This Pumpkin Spice Bread is moist and full of spices! It is perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack! Think of the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice bread but better!
I say given the dumpster-fire of a year we have had so far, we are owed one heck of a Fall! And that includes ALL THE PUMPKIN SPICE!
I am kicking of the PSL season with this pumpkin spice bread and I think you should too. It is easy, fast and delightfully spiced. It almost tastes like all the flavor of pumpkin pie was magically inserted into a quick bread.
As soon as the temperature dips you can find my-basic-ass-self pulling down a can of pumpkin puree and waiting for the first loaf of this bread to come out of the oven. The smells of this bread are what candles wish they could emulate. It took an incredible amount of patience for me to wait for the bread to cool before slicing for the video. True sacrifice.
Here’s to hoping that pumpkin bread is the new banana bread!
This recipe makes 2 loaves, which uses an entire can of pumpkin. I like to think that my neighbors and coworkers appreciate these pumpkin spice gifts, but you could also stash one in the freezer for later! No shame in preparedness.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 9” x 5” loaf pans and coat with granulated sugar.
Combine flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to incorporate, set aside.
Whisk together light brown sugar, sugar, oil, and eggs. Whisk in puree.
Whisk dry ingredients and water into sugar mixture.
Notes
Note: Makes 2 loaves, which uses an entire can of pumpkin. Can also make one loaf and you can use the extra pumpkin puree in this healthier loaf or these muffins or be bold and make pumpkin spice donuts!!
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These Blueberry Banana Bran Muffins are packed with protein, fiber and fruit! The perfect breakfast or snack on the go!
There are those days where you want to have fun in the kitchen and experiment, and then there are those weeks during which you are so busy you try to remember what scrambling an egg feels like. Just me?
These Blueberry Banana Bran Muffins are for those times, because they are that power-packed breakfast or snack that will see you through even the most stressful times. Let’s be honest, it’s in these times when it is hardest to eat something healthy AND filling AND portable.
These protein bran muffins have seen me through flights (remember those? 😭), late-night kitchen services that bleed into early morning production shifts, professional bread school, and let’s not forget jury duty.
Anyone who was on the Anna Delvey trial last Spring, yes, that Anna Delvey 😱, saw me eat one of these muffins during our first recess every single day for 3 months!
I use LadyBoss Lean protein powder for these muffins because I’m obsessed! If you use a different brand, you might need to adjust the amount of buttermilk or add additional water.
They are that good. Filling, a little bit sweet, and full of protein.
They are moist with hints of banana and cinnamon. The pre-soaking of the wheat bran in buttermilk is the key to happiness here! It eliminates all the usual problems with bran muffins. Dry, sad and overly sweet to compensate.
I am sure health nuts and die-hard “insert any diet here” fanatics will cry out in protestation that “these aren’t healthy!” Let me just stop you all there. Sub whatever you want, omit all the sugar and use Stevia, but I don’t want to hear about it. Also, I have billed way worse as “muffins” here before! 😂
I make large batches of these Blueberry Banana Bran Muffins (usually three times the recipe printed below), cool them down completely and then freeze them in gallon Ziplock bags. I take them out as I need them. Usually I just throw one in my purse still frozen and it has thawed by the time I eat it, but a quick zap in the microwave also does the trick!
Preheat the oven to 400 [not convection] and either grease 12 muffin cups or line with liners. [In the video I use Large muffin tins, you can do this too!]
Mix buttermilk and wheat bran and set aside to soak. In another medium bowl mix together all the remaining dry ingredients.
In a large bowl add egg white, sugar, oil, banana and vanilla and mix until well combined.
Gently stir the dry mixture followed by buttermilk mixture into the egg mixture. Fold until just combine and a few lumps remain. Fold in the blueberries being careful not to over mix.
Pour into prepared muffin cups and bake for 15-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool 5 minutes in tins and then turn out onto rack to cool completely.
Notes
They will keep 3 days at room temperature, 1 week in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer. A 2x batch will make 18 large muffins.LadyBoss Lean Protein Powder: https://ladyboss.com/store/?LB_aid=LindFarThis is an affiliate link: I may get a small amount of compensation if you purchase through it. First off, thank you! Second, I have been using it for years and I truly love it so you can trust that it is exceptional!
