Reviewed: May 18, 2013

My daughter and I (she is 12) made this sourdough at Easter and again today. A very easy to make bread with great flavour. We are hoping that the more mature starter we now have will add a deeper sour flavour to the loaf. Thanks!

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Reviewer:

pumba13

Reviewed: Apr. 30, 2013

Just curious... Why do you use the starter AND the store bought yeast? What hydration level starter do you use for this recipe... 100% or 166%?

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Reviewer:

Wartface

Reviewed: Apr. 27, 2013

I first have to say, this was my first attempt making a sourdough bread. This was also my first time using a starter. This was my first time attempting to grow a starter which I've been doing for the past week. I read ALL the reviews and I decided to follow some of the modifications of leaving out the milk, yeast, and onions. I think the onions would be lovely, but I wanted to go real basic this time. I also used my bread machine to do the dough prep as I don't have a stand mixer. :( I put it together, got it mixed up and balled up in the bread machine and left it for several hours. When I came back I was disappointed it didn't appear to rise. I 'punched' it down, although it was already down pretty much and put it on a baking pan to rise in the oven w/ the light on. Nothing really happened. I was going to toss it, but then I thought to go ahead and bake it and see at least the flavor. The bread rose quite well once it was in the oven although it was a rather weird shape. The flavor was wonderful!!! The open cell structure is fantastic and even though mine was a little denser than I suspect it will be in the future...it really came out w/a GREAT taste. Thank you so much!

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Reviewer:

Lenore

Reviewed: Mar. 24, 2013

This recipe is very good. I prefer to add dry onion flakes to the dough @ 1 tbsp per cup of flour as an alternative to scattering fresh onions on top of the loaf.

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Reviewer:

Dix Smith

Reviewed: Mar. 18, 2013

Dilemma…should I rate this 1 because it does not resemble San Francisco Sourdough at all and I was disappointed, or 5 because it is a nice, very soft and tenderly chewy bread that resembles a very sour buttermilk loaf? All the pictures attached to this recipe verify that the results are uniformly fine grained and smooth, the opposite of SF Sourdough, which has a substantial chewiness, course uneven holes and a very crisp crust. I made this exactly per directions using my 30-year old starter, making it into 2 loaves to take to a birthday/St. Patty’s Day party as a spinach dip bowl with the second loaf cut up for dippers. After the dip and dippers were gone, people hovered around like vultures to grab the remains while I cut up the actual bowl. People loved the bread for itself, making comments that it wasn’t like a typical crunchy sourdough. (This is CA and we get SF Sourdough straight from 1st prize winning SF’s LaBrea Bakery.) So, they liked it. I might make it again and rename it “Soft Sourdough Sandwich Loaf” with some slight changes for my own file. So, a compromise between good taste and failed expectations…I give it a 3.

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Reviewer:

Jajam

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Chatham, New Jersey, USA

Living In: Ventura, California, USA

Reviewed: Mar. 8, 2013

This is a great recipe although I am not an authority on SF Sourdough bread. The texture is great and the flavor is nice but I think I might put only one tbsp of sugar next time because I like a more sour taste. My starter is 2 months old and works well so I decreased the yeast to one scant teaspoon but increased my starter to 2 cups.(Just increased the rising times) I have never made sourdough with milk but it makes a nice soft fluffy bread. I made 2 baguettes and one round with onion topping, sauteed first as another reviewer suggested and it is amazing!! Also I slashed the tops first before the final rising instead of just before baking and I am very pleased with the results. The round usually sinks a bit after slashing and often results in a much flatter bread no matter how careful I am. Slashing before the final rise gave me a beautiful high loaf! I will definitely use this as one of my regular recipes thank you.

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Reviewer:

nolleezmom

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Aurora, Ontario, Canada

Reviewed: Feb. 25, 2013

Deelicious! I used this recipe because it calls for so much starter and I didn't want to have to throw any away. The flavor was just a little sour, more yeasty, but it was nice having a fast, enriched sourdough bread for a change. Didn't do the onion part. I baked my loaves in a preheated dutch oven, smeared with lots of butter. Next time I'll use loaf pans because this bread makes such wonderful toasted sandwiches.

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Reviewer:

serious salt

Reviewed: Feb. 21, 2013

Love everything about this recipe, except for one thing: I can't add nearly the amount of flour the recipe specifies! Maybe it is a matter of how wet your sour dough starter is, but my dough is about right when I've added three cups of bread flour, rather than the 4-3/4 called for in the recipe. I also add two tablespoons of vital wheat gluten, to make the dough rise better and be lighter in texture. Of all the sourdough recipes I've tried, this is the one my family prefers! I did a side-by-side taste test with three different recipes, and every member of my family liked this one best. Great flavor, light texture, nice crust. . . If you are an inexperienced baker, add the flour slowly. If you are using a dough hook, watch for when the dough begins to form a ball around the hook, and cleans the sides of the bowl. If you stop the mixer, it should relax into the bowl, but still hold a shape, rather than look like a stiff batter. Softer doughs will give a more tender bread.

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Reviewer:

bookerc1

Reviewed: Feb. 19, 2013

I had to use 2 cups of starter to get it to pull together, other than that it turned out great. I did omit the onion because true sourdough bread has none. The flavor was excellent. Those people who have said that it did not have a true sourdough flavor should blame their starter not the recipe. If you are working with a young starter, it is not going to have the deep sourdough flavor. My starter is over 25 years old so I found exactly what I was looking for with this recipe. Thanks for sharing, it is a great recipe.

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