Tag: sourdough bread

Sticking with Sourdough

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway, Topic5 Comments

Sourdough baking should fit into your lifestyle and let you build a habit of using it. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Another Twice as Tasty sourdough giveaway is winding down; there are just a few days left to get your starter. This month, I delivered jars of bubbly starter to local bakers and shipped dehydrated starter as far away as Slovenia. People have been sharing their creations of longtime and new Twice as Tasty recipes, including this month’s cracker, cookie, and ciabatta recipes and variations. I’m excited to see what everyone makes in the coming months.

For some of you, just remembering your starter may be the biggest challenge as the year takes off. Sourdough baking should fit into your lifestyle and let you build a habit of using your starter often enough to keep it lively. It may take a few attempts, and I’m always happy to resend starter if you need a fresh try. But a sourdough culture is more resilient than you think. So as life distracts you from baking, you have several options to bring your starter back to life.
Read more about sticking with sourdough

Sourdough Ciabatta & Bread Variations

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway, Topic1 Comment

With a handful of easily mastered recipes, including Sourdough Ciabatta, you can make every batch of sourdough look and taste unique. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Long before I got hooked on sourdough, I made yeast-based Italian slipper bread using Patricia Wells’s Trattoria. I used the recipe from the 1993 edition of her book without changes because it is so good.

Once I started into sourdough, I fell for the flavor and texture of long-ferment loaves, and Sourdough Cabin Bread, aka Auntie Julie’s Special Bread, became my go-to recipe. But one day I flipped passed the slipper bread recipe and was inspired to create a version that could use sourdough starter.

Wells describes Italian slipper bread, or ciabatta, as “ideal for those who want great flavor in a hurry.” This sourdough version takes a little more time to build than a yeast loaf but far less than long-ferment doughs that spend hours to days in the fridge. It’s definitely a high-hydration dough: expect it to be wet, sticky, and hard to shape. Your final loaf will look different every time, with lots of holes inside, and will cool and be ready to eat more quickly than denser loaves.
Learn to make Sourdough Ciabatta and bread variations

4th Annual Sourdough Giveaway

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Giveaway, Topic3 Comments

Get free sourdough starter—or wake up your dormant one. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Happy end of 2020 from Twice as Tasty! Celebrating the end of this year seems more important than reveling in the start of a new one—the revels in many ways are still on hold. But January is still Sourdough Month here on the blog, and for the 4th year I’m giving away Twice as Tasty sourdough starter through January 31.

Over the last 4 years, I’ve had a 100% success rate with people receiving, waking up, and baking with their Twice As Tasty sourdough starter. When baking with sourdough became all the rage last spring, I reopened the 2020 giveaway and shared more starter than in all prior years. I hope to do the same again over the next month. Read on to get Twice as Tasty sourdough starter—or wake up your dormant one.
Read more about starting with sourdough

Sourdough Giveaway: Extended Edition

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway, TopicLeave a comment

Get your free sourdough starter and answers to some of your sourdough questions. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Sourdough Pancakes by Brenda

The sourdough starter giveaway continues! Last month, I reopened my 2020 Sourdough Giveaway. I’m extending it another month, since many people will still be in stay-at-home mode at least that long. I’ll send you free sourdough starter through May 31. Read on to get Twice as Tasty sourdough starter, as well as answers to some of your sourdough questions.
Read more about starting with sourdough

Sourdough Focaccia

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, TopicLeave a comment

Sourdough isn’t traditional for focaccia, but it’s one of the few sourdough breads you can cut and eat hot. Get focaccia recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I see all types of bread as an easy snack, but focaccia stands out among them. I’d buy it oven-hot as a street snack in Italy, and that flavor has stuck with me decades later. It’s tempting to think of focaccia as a deep-crust pizza crust or sandwich bread and load up on toppings and fillings, but it really rises best in the oven when it isn’t overloaded and shows off its heavy glug of olive oil when other flavors don’t take over.