These homemade brioche hamburger buns are soft and buttery! They are the perfect bun for any hamburger or sandwich and easier to make than you think!
Everybody focuses on the hamburger patty but the bun is just as, if not more, important as what is between them. Nothing can turn a regular burger into something extraordinary quite like an exceptional hamburger bun.
It is literally my day job to make sure that each component of every dish is perfectly balanced with the others. Each element needs to compliment but not outshine its companions on the plate. I like to call this “playing nicely together”. No one wants to hang out with the kid that tramples on your feelings or runs over your sandcastles with their bulldozer, and, in the same way, no one wants to eat a dish that is overpowered by one particular ingredient.
When you look at dishes in this way even the supporting actors have a main role. The humble hamburger bun is one such character. The easiest way to make restaurant quality hamburgers in your very own backyard (or tiny NYC kitchen, ahem) is to break out the yeast and make your own buns! I promise it is easier than you think!
I don’t eat hamburgers often but when I do I want a soft, buttery brioche bun that is going to sop up all the juices and compliment whatever I decide to stack on top of the meat. These brioche hamburger buns are exactly that. They taste exactly like they came out of a restaurant kitchen…because they did. 😉
Now I’m not going to mention any names, but we made these same brioche hamburger buns every single day at a certain NYC steakhouse. I started working there as a pastry intern while I was in culinary school. I used to sneak a bun off the tray in the grill station when mid-service hunger pangs hit! They were my guilty pleasure. Well, until my waistline told me to find a new, less guilty pleasure! Lol
Ever since I sneaked my first one off the tray, they have been my favorite hamburger bun. This is the bun to which I compare all other buns.
And I made a video to show you exactly how to make it. So stop dillydallying and get to baking!
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine yeast, milk and sugar. Allow to bloom and sit for about 10 minutes until bubbly.
Add flour, butter and salt. Mix with paddle attachment to combine. Switch to hook and mix on medium to develop gluten. Mix until smooth dough forms.
Finish kneading on the table (no flour) if necessary.
Place in oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and proof until double in size, 1 -1.5 hours
Divide into 110 – 115 g pieces, or just eye-ball eight pieces.
Shape into a round and place on parchment lined sheetpan.
Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick spray.
Proof until they feel light and airy when gently squeezed. They will be a bit more than doubled, approximately 30-45 minutes depending on the heat of your kitchen.
Brush the tops with egg wash or melted butter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional)
Bake in preheated 350°F oven until golden brown, approximately 12-15 minutes.
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This Cherry Pecan Sourdough Bread is chewy and full of dried cherries and toasted pecans! It is delightful for breakfast, an afternoon snack with nut butter or for dinner!
Raise your hand if whenever you go into an artisan bakeshop, you have an internal debate about which loaf to choose. 🙋🏼♀️ Should I get the practical sandwich bread or should I get the sexy, fun loaf full of dried fruit and nuts that I will inevitably tear into like a savage on the way back home?
Warning: this is the sexy, fun loaf variety.
Though it seems way less of an adventurous choice when you make it at home! But you can, and should, still tear into it like you haven’t eaten in a week when nobody is watching. 😉
I also like to think that the whole wheat flour in this bread gives it that little dose of healthy that makes it feel like our “Summer Body” won’t totally be lost in Quarantine.
I must say that I hope this National infatuation with sourdough continues after Quarantine. It’s like overnight millions of people finally appreciate some obscure sport that you fell in love with years ago! It is super gratifying.
Maybe as the world opens back up people will go back to work and return to the mundane routine of making dinner and leave the bread baking up to the bakeries again; but it was really nice that, for a brief moment in time, everyone else understood that deep satisfaction of cutting into your homemade loaf still warm from the oven, seeing those trademark sourdough holes, and savoring that first tangy bite. It makes my soul smile.
I also have to admit that I have been eating this cherry pecan sourdough bread on repeat. I totally made this bread because I had eaten the last slice of this loaf, and I am almost finished! I pre-slice it, wrap it really well in plastic wrap and then freeze it. I like to take one of those slices out, toast it in the broiler, slather it with nut butter and mound it up with bananas! Maybe if I’m feeling extra, I’ll drizzle a little local honey on top.
