SOURDOUGH SAM RECIPES

Steps:

• To make the starter, sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir in the sugar. Add the flour and stir to create a loose dough or thick batter. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, to age. (We used all the starter for our biscuits. You can double the starter recipe and have some left over to make more biscuits later. It will keep in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days. These are called biscuits, incidentally, not only because they have butter in them but because they contain baking powder in addition to the sourdough starter.)
• To make the biscuits, mix together the flour, butter, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the starter and mix well. The mixture will form a fairly sticky dough. Pinch off golf-ball-size pieces (2 ounces each) of the dough and arrange 1-inch apart on a large cookie sheet. Let them proof at room temperature for about 30 to 40 minutes. Place in a 400-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until cooked through and nicely browned.

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt.
• In a small mixing bowl, stir together 300 grams (about 1 1/4 cups) lukewarm tap water with the sourdough starter, then pour the mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a tea towel and leave it to rise overnight, about 10 to 24 hours.
• The next day, generously dust a clean kitchen surface with flour. The dough should have risen considerably and you should see visible bubbling along the sides. The dough will be spongy and wet. Scoop the dough directly onto the surface, then dust with more flour. With lightly floured hands, gently fold the edges of the dough from the outside in, to form a round loaf. Dust a clean towel with yet more flour, sprinkle sesame seeds in a small area about the size of your loaf and place the dough on top of the seeds, seam side down. Lightly dust with additional flour, cover and allow to double in size, about 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 450. Place a covered enamel Dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid into the oven and allow it to heat for 30 minutes or so. Remove the pot from the oven, take off its top, and carefully invert the risen dough into it, so that the seam side is now facing up. (Alternately you can invert the risen dough onto a flour-dusted sheet of parchment paper and lower your loaf into your pot that way.). Put the top back on the pot and return it to the oven.
• Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, then take the top off the pot and allow it to continue to cook until it is brown and crusty all over, an additional 20 minutes or so. Put the loaf on a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.