Sourdough Bread

By norsegal8

Ingredients

• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preparation

Step 1

Bring the sourdough starter to room temperature. Combine 2 1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast. Heat and stir the water, sugar, butter and 1 tesapoon salt just till warm (120 to 130) and the butter almost melts. Add to the flour mixture. Add the sourdough starter. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.

Combine 2 1/2 cups of the flour and the baking soda. Add to the yeast mixture. Stir until combined. Using a spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Turn out onto a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough (6 to 8 minutes total). Shape into a ball. Place into a greased bowl; turn once. Cover, let rise in a warm place until double (45 to 60 minutes).

Punch the dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Cover, let rest 10 minutes; shape into 2 round loaves. Place on a greased baking sheet. Flatten each loaf slightly to a 6-inch diameter. With a sharp knife, make crisscross slashes across the tops of the loaves. Cover, let rise till nearly double (about 30 minutes). bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or til done. Cover the last 10 minutes, if necessary. Remove from baking sheet; cool.