Ruth's Sourdough Bread

You'll probably want to be at least somewhat familiar with sourdough and bread making before you tackle this one. I'm reasonably good with both, but I still found myself calling my mom on pretty much every step to make sure I was doing things correctly. After having done it the first time, this is a very EASY recipe.


24 Hours Ahead:
-1 C sourdough mixed with 1 C water and 1 C flour
-Leave at room temperature

12 Hours Ahead:
-Add2 1/2 C flour and 2 1/2 C water to above mixture
-Leave out at room temperature

Next Day:
-Beat sourdough mixture 1-2 minutes
-Add 2-3 C flour and beat 4-5 minutes
-Let stand for 30 minutes
-Add 1 T salt
-Change mixer to a dough hook
-Add 2-3 C flour and knead until no longer sticky - add additional flour if needed
-Raise until doubled
-Turn out onto counter. Let rest 10 minutes
-Form into two loaves, raise until doubled
-Slash loaves and brush with 1 egg white mixed with 1 T water
-Bake 425 F in steamy oven for 10 minutes (place pan of boiling water on rack below bread plus spray sides of oven every 3 minutes for the 10 minutes)
-Reduce heat to 375 and bake for 25 minutes longer

**Don't be afraid to turn up the speed on your mixer when you're beating the dough for 4-5 minutes. It'll be lumpy and gross when you put it in, and beating it like this will make it nice and smooth, and create lots of wonderful strings of gluten.