Converted

I am now officially converted to the sourdough way of life.  As described last week, I've been nursing a jar of sourdough starter over the weekend.  Today I used it.  Twice.  I made biscuits and gravy this morning and just finished a batch of pita pocket breads this evening.  Both turned out spectacularly well.  Yeled is grouchy tired and Ba'al getting ready for work so I don't really have time to post the recipes and descriptions right now but I will in a couple hours.

Oh, and I started another batch of injera today.  We're going to have a lentil stew for Shabbos dinner.

10:39

We had biscuits and gravy for breakfast this morning.  For the biscuits, I used 1 cup of starter, 1/3 cup oil, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 cup of flour.  Mixed the whole thing up until there was no dry flour, and put it by spoonfuls on an ungreased sheet.  I've seen rolled biscuit doughs using sourdough starter also but I prefer drop biscuits, especially in the morning.  I'm a fairly lazy person at heart and the last thing I want to do at seven in the morning is roll out dough.  These biscuits tasted good even this afternoon when they were cold.

The pita breads are impressively good.  I was mildly amazed, considering I've eaten commercial pita bread most of my life, at the flavor of these pitas.  There's a depth of flavor completely missing from store-bought pita.

Use 1/2 cup starter, 1/4 cup warm water, 1/2 Tablespoon sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 cup of flour.  Mix together and knead well.  Put in a greased bowl, cover, and let sit in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.  This will probably take around 2 hours.

Add 1/2 cup flour and knead until smooth.  Divide into three equal parts.  Form each into a ball and then roll into a 1/2 inch thick round.  Cover and allow to rise.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Bake pita rounds on a nonstick sheet for about 10 minutes, until the rounds are puffed up and just turning brown.

Once they are cool enough to handle, cut in half and open with a knife.  This allows the steam to escape so the breads don't become soggy.