You can halve this recipe and make one loaf at a time….but why?
The night before, build your liquid levain from your starter. If you are maintaining a liquid levain starter with 125% hydration already, there is no need to feed a separate starter, just adjust the ratio above to make sure you have enough to feed the next day. Allow it to proof at room temperature.
Make the Final Dough:
Whisk together dry active yeast and water in the bowl of a stand mixer just to hydrate and make sure there are no clumps. Add all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and levain to the bowl. Mix on low until all the flour has been completely incorporated, let the dough sit for 15 minutes (autolyze) to develop gluten.
While your dough autolyzes, cover the dried cherries with hot water and allow to soak 30 minutes. Drain very well and set aside.
Add the salt to the bowl, switch to the hook attachment and then mix on low to incorporate the salt.
Turn the mixer up to medium speed to develop the gluten. Stop the mixer every now and again and take a piece of the dough in your hands. Working around the edges of the dough try to pull the piece thin enough to see through. The whole wheat grains will tear more easily. Do not despair! This is normal and it takes practice. This dough will not form a ball around the hook because it is too wet of a dough (this is what we want!).
Add the toasted, cooled pecans and the strained cherries and mix on low until they are inside the dough and not all on the outside.
Scoop dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
Place in a warm spot for an hour.
First set of folds: Fold each of the four sides into the center, pulling the dough up and allowing it to smack down on top of the remaining dough in the bowl. This is developing more gluten! Cover and proof an additional hour or until doubled and light and airy feeling. You want to oil or flour your hand before you feel the dough. It should feel light and airy and not stiff or dense.
Divide the dough into two equal portions of 625g each. A bowl or plate on a kitchen scale is very helpful here.
Pre-shape: Dust the top of the dough in the bowl with flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly (I mean lightly!) floured surface. Fold each of the four sides towards you into the center, turning the dough after each fold. This will create a little packet. Flip the dough so the seam in on the counter. Shape it into a round by using both hands to pull the dough towards you. Once you have a round ball with a smooth top, allow it to sit and bench rest for 15 minutes.
Final Shape: Repeat the same process as with the pre-shape. Place the dough on a piece of parchment or flip it upsidedown into a proof basket that has been dusted with rice flour. Cover with plastic wrap.
To bake same day: Place the basket back into the warm spot and allow to rise another 1-2 hours or until it feels light and airy and has doubled in volume in the basket. The volume will be tough to tell if you are proofing it on parchment because it doesn’t contain or control the shape of the sourdough. Proceed to the baking step below.
To bake next day: OMIT THE DRY ACTIVE YEAST! Place covered basket into the refrigerator to retard the dough overnight. This will slow the proofing of the yeast and will allow you to bake 12-18 hours later.
Baking: Preheat the oven to 450F convection or 470F non-convection with the Dutch oven or baking pan inside. Meanwhile, cut a piece of parchment a little larger than the loaf. When your oven is ready toss a little flour onto the dough then turn the dough out of the basket onto the parchment. [If you proofed your dough on parchment, skip this step] Score the dough using a lame, razor blade or pairing knife. You want to score midway between the bottom and the top. With this bread in a round shape, I like to make a square so that it rises straight up and maintains its round shape.
Take the preheated Dutch oven from the oven, gently lower the dough into the pot and cover it with the lid. Place in the oven and bake 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking 25 minutes or until the loaf is a dark amber brown.
Remove the loaf from the Dutch oven, remove the parchment carefully, and then cool completely. This allows the crumb to set.
Enjoy!
Notes
Note: This makes 2 loaves! Sometimes I will make an extra loaf and then cut it into slices, wrap it well in parchment then plastic wrap, and freeze it. I can then take out slices as I want them!
Did you make this recipe? I want to hear all about it! 🥳 Tag me on Instagram @cheflindseyfarr and use the hashtag #americanheritagecooking
This sourdough pizza dough is fast and you can use your sourdough starter discard! There is no kneading because it’s all made in the food processor!
