_sourdough Recipes

Steps:

• Talk to a "Sourdough Cook" and almost immediately he'll launch into a history of his starter. (You may be reminded of folks who've just become grandparents for the first time!) It's not uncommon for a particular starter to be handed from generation to generation and considered to be a family heirloom. Fanatics, who inhabit the ranks of "Sourdough Cooks", will always like to tell how their starter was carried over Chilkoot Pass during the Klondike gold rush. They say this as if any starter with a less glorious past is inferior. Over time I've found it's easier to let such folks think their inferior thoughts rather than argue with them. The starter I have used for the last twenty years was given to me by an uncle who lived in the Seattle area. As I recall, a cook off a merchant ship gave it to him only after an hour long discourse on the lineage of this starter. Translated, it means if you buy or are given a starter, it is at least a day old. Don't worry though, "Sourdough Cooks" often like to fish as well and thus, share a trait for which all fishermen are famous. So, within a month or so of starting to cook with sourdough it's perfectly acceptable to me if you want to "stretch the dough" so to speak!At home I keep at least two containers with starter in them at all times. When I pack for a trip I take one starter with me and leave the other at home. Then should I roll a pack horse off the trail or flip my raft, I'll only be out of sourdough until I get home. The starter I leave at home, I like to think of as my insurance "dough"! Rather than this author attempting to write another "Sourdough Cook Book", Jack Trueblood graciously allowed the use of his recipes and an explanation of just what "Sourdough" really is. As a kid growing up in the 50's-60's in southeast Idaho, I often read stories in FIELD AND STREAM written by Jack's father, Ted Trueblood. Ted often mentioned sourdough biscuits and bread when describing camp life in those stories. At any gathering of the Trueblood clan, "Uncle Jack" will be found with his "sourdough fixins", passing on this knowledge to all his nieces and nephews.A Back Country Guide to Outdoor Cooking Spiced with Tall Tales - Bread in Camp

Steps:

• Mix oil, sugar,egg and starter and milk.
• Stir until sugar is well dissolved.
• Stir in zucchini.
• Combine dry ingredients and mix into zucchini mixture just to blend well.
• Fold in raisins and nuts.
• Grease and flour a pan that will hold mixture 2/3 full.
• Bake 325°F, one hour or tested done. Cool in pan 5 minutes before removing.
• Remove and cool on rack completely.
• Wrap and mellow overnight before cutting.

Steps:

• In large non-metallic bowl, mix together dry yeast, 2 cups warm water, and 2 cups all purpose flour and cover loosely.
• Leave in a warm place to ferment, 4 to 8 days. Depending on temperature and humidity of kitchen, times may vary. Place on cookie sheet in case of overflow. Check on occasionally.
• When mixture is bubbly and has a pleasant sour smell, it is ready to use. If mixture has a pink, orange, or any other strange color tinge to it, THROW IT OUT! and start over. Keep it in the refrigerator, covered until ready to bake.
• When you use starter to bake, always replace with equal amounts of a flour and water mixture with a pinch of sugar. So, if you remove 1 cup starter, replace with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour. Mix well and leave out on the counter until bubbly again, then refrigerate. If a clear to light brown liquid has accumulated on top, don't worry, this is an alcohol base liquid that occurs with fermentation. Just stir this back into the starter, the alcohol bakes off and that wonderful sourdough flavor remains! Sourdough starters improve with age, they used to be passed down generation to generation!
• Use this starter to make the Sourdough Chocolate Cranberry Cake, and the Sourdough Chocolate Cake.