Receta Sourdough Coffee Cake
I discovered a wonderful sourdough recipe book called: Simply Sourdough ~The Alaska Way~ by Kathy Doogan. I bought it on Amazon for $7.95 (plus shipping) This book has it all~ history about sourdough, how to get started with sourdough, tips for working with sourdough, many delicious recipes and a Free Sourdough Starter Packet! After making several recipes from this recipe book, I decide to do a...Drum Roll Please.....A Week of Sourdough~ I am going to share a different recipe every day for a week, starting today. I choose this week because it coincides with my Sourdough Surprises Challenge that is on the 20th of the month. I have made 5 recipes from Simply Sourdough and 2 recipes are from an old issue of Hometown Cooking, that I have made many times. Before I get started I am going to give you a brief history of sourdough, a traditional recipe to get you started with sourdough, a few sourdough "terms" and a few "tips" for working with sourdough. All information can be found in the book by Kathy Doogan, Simply Sourdough ~The Alaska Way~ Here are two sites that you will find helpful: Sourdough Home, Weekend Bakery
History: Sourdough is thought to be the oldest form of leavened bread. Some think it was discovered as long ago as 4000 BC, when Egyptians accidentally left some dough out at room temperature and it picked up the wild yeast in the air and began rising. Until commercially produced baking yeast became widely available in the mid to late 19th century, various forms of sourdough provided the primary method of leaving bread. When people think of sourdough, most people think of gold rushes and prospectors in the California gold rush of 1849 and the Klondike gold rush of 1898. Alaska miners depended on their sourdough starters. As long as the miners had their starters and flour,they wouldn't go hungry. The miners treasured starters were passed down from person to person and some were even treated as family heirlooms and passed from generation to generation, especially in Alaska. Perhaps the best known sourdough is the distinctively sour taste of San Francisco sourdough bread, which one bakery there claims to have been making from the same starter since 1849.
Getting Started: The easiest way to get started with sourdough is to get some starter from a friend or relative. If that isn't an option, you can make your own. When I first started my sourdough starter, about a year and a half ago, this is the method that I used.
Traditional Sourdough Starter:
(no added yeast; requires proofing before using)
2 cups water, room temperature
2 cups flour
Place ingredients in a large, wide mouth glass jar, I use Kerr or Ball canning jars, blend well with a wooden or plastic spoon. Cover loosely with a clean piece of cheesecloth or gauze. (this allows air to enter the jar so your starter can pick up wild yeasts from the environment) and place it in a warm spot. Once a day, remove half the starter and throw it away. To the remaining starter, add 1 cup flour and 1 cup room temperature water; stir well until most of the lumps are gone. After 3 or 4 days of replenishing the starter should be bubbly and have a pleasant sour smell. It is ready to be used immediately, or can be placed in the refrigerator with a loose cover and refrigerated for later use. Note: I always use bottled water, and Dakota Maid All-Purpose Flour
Sourdough "terms"
Hooch: A harmless watery liquid, varying in color from clear, yellow to dark brown. This liquid contains alcohol that forms on your starter, most often on top but it can form on the bottom.
Proofing: Allowing your starter to ferment and become active.
Sponge: An active starter, ready to use.
Tips:
Never store your sourdough tightly covered; gas given off by fermentation can cause a tightly sealed container to explode.
Sourdough can react to metal so it is best to avoid metal utensils and bowls when preparing recipes.
If the starter forms a layer of liquid on top, don't worry, this is a normal by product of the fermentation process. Pour off the liquid if the starter is thin or stir it in if the starter is thick. The ideal consistency for starter is like a thick pancake batter but this varies from person to person; some prefer their starters thin and others prefer their starters thick.
Sourdough Coffee Cake
Cake~
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 t salt
- 1 t baking soda
- 1 t cinnamon
- Topping~
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 T butter
- 1 T flour
- 1/3 pecans
- *Icing~
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 T french vanilla coffee creamer or milk
Combine sourdough starter, oil and egg.
Stir together dry ingredients and add to the sourdough mixture.
Put dough into a greased 9-inch square pan.
With a pastry blender, mix together crumb topping ingredients. Sprinkle topping on top of batter.
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean.
Cool on wire rack.
Mix together icing ingredients, drizzle over warm coffee cake.
*I have made this coffee cake with and without icing. I like the added sweetness from the icing, so I usually serve it with the icing~
Health Note: Mushrooms supply the vitamin called biotin. Biotin is needed to help the body use carbohydrates and fats~