Fickle, fickle world. Sourdough bread may go in and out of style faster than Hammer Pants, but pizza will never leave us! And, thus, I give to you the easiest, fastest sourdough pizza dough EVER.
This is an amazing way to use your sourdough discard; meaning you can use yesterday’s starter for pizza dough instead of tossing it in the trash. Or using it for brownies, because, why? Sourdough culture in brownies sounds worse than avocados. Uncool Instagram, uncool.
The sourdough give the pizza dough an outstanding flavor! You know how pizza dough often just tastes like the sum of its parts? Kinda bland? More like a vehicle of cheese transportation than a flavorful component of the dish itself?
This crust will transform your whole pizza experience! When flavor is built on top of flavor, you get the pizza equivalent of a nuclear missile verses a sparkler left over from 4th of July 1992. Dud.
It’s chewy and crispy in all the right places! Don’t believe me, check it out for yourself.
Sure it take a little planning but you could make a double batch and keep two wrapped tightly in plastic wrap in the freezer! Just defrost and use.
Oil a baking sheet or baking dish with canola oil. Set aside.
Fit a food processor with a blade, any blade. It doesn’t matter. Seriously.
Add 00 flour, bread flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Fix the top and pulse to combine the ingredients.
Combine the water, olive oil and starter. With the food processor running pour the wet ingredients through the feed tube. When I made it for the video I added the starter after the water and oil and it was something special trying to get it through the tube. Don’t be like me.
Allow the food processor to run until a ball forms and then let it run another 30 seconds. Stop the food processor.
Lightly flour a smooth surface. Don’t use too much. The dough isn’t that sticky.
Using a spatula, scrape all the dough onto the counter. With a bench scraper, divide it into two equal pieces.
Form each one into a ball by folding all four sides into the center. Flip it over seam-side down. Tighten the ball by pulling the dough towards you, rotating and then pulling to towards you again. You can also shape it using the bench scraper. Just watch my video on youtube!
Place each ball on the oiled sheet. Rub some oil on the top of the dough. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
Refrigerate 24-72 hours. The longer it sits, the more the flavor will develop.
Before you use it, take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 2-4 hours. Make that pizza!!!!
Notes
Makes 2, 14 inch pizzasIf you don’t have 00 flour, you can use all bread flour.
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Bread is my weakness. That one thing that I couldn’t live without. If you know me professionally, you know that I am OBSESSED with baking bread, experimenting with different flavors and creating new recipes just because I can.
I get emotionally invested in it. It’s a little freakish.
Fortunately my boyfriend has been shielded from this creative process and just sees the resulting loaves, so he still finds it charming. 😅
This sourdough raisin bread is one of my favorite experiments.
Do not leave me alone with this bread. It is not safe. My waistline is not safe.
This bread’s soft, tender, buttery crumb is bordering on the obscene. Every single bite is packed full of raisins for a hint of sweetness that balances perfectly with the light sourdough flavor.
There is a lot going on here in this seemingly simple childhood favorite.
There are two different types of pre-ferments in this dough. Huh? What? Ok, I’ll roll that back for the class. Pre-fermentation just means starting the natural fermentation process of yeast a head of time.
Sourdough starter is one type of pre-ferment. Clearly this is a preferment that has been going on for weeks, years, even decades!
The second type of preferment in this recipe is a sponge. A sponge uses a portion of the flour in the recipe and all the yeast and water. In this recipe the sponge also has honey and the sourdough starter too! The sponge’s job is just to give the yeast a kickstart. It adds a bit of depth of flavor but mostly just shortens the whole process.
Take all that flavor and add in some…butter! Oh, yes, this wonderful bread is a brioche! The butter adds a soft, richness to the dough. It also makes the crust soft!
In addition to all that this sourdough raisin bread is PACKED full of raisins. A full pound of raisins in two loaves. Because I hate when a bread promises to be a raisin bread and then half the bites don’t have raisins and the raisins fall out of the other half of the bites.
In case you aren’t a bread eating champion like me, this makes fabulous French toast, bread pudding, or you can toast it with some cinnamon sugar and butter for an afternoon snack like my Mom used to do!
This Sourdough Raisin Bread is soft, chewy, buttery and packed full of raisins in every bite!
