooked the shared breakfast. It is said that he became a Quaker because “it was the only group I could join without pretending to have beliefs that I didn’t have or concealing beliefs that I did have.”