Reviewed: Jul. 24, 2009

Let me just say that SF sourdough bread is no longer possible in SF only. unbeknownst to them, SF gave the La Brea Los Angeles Bakery the "best SF sourdough" award in a contest, and went ballistic when they found out that the winner was not a San Franciscan! Tests on the SF water proved wrong all claims that SF sourdough bread can only be made there! Whether a beginner or an expert in sourdough bread this recipe is all you need.

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Greek Lover Boy

Home Town: San Juan Capistrano, California, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 11, 2009

I made a error by not reading throughly and added the egg to the dough instead of saving for the egg wash, oops. did not matter this was the best bread ever. I have remade over and over this is great.

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mstrybklvr

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Reviewed: Jul. 7, 2009

I made this dough in my Zo bread machine with an 8 day old starter (fed daily), added the egg with the other ingredients by mistake and it still came out great. This recipe made 4-12 in. Subway type loaves with lots of tang. Great recipe, thanks for sharing. I can't wait to make it again, without the egg. Definitely add water to a hot pan in the bottom of your oven for steam.

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daphnedmm

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Reviewed: Jun. 21, 2009

I live in the Netherlands and cant find sourdough bread here. I was really craving some grilled sandwiches on sourdough bread. I used this recipe, minus the onions, with the starter from Ester Nelson. It was great! This was my first attempt at bread making and I couldn't believe how easy it was. Thank you for sharing.

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OmaCindy

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Reviewed: Jun. 21, 2009

This bread turned out perfect. I followed the instructions exactly. I am a beginner bread maker. Oh my godness, it turned out perfect! I used the King Arthur sourdough starter, but have fed it with 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 cup bread flour (instead of the instructions it came with). Even my sister was impressed who is an excellent cook and baker! Thank you Donna!

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PACUMMINGS

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Bremerton, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 17, 2009

I couldn't wait for this to cool to try it, and I'm in bready goodness heaven! I used the sourdough starter recipe on this site posted by Esther. I know this will only get better as my starter ages. This was not as chewy as what I got at Boudin in San Fran, more light like what they serve at Sear's (wonderful French toast!). Even tho I knew better, I made the dough in the bread machine and it overflowed the pan a bit, so make sure you have a larger than 2 pound machine to do that with this one. Made rounds and baked on a silpat sprinkled with cornmeal. Update: If you cut the recipe back to 18 servings, it fits perfectly in the 2 pound machine, and you can shape it into one really large round, or two smaller loafs to bake.

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rosyshell

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Reviewed: Jun. 11, 2009

Excellent recipe! Giving it 4 instead of 5 because it is not a traditional San Francisco soughdough recipe. I lived in San Francisco and they use corn meal on the baking sheet instead of oil and do not normally add chopped onions but the option is available. (of course, that was 10 years ago, may have changed) That said, both with and without the onions is excellent and even better with the cornmeal baked into the bottom. I formed one loaf oblong onto a baking sheet and one round onto a baking sheet. Have to be careful with the egg wash step because I lost some of the rise. Out of 2 loaves only half of one was left the next day. (husband called it the best bread I'd made and he'd raved about my honey wheat before this) Will be making the recipe again this weekend as the starter is more mature now and has a great sour smell to it.

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Laura

Home Town: Hurst, Texas, USA

Living In: Phoenix, Arizona, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 1, 2009

I had no issues while preparing, baking or eating this bread. It actually makes a really nice, tasty loaf of bread. But the issues that I have with this are based on the fact this really doesn't seem like the sourdough I know. No long fermentation times and the addition of a considerable amount of commercial yeast, I think, relegate this recipe to the realm of "semi-sourdough" bread. Don't get me worng; This recipe make a very tasty and attractive loaf! Is it ever going to produce something really close to tradition SF SD bread? Probably not. Would I make it again? Certainly. -->Baking Notes: 2 Loaves in my 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 bread pans were a bit small. I split them 60/40 and the larger loaf looked great, but the smaller one looked a quite puny. I omitted the onion topping, replaced 200g (of 650g) of flour with WW, used olive oil as the fat and added a few tablespoons of cornmeal to the flour. My starter is wild and at least 3 months old. It has a wonderful smell!! not joking! ----------------------- 3 Stars for Good, Not-Very-Sourdough Bread... ;)

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Daren

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Reviewed: May 18, 2009

This took twice as long to raise as the recipe said it would (maybe my house is too cold?).. The loaf came out beautiful but we hardly tasted the sourdough flavor at all.

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chillmama

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Reviewed: May 12, 2009

I have an Alaskan starter over 100 years old and this is the recipe that finally does it justice! All other loaves have come out way too sour or just failed to satisfy in some way. This is a keeper for my starter now. Next time I'll try leaving out the commercial yeast and seeing how well it rises on it's own. :)

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SAKMEHT

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Reviewed: May 2, 2009

Very good,easy recipe for tasty bread.Just halfed the amount of sugar and yeast. Experimented with rye & spelt flour and have a lovely wheat free loaf! A "bestseller" for my family and friends.

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love to cook

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Apr. 30, 2009

This bread is incredible. I have never had much success making bread, but this bread turned out very well. I sprayed the sides of my stove with water and instead of putting onions on top I brushed the top with olive oil and honey. My starter is really new so the sour taste was faint, but that seems to be the general consensus from other reviewers. With some age the the starter should improve. This bread was great though!

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sulli3

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Living In: Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 30, 2009

I followed the steps and I came out with the best sourdough bread I have ever had. I loved it, my friends loved it and I am making more tomorrow. Great recipe and easy instructions. Thanks

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CookinArgentina

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Aluminé, Neuquén, Argentina

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Reviewed: Apr. 17, 2009

This is THE best recipe for real sourdough bread! Of course the most important ingredient in sourdough bread is your sourdough starter, so make sure you use a good one! It's what gives sourdough it's flavor, so the older and more developed the starter it, the better flavor you will have.

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Mrs. Hooper

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Living In: New Albany, Indiana, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 5, 2009

Awesome.. Super yummy we loved it!.. It looked pretty too! :)

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Traci's Kitchen

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Modesto, California, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 5, 2009

Used my starter(from this website) after only 4 days, but, the bread came out delicious and very authentic to a rustic sourdough. The loaf didn't rise as much as I would have liked but the round I made raised nicely!I did use 2 cups of the starter instead of 1 1/2 (just add a little more flour to recipe to balance)and added just a pinch more yeast to the bread recipe and was able to make 2 loaves without any problem. Delicious! I highly recommend this recipe. My whole family loved it; even a few days later! My house is a little cold, so I rose the dough in the oven after letting it heat up to 150 degrees and then turning the oven off and leaving the light on, it worked perfectly. Good luck!

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NICURN

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Torrance, California, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 16, 2009

Even on the first try this was amazing! I figured I'd mess up a few times first, what a pleasant surprise!

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shauna

Living In: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 15, 2009

This is a great recipe. My husband loves Sourdough Bread. I had been looking for just the right recipe for a while. I love the crispy crust. I took the advise and sprayed the walls of my oven with water, the second batch, this turned out much better. I have also tried this recipe without the onions and it is still great!

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Christina

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bulls Gap, Tennessee, USA

Living In: Rogersville, Tennessee, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 27, 2009

This was wonderful! Easy to make and tasted amazing! Family favorite! :)

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Erica Abcunas

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Reviewed: Feb. 26, 2009

This was my first loaf ever of sourdough bread and it won't be the last. My husband who grew up in San Fran and loves sourdough bread loved this.

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nevaehgm

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Davenport, Iowa, USA

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San Francisco Sourdough Bread

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