Easy No Knead Sourdough Bread

 I came across a recipe for wholewheat sourdough bread in Bake From Scratch magazine (July/August 2023). There was a beautiful peach pie on the cover, and having recently moved to the South, I knew I had to bake a peach pie. I still haven't baked a peach pie, but I have this bread a few time and all with delicious results. Tim and I managed to engulf almost an entire loaf the first time I baked it. We had bread and butter for dinner that night. I hope you find this bread as enjoyable.

You can also make an all white version, by simply replacing the whole wheat flour with white (bread) flour. The bread is softer when using all white flour. 

You do not need to weigh your ingredients, this is bread. A little more a little less, it isn't going to hurt. I am going to write the recipe out twice, once in cups and the other in grams. I highly recommend a bread whisk for this recipe. it will save you a lot of headaches. This is also a soft dough. It is best done in a loaf pan but other shapes are possible, just beware that it will spread.

1 1/2 cup bread flour 

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/4 cup warm water (80-90 degrees)

1/2 cup sourdough starter

2 tablespoons olive oil

All purpose flour for dusting

1. In a large bowl whisk together flours and salt. Add remaining ingredients and stir together until a shaggy dough forms and no dry spots remain. 

2. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free location for 4 hours, folding dough every hour. (To fold dough, carefully pull and stretch one side and then fold it over on itself. Repeat on all 4 sides.) After the final fold, cover and refrigerate dough for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. 

3. Lightly dust work surface with four. Turn dough out onto surface and cover.  Let stand for 20 minutes. Pat dough into a 9 X 7 rectangle, with the short side facing you. Fold bottom third of dough up; starting at the short side where the dough is folded, roll up dough into a log. Pull log, seam side down, towards you to create tension on surface. 

4. Lightly oil a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Place dough, seam side down, in pan. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size and risen just above sides of pan 2 1/2-3 hours. 

5. Preheat over to 450 degrees. 

6. Lightly dust top of dough with AP flour. Place in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 425. 

7. Bake until golden and an instant read thermometer inserted in center reads 190, about 30 minutes, covering with foil during final 10 minutes of asking to prevent excess browning. Let cool in pan, on wire rack 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely wire racks. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week. Wait at least 1 hour before slicing. 

Whole Wheat Sourdough (in grams)

190 grams bread flour 

195 grams whole wheat flour

7.5 grams kosher salt

300 grams warm water (80-90 degrees)

113 grams sourdough starter

28 grams olive oil

All purpose flour for dusting

1. In a large bowl whisk together flours and salt. Add remaining ingredients and stir together until a shaggy dough forms and no dry spots remain. 

2. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free location for 4 hours, folding dough every hour. (To fold dough, carefully pull and stretch one side and then fold it over on itself. React on all 4 sides.) After the final fold, cover and refrigerate dough for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

3. Lightly dust work surface with four. Turn dough out onto surface and cover. Let stand for 20 minutes. Pat into a 9 X 7 rectangle, with the short side facing you. Fold bottom third of dough up; starting at the short side where the dough is folded, roll up dough into a log. Pull log, seam side down, towards you to create tension on surface. 

4. Lightly oil a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Place dough, seam side down, in pan. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size and risen just above sides of pan 2 1/2-3 hours. 

5. Preheat over to 450 degrees. 

6. Lightly dust top of dough with AP flour. Place in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 425. 

7. Bake until golden and an instant read thermometer inserted in center reads 190, about 30 minutes, covering with foil during final 10 minutes of asking to prevent excess browning. Let cool in pan, on wire rack 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely wire racks. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week. Wait at least 1 hour before slicing. 

Gochujang Roast Chicken

 As often happens in life, I run across a fabulous recipe, make it and then can never seem to locate it again. 🤦‍♀️ This is how and why this blog came into existence. My brilliant husband suggested that I have one place where I put my favorites, so we never loose them again. I don't always follow this wonderful advice, but occasionally, I do. 