Although sourdough isn’t traditional for focaccia, the tang pairs beautifully with silky olive oil. It also makes the dough forgiving of busy schedules; instead of having to watch to ensure it doesn’t overproof, you can slide the pan into the refrigerator and bake it at your leisure. But one of the greatest perks of sourdough focaccia is that unlike many sourdough breads, you can cut it and eat it hot. This also means it doesn’t keep as well, so I make a small loaf in a single 9- by 13-inch pan and bake often. Besides snack food, the hot bread works well with a bowl of Tomato Juice Soup or on an appetizer plate with pickles, homemade cheese, and sliced fruit.
Learn to make Savory Sourdough Focaccia and Sweet Sourdough Focaccia

3rd Annual Sourdough Giveaway

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway4 Comments

I’ll be giving away sourdough starter through January 31, 2020. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Happy 2020 from Twice as Tasty! January is Sourdough Month here on the blog. The Sourdough Giveaway Experiment has been so successful over the last 2 years that I’ve made it an annual event. I’ll be giving away sourdough starter through January 31, 2020.

There’s even more reason to get your free starter this year: later this month, I’ll be launching a Twice as Tasty Challenge for newsletter subscribers. All you have to do to participate in the challenge is to subscribe here to the monthly newsletter. Details on the challenge will be sent to you later this month. And although you don’t have to be baking with sourdough to participate, you’ll have more fun and be more involved in this food community if you do!
Keep reading to get in on the 3rd Annual Sourdough Giveaway

More Sourdough Giveaway Successes

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, GiveawayLeave a comment

Drying sourdough starter lets you save some starter if don’t plan on baking for several months. Get sourdough recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Vicki’s loaves

There are just a few days left of the 2nd Annual Sourdough Giveaway. If you haven’t yet requested your starter, the giveaway goes through January 31, 2019. You’ll be joining several new sourdough bakers. This post features some of the creations they’ve shared. I also share how I prepared the packets of sourdough starter I’ve been giving away. Dehydrating starter using this technique not only lets you share starter over long distances but also lets you save some starter if you’re concerned about losing your primary culture or don’t plan on baking for several months.
Learn to dehydrate sourdough starter

Sourdough Rye Bread

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Ingredient, UsingLeave a comment

I craved tangy rye bread long before I started working with sourdough—or discovered a meatless Reuben. Get sourdough and vegetarian recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I was on a mission to make a tangy rye bread long before I started working with sourdough. It all began when I arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia, on one of the coldest days on record. I’d just come from Norway, where I’d fallen in love with gjetost, a whey-based goat cheese that’s the color of caramel, has the richness of fudge, and melts on your tongue. Before leaving the country, I splurged on a log so large you can’t find it in the States. It was usually served with dry crispbread in Norway. Once I was settled in Russia, I discovered my favorite pairing for the cheese: Russian black bread.

The rye bread I ate in Russian bore little resemblance to what’s typically labeled “Russian rye” in America: no instant coffee, no cocoa powder, no caraway, no corn syrup. It was simply flour, water, and salt, all leavened with a sponge or starter. In other words, a sourdough bread. The problem was getting a recipe. Bread was subsidized when I was in Russia; a rye loaf cost 33p (about $1), and no one I met in the city was making it at home. The bakers where I bought my bread clearly thought I was a crazy American when I asked for the recipe: they started spouting ratios I could barely understand that seemed to start with about 50 pounds of flour.
Learn to make Sourdough Rye Bread and Gorgeous Grilled Cheese

The Sourdough Giveaway Successes

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, GiveawayLeave a comment

As the first Twice as Tasty Sourdough Giveaway Experiment comes to a close, there’s only one word to describe it: success. Read more about the experiences of new sourdough bakers. (Photo by Vicki Faulkner)As the first Twice as Tasty Sourdough Giveaway Experiment comes to a close, there’s only one word to describe it: success. When I announced that I would be sharing my sourdough starter for free, people immediately began sending me their SASEs and joining in the project. When I extended it a second month, even more envelopes requesting sourdough began to appear in my mailbox. Many of the new proud owners of a sourdough starter have been sharing their experiences and photos with me over the last month. I’m excited to share some of these with you and show you how easily new bakers took to their sourdough starter.
Read more about the experiences of new sourdough bakers