Sourdough Cornmeal-Flour, Raisin & Saffron Boules. My continuing adventures in

I used to make a sourdough cinnamon buns recipe years ago. From an old Bread Cookbook

from Sunset Magazine back when those books cost $4.95....
It was pretty good. My only sweet bread using sourdough. BTW mt sourdough is 29 years and counting. It has suffered Extreme Neglect (once not fed for Two Years!) over the years but always bounces right back.
YOURS looks quite the thing, are you sharing????

 
Happy to share. . . but how? I have 4 separate starters. One from carlsfriends.com, one from Joe &

the other 2 are variations on the starter I bought from breadtopia.

I used the discard from feeding the breadtopia starter to develop a "sweet" starter. Don't know if I did it right but I would dump half of it,then use milk, sugar and bread flour to feed and replenish, twice a day for 4 days. It became REALLY active and given the results of the Corn Flour boules, I'll try to a Chocolate-Sour Cherry batch, at which point I can rest.

By the way, I've done the last 3 batches using some variation or other of the No-Knead method. It works remarkably well although it's difficult to successfully bake any shape but a boule. I've achieved batards with some effort but otherwise, quien sabe?

 
Just what you used, proportions and such. I can punt the rest. A few years ago

I dehydrated some and took to Italy to impress my realtives. I made some excellent sourdough bread for them but guess what...they don't like sourdough bread! Guess we in CA just take that liking for granted. They did like the focaccia I made with packaged bread machine mix! Go figure!

 
By the way, I used the no-knead method so, even a chimp could make it! I didn't have a chimp around

so I had to make it by myself. And so it goes.

 
Steve, I was looking at your photo of your Challah, it's beautiful! How

do you keep your braid from pulling apart? I make one almost every week, I usually do a 4 braid, sometimes, as it bakes, it pulls apart a lot, sometimes a little. I don't know what causes it and it's driving me nuts! Help!

 
Pinch the braids together and fold 'em under as you start, then when you get to the other end, pinch

the ends together again and fold them under as well.

I make sure the strands(I do 5 because I'm "braid challenged") are the same size, tapered at both ends and gently cinched in as they're braided.

Don't know if it helps or not but let me know if I can help.

 
Did you use Ms. Silverton's recipe? If not, would you please share your recipe?

chezz posted the recipe from the La Brea Bakery years ago for me. It is a bit time intensive. A no Knead version sounds like it may be in my future since I got a lovely Le Creuset pot from a friend who said it was "simply too heavy" to lift. (I am so lucky to have friends who refuse to work out!!)

 
No problemo. I lived a block from La Brea bakery when it was just opening so, I've had the "real"

stuff since it's inception. I found it a little too bitter to completely enjoy. For my version, (as I said, it's an "homage". Mostly because "stealing" sounds so tacky) I set out to soften, sweeten and generally make it more "user friendly". That said, here's the recipe:

Chocolate-Dried Cherry Bread

1 cup “Herman” SOURDOUGH STARTER, highly active
1 cup WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR
2½ cups UNBLEACHED BREAD FLOUR
l cup SUGAR
1½ tsp SALT
1 cup COCOA POWDER
2 Tbsp BUTTER, room temperature
1 cup DRIED CHERRIES or CRANBERRIES

1 cup MILK
½ cup BUTTERMILK

Pour the flour in a bowl and combine with the starter, cocoa, butter, sugar, salt and cherries. Make a well in the middle and pour in the milk, buttermilk and butter. Stir until well blended, cover with plastic and allow to rise 18 hours.

Scoop dough from bowl onto a lightly floured surface, fold 4 times, gently shape into a boule. Cover with plastic wrap, let rest 15-20 minutes.

Reshape the boule, increase surface tension and place, seam-side down, in a parchment paper lined, “E” sized Le Creuset casserole. Cover again with plastic and allow to rise, until doubled in size, 2-3 hours. During 2nd hour, preheat oven to 400º F.

Once doubled, score the loaf, then cover with the casserole lid and place in the oven. After 30 minutes, reduce temperature to 375º F, remove lid, rotate the loaf, bake another 20-25 minutes or until brown, sounds hollow when tapped and reaches an internal temperature of at least 185º F, total, 40 to 45 minutes.

Cool at least 2 hours before slicing.

 
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