Prep Time5hrs
Cook Time35mins
Ingredients
Liquid Levain:
147gWater
12gStarter
117gAP Flour
Sponge:
226gAP Flour
296gWater90°F
65gHoney
3gDry active yeast
230gStarter
Dough:
311gAP Flour
40gDry milk powder
15gSalt
130gButtercold, cubed
454gRaisins
Instructions
Prepare your liquid levain:
12-14 hours before you want to mix your dough. Prepare the liquid levain. If you are already maintaining a liquid levain then you will feed it as normal with the proportions above. If you are maintaining a stiff levain (1:1 ratio of flour to water), then you will make a separate starter for this recipe the night before. There 25% more water in this recipe than you starter. Fear not. All will be fine.
Note: This amount is a bit more than the recipe because starter like to stick to containers, to spatulas, to your hand, and you don’t want to be short what is needed in the recipe. Plus you also need 10g to feed for tomorrow! Gotta keep that starter going!
In a clean container, mix AP flour, water and yesterday’s culture (starter). Cover it up. Let it sit out at room temperature until it doubles! Pour yourself a glass of wine and get excited for the bread you’re going to eat tomorrow!
Prepare the sponge:
In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast with water and honey. Whisk to make sure there are no lumps of yeast in the water. Stir in the sponge portion of the flour and all the starter.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm humid place until the sponge bubbles and makes large cracks in the flour.
Prepare the dough:
Scrape the contents of the sponge bowl into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the remaining flour, salt and milk powder to the bowl and mix on low to incorporate the ingredients. When a shaggy mass forms and there are no visible dry pieces of flour, change to the hook attachment.
Increase speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and passes the window pane test meaning you can pull a piece of dough thin enough that light passes through it.
Add the butter and mix on medium to incorporate. Then add the raisins and mix on low until distributed throughout and are mostly inside the dough.
Preheat oven to 350°F
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead into a ball. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 2, 790g portions.
Preshape into a boule (round). Bench rest 10 minutes.
Final shape into a log and place in greased baking dish.
Proof in a warm, humid place until they have doubled in size and feel light and airy to touch.
Bake in preheated oven until a thermometer reads 186°F. Cool 10 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely
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This easy cinnamon banana crumb bread has a chewy, crunchy streusel topping and is the perfect way to use up those old bananas! It’s so easy that it is all made in one bowl with an immersion blender or in the blender!
In case you’ve been holed up under a Quarantine Rock, let me tell you, banana bread fever has swept the virtual nation.
TBH you’d be hard pressed to find a Food Bandwagon that I didn’t want to jump on straight away…with the notable exception of rainbow bagels, because…just no.
So you know my banana bread cravings were instantly ignited and I HAD TO make some myself.
Now, I’m no psychiatrist, buuuut I’ve long been a banana bread addict, so I feel qualified to diagnose the cause of this craze. Banana bread is the ultimate comfort food and when life gets tough we cling to those edible comforts. Also it’s way easier than the other carby craze – sourdough. Waiting 14-36 hours for your comfort food takes a special kind of dedication.
If you want to hear me chat about my childhood banana bread memories or just want some Nutella swirl up in your banana bread fix, then skip on over to that post, but come back for the streusel!
I have at least 5 different banana bread recipes on AHC because banana bread is life, but this is my first banana crumb bread post. I’ve been making this recipe as mini muffins at the restaurant on and off for years. They are addicting! If I had to guestimate, I’ve probably eaten 50 gazillion of them.
Gahhh the streusel! 🥰
In order to get that chewy, crispy streusel layer you basically just have to add so much crumb topping that some sinks inside the bread and you get a hidden soft layer under the perfectly crunchy top. To. Die. For.
This easy cinnamon banana crumb bread has a chewy, crunchy streusel topping and is the perfect way to use up those old bananas! It’s so easy that it is all made in one bowl with an immersion blender or it can all be made in the blender!