Last year we harvested our first chickens. We got them as day old chicks and raised them, first inside the house in a brooder, and later, outside in our newly built chicken tractor. We picked Delaware chickens, with the plan of keeping them, breeding them, and repeating the entire process. Instead we ended up dispatching all of them. For those of you who follow my instagram of facebook feed, you might recall this around Christmas in 2022. For those that don't, I've included a few photos that I think will be of interest.

When we choose to process the chickens, it was in December and we were getting close to Christmas. It had also gotten cold and we knew it was just going to get colder. So instead of waiting for just the perfect time when the chickens were plump, we instead chose a day we knew would be sunny, and with the help of our good friends April and Tim, we completed our meat chicken grow.

Now the chickens we raised were not Cornish Crosses and they were not the size we had hoped they would be. They are tasty, and we are still enjoying them. This recipe is our favorite way of eating them. I make this and cut the chicken right down the middle, and we each eat half with some rice. I hope you enjoy it with your chicken, store bought or home grown. This recipe is for a "standard" sized chicken.

Gochujang Chicken

1 31/2-4 lb whole chicken

Salt and pepper
1/4 cup Gochujang
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon honey plus 1 tablespoon

1 teaspoon soy sauce plus 1 tablespoon 

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

1 tablespoon EVOO

14 cup sesame seeds

Optional, for sauce

1 cup kimchi

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Green onions for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400. Season chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Gently loosen skin on breast and legs, being careful not to rip it. Fold wing tips under chicken.

2.  In a medium sized bowl whisk together Gochujang, 1/4 cup sesame oil, 1 teaspoon honey and 1 teaspoon soy sauce, ginger, garlic. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the mixture in a separate bowl for the glaze. Rub the remaining Gochujang mixture on the outside, inside cavity of the chicken and under the skin. 

3. Heat oil in a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, breast side up, and cook until the bottom starts browning, 3 to 5 minutes. Spoon and rub and remaining Gochujang mixture (not the  glaze) over the chicken, then transfer the chicken to the oven. Roast until the chicken is well browned, basting once with the pan drippings, 35 to 40 minutes, tendering the chicken with foil if it starts to get too dark.

4. While the chicken bakes, toast the sesame seeds in a small, dry non-stick skillet over medium heat. Stir until brown and then remove from heat and let cool. Stir remaining 1 tablespoon honey,  and 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds into the reserved 2 tablespoons of Gochujang mixture to make the glaze.

5. After the chicken has roasted for 35 to 40 minutes, spoon half the honey sesame glaze on top, gently spreading it to cover the leg and breast. Continue to roast until a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 170 degrees, 10-15 minutes. Halfway through, spread the remaining glaze on the chicken. Remove chicken to cutting board and let rest 15 minutes. 

Here is the final step. We have not made the sauce, and I don't think it needs it. 

6. While the chicken rests make the sauce: put the kimchi in a blender along with the rice wine vinegar and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Carefully add 1 tablespoon of the dripping from the skillet. Blend until the sauce is very smooth, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to loosen if necessary. 

Lion's Head Soup

1 lb ground pork
1 egg
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons.sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon salt

2 green onions

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 head of cabbage, Napa preferred

2 cups chicken or pork broth

2 cups water

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Mix together the pork, egg, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, ginger, salt and half of the green onions and then set aside. 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet that will be able to hold all the ingredients. On high heat, heat oil and then add cabbage, stirring constantly until cabbage begins to wilt, 2-3 minutes. Add water, stock and soy sauce. Bring to boil and then lower heat to medium.

Form meat into 1 inch balls and drop into soup. When all the meatballs are added, cover with a lid, turn down heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove lid, taste and add salt if needed. 

Add sesame oil and leftover green onions to soup and serve.

Next time I make this, I am going to add 1 finely shredded carrot in with the cabbage for some additional color. Also, the ordinal recipe called for chicken stock, but I didn't have any so I used homemade pork stock. 

 

Original recipe by Lei Lei Wyatt