Sourdough English Muffins

I really wanted to try something different with my sourdough so I thought I would try to make English Muffins.

In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup fresh starter**, 1-1/4 cups warm non-chlorinated water and 1-1/2 cups flour.  Set in a warm place until bubbly, (several hours).
Combine these next ingredients together in a separate bowl:
1 cup flour (any flour can be used)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Stir the flour mixture into the bubbly sourdough batter.  Stir in enough extra flour to make a tough, plastic like dough, 1/4 to 1/2 cup more.  Knead 3-5 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky.  Roll on a lightly floured board to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into 3 inch rounds with a wide mouth canning jar ring.  Sprinkle a place with cornmeal.  Moisten both sides of the dough rounds with non-chlorinated water and flop them on the cornmeal.  Place each on waxed paper, leaving enough space so that they do not touch and can rise.  Let rise until double in thickness (about 1 hour).  Very lightly grease a skillet or electric fry pan*, heating to low, 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook them about 10 minutes on each side until browned and puffed up.  Cool. Split with a fork and toast.

*I used an electric fry pan so that I could regulate the temperature easier.

**Fresh Starter - In a bowl with 1/2 cup of sourdough starter add:
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/4 cup warm, non-chlorinated, water
Stir thoroughly, and set in a warm place as before until it is actively bubbling.  (About 6-1/2 hours) When starter is bubbly and light, stir gently, then set aside the 1/2 cup of start and put in the refrigerator until next time.  Now you can proceed with your favorite recipes with the fresh starter.  The sourdough is fresh when you start the recipe so it should be less time to see the active (bubbly) stage again depending on the temperature it is placed in.

Muffins in the electric skillet cooking

Fork Split muffin prior to toasting

Lightly toasted with butter

One note is that I will indeed make these again.  They are super easy and I think the next time I will make them cinnamon raisin.  No more store bought muffins for me!

Sourdough Bread

On a weekly basis I have to refresh my sourdough starter.  So this morning I refreshed the sourdough.  All I have to do is add 1-1/2 cups flour and 1-1/4 cups of warm water to the sourdough that I saved from last week.  Let it sit until it bubbles. It bubbled up nicely and from that mixture I then hold back 1/2 cup of the sourdough for next week.  By saving the sourdough from week to week it becomes more sour, which is what you want from a sourdough bread.  I plan on making a loaf of sourdough for tomorrow.

My plan as I am thinking about it right now is to experiment with the sourdough tomorrow.  Instead of placing the bread in a traditional loaf pan I think I am going to place it on a hot stone and place a pan of hot water in the oven when it bakes.  By adding the water it will make the outside of the bread crusty while keeping the inside nice and soft.  I am also thinking about adding some sliced green olives to the loaf while I am kneading it.  I think I will make that decision tomorrow.

When I have the bread done and baked tomorrow, I will post a picture and let you know how it turned out.

If anyone in my area would like some sourdough starter, just let me know.