Prep Time8mins
Cook Time50mins
Ingredients
Crumble:
57gButter, cold and cubed¼ Cup
68gAll purpose Flour½ Cup
46gLight brown sugar3 Tablespoons, packed
1gsalt¼ teaspoon
Banana Bread Batter:
215gAll Purpose flour1 ¾ Cup
6gBaking soda1 teaspoon
2gsalt½ teaspoon
6gcinnamon1 ½ teaspoons
272gBananasvery ripe (about 2 ½ large)
100gEggs2 large eggs
215gSugar1 Cup
80gButtermilk5 Tablespoons
138gButterMelted, 10 Tablespoons
Instructions
Crumble:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all ingredients for the crumble. Mix on low until the butter in completely incorporated. The dough should hold together in your hand when you squeeze it. If it does not, you can finish it by hand, squeezing until there are no more dry spots.
Alternatively you can make this all by hand: combine all ingredient in a bowl and rub the butter into the flour mixture until it holds together in one cohesive dough.
You can make this ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
For the Batter:
Preheat convection oven to 350°F. Spray 1-lb loaf pan with cooking spray or spread butter over the entire surface. Coat the inside of the pan with sugar by pouring a bit in the bottom and then tilting the pan so that it evenly coats all the sides.
Melt butter in a pot on the stove or in the microwave. You want it to be melted but not hot. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a bowl combine bananas, eggs, sugar, and buttermilk.. Immersion blend until smooth.
Quickly immersion blend flour, soda, cinnamon, salt and butter into the banana mixture until there are only a few remaining lumps. Be careful not to over mix batter.
Pour into prepared pan.
Crumble all the streusel on top of the loaf. Make sure you have some big crumbs and some smaller ones.
Bake about 50-60 minutes in preheated oven or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out with clinging crumbs.
With this easy to follow sourdough starter recipe you can be making fresh sourdough bread from your own starter in just five days! You’ll find a day by day recipe and detailed answers to all your starter questions!
The starter is the foundation of a good sourdough and all you need to make your own is flour and water! It’s like Christmas came early with Nature’s greatest gift to the baker!
There are going to be a lot of words in this post. Brace yourself.
If you would rather just watch the highlight reel:
Day 1: Combine 100g rye flour and 100g water in a clean container, cover, let sit out 24 hours at room temperature
Day 2: In a clean container combine 100g rye flour, 100g water, and 100g yesterday’s starter. Throw out the remaining starter. Cover and let sit out at room temperature 24 hours. You should start seeing bubbles and some activity.
Day 3: Repeat Day 2. Your starter should just about double or more!
Day 4: Combine 100g all-purpose flour, 100g water, and 100g yesterday’s starter. Throw out the remaining starter. Cover and let sit out at room temperature 24 hours. The starter will definitely double and have larger air pockets.
Day 5: Repeat Day 4. Mine had tripled by this point. You can totally use her to leaven bread!
Day 6 & 7: Repeat Day 4.
Feeding your starter for the long term: You want a controlled growth of your starter when you are going to use it for bread. This is all in the feeding. Once you have an active starter you can switch to the following ratio for a stiff levain:100g water10g previous day’s starter100g AP flour
Or this one for a Liquid Levain:125g Water10 g Previous day’s starter100g AP Flour
Let’s Dish Details:
Choosing your flour: I start my levain with rye flour because whole grain flours like rye or whole wheat are less processed than AP, so there is more natural yeast in the flour. This gives the starter a kick-start. Then I switch to AP flour on Day 4 because rye flour has a very specific flavor and I don’t want all of my bread to taste like fermented rye. If I want that flavor, I’ll add rye flour to my bread. Think of it like creating a neutral sourdough base. All the sourness without the specifics.
If you like your levains like your women; low maintenance: You can put her in the refrigerator and only feed her every other week or even in the freezer and feed her every other month! Don’t forget that in order for her to properly feast and grow, she needs to be at room temperature! Take her out of the fridge or freezer, let her sit at room temperature 8-12 hours, feed her as usual and then let her ferment at room temperature over night.
This is so key that I’m going to give it its own line: Sourdough starter needs to ferment AT ROOM TEMPERATURE.
