Sourdough Biscuits

As you know, I made this sourdough starter a couple of months ago. After baking two underwhelming loaves of bread, I forgot about it for a while in the refrigerator. Since I really didn't feed it at all in October or most of November, I was a little afraid of even opening the lid. When I finally worked up the courage, I found a grayish watery substance on top that looked dead and swampish. However, I was assured by the internet that this is perfectly normal and went ahead and poured off the top liquid, gave the starter a stir, and fed it according to the instructions in the Bread Baker's Apprentice -- 1 cup starter to 4 cups flour and 2 1/2  cups water. 

Just before Thanksgiving, I found a klondike-style sourdough pancake recipe in a 1985 Mother Earth News that sounded like a great way to use up some of the 4+ cups of sourdough starter. The pancakes were so fantastic that I moved on to their biscuit recipe (this one from ME's August 2011 issue). The biscuits were very tasty, but the texture needs a little work. I followed the recipe to the letter, but think that I need to work on the technique of incorporating the dry ingredients with the wet. I went against my best judgement and stirred the dough, when I should have just gently mixed in the wet stuff and dumped the crumbly mixture onto the counter while folding to incorporate. I've found that the best biscuits are made when you work the dough as little as possible -- only folding it in thirds on the counter a few times to create the flaky layers that puff up when cooked. 


We experimented with the scalloped edges vs. smooth and the vote was unanimous in favor of scallops. The edges got a little crispy in the oven, which was a great contrast to the sourdoughy chew. I'm definitely going to try these again very soon to see if my folding technique improves the already great-tasting treats. 

Sourdough Success and Failure

Yesterday I was determined to make this bread submit (rise) in time to have it before bed. In my rush to get it proofing before picking Miles up from our nanny share, I did something stupid. I left my KitchenAid mixer running on the countertop for less than 30 seconds while checking out the next steps in my cookbook and BAM! It somehow walked its way off the countertop and onto the floor. Luckily, the dough was almost finished kneading and looked ready to go. 

I set the dough to rise on the warm oven for three hours and contemplated the fate of my poor mixer. From what I can tell, the cord took a brunt of the force and came nearly completely out of the back of the motor. Today, one of my tasks after taking Miles to his one-year checkup is to call around and find a repair shop so the KitchenAid will be up and running again when we get back from our October trip to the east coast. After rising for three hours, I divided the dough into two balls and put one on the stove to proof again and one in the refrigerator to proof overnight. I got impatient and decided to go ahead and start the baking process at 10:30pm (about an hour early). 


The dough looked perfect when I set it on the peel, but somehow the semolina flour didn't get under one of the edges and it flopped onto the baking stone in this sort of amoeba shape. As you can see, my cuts in the top weren't deep enough either, so overall, the appearance is less than ideal. However, the taste was fantastic. I'm excited to try again today with the loaf in the fridge, but this time give it the proper amount of time to rise and maybe leave it on the sheet pan so it will retain its beautiful round shape.