What to do when you want to make bread with your starter. Ah yes, this is the root of the matter. If your starter has been at room temperature, feed it 12-18 hours before you plan to mix your dough. If it has been in the refrigerator, you need 1 day to warm up and then 2 feedings. I like to give my starter a kickstart before I use her by feeding her two times before using it, but you don’t have to. You could let her sit out at room temperature day 1 then feed her that night and then mix your dough the next morning.
Enough chit chat, I’m ready to bake some sourdough! Awesome! Here is my recipe for a basic sourdough bread!
This is the new starter on Day 2!
All your sourdough starter questions answered!
Q: It’s been 5 days but my starter didn’t triple like yours did. What’s up?
A: It is probably your flour. Whole grain rye and wheat flours have more natural yeast than all-purpose flour because they are less processed. If you started your levain with AP flour, just be patient. She’ll catch up. Unless you used bleached or bromated AP, in that case she will probably never be strong enough. Those processes don’t leave many yeast, if any, behind. Also check your container. You want it to be clean but not with any soap residue!
Q: This recipe calls for a liquid levain, but what, in God’s green Earth, is a liquid levain and how is that different then a regular starter?
A: The simplified answer is a traditional starter (stiff levain) has equal parts flour and water while a liquid levain has more water than flour. Relax, just feed your traditional starter and whenever a recipe calls for a liquid levain, you can feed a portion of your starter a higher percentage water than flour in preparation or vis versa. The recipe should specify but I use a 125% liquid levain meaning 100g flour + 125g water + 10g old starter
Q: My starter changed color…is that normal?
A: Oooo what color? Part of creating a starter is getting to know it and its many shades. When you first start it, if you use a rye flour, it will be brownish-red to grey. This all depends on the type of rye flour you use! Then when you start to feed it all-purpose it will slowly turn a medium-cream color much like how I envision the color of my second wedding dress. But I digress. The exact color also depends on how processed your AP flour is. When I switched from Pillsbury to King Arthur’s mine took on a brown-speckled cream color. Totally normal.
BUT! If your starter is pink, that is mold and you should throw it directly in the garbage. The environment in a starter isn’t conducive to mold or bacteria growth, but if you use a contaminated container or utensil, you could contaminate your starter. Sadness. This is the end of the road. There is no such thing as a Pretty in Pink Starter.
Q: I think I killed it. Like it’s next level, layer-of-black-liquid-on-top dead.
A: Breathe. You probably didn’t. Most sourdough levains can be revived. Here are some common causes of *almost* death:
Did you neglect it? For shame! Just kidding, this happens to the best of us. Just leave it out at room temperature for 8 hours and then resume feeding it. The longer she has been neglected, the more consecutive days I will feed her before putting her back in the refrigerator. Two weeks? I’ll feed her two nights in a row. Two months? At least 5 consecutive days of feeding or until she doubles in 12 hours. Also, consider putting her in the freezer so you don’t have to have a panic attack every 2 weeks!
She is just so slow, she won’t ever fully double. Just sad, little bubbles on her best day.
This could be because you aren’t throwing away enough of your old starter and you’ve created an environment with too much alcohol for the yeast to proliferate and eat. This is one of the reasons that I feed in a specific ratio. This could also be because you aren’t letting her ferment at room temperature. If you just take your starter out of the fridge, feed it and shove it back in; you can’t expect the yeast to be able to metabolize much starch. Think of a starter in the refrigerator like a bear in hibernation: its metabolism slows, it doesn’t eat much (or anything) and it just exists. Yeast are similar. The cold slows their activity so they don’t need as much food as often, but if you don’t let the yeast warm up and have a room temperature party, then your starter is going to be a lethargic specimen. Gasp! It me! No stress, let it warm up, feed it, then let it ferment 12 hours before throwing her back into hibernation.
So you decided to experiment with new flours…If your starter was fine and then you got a little cray with the experimentation, then it’s possible that the starch in your flour isn’t as readily available to the yeast, which will slow them down or eventually starve them. Just switch back to AP. Problem solved.
Q: I feed her just like you said and all I see in the morning are bubbles inside the starter but she isn’t any higher. What gives?
A: It is possible that she *gasp* already doubled and has fallen by the time you get up! She is like my cat at night – she runs around like a crazed animal but then when I get up in the morning she is already fast asleep in the window soaking up the sun. You missed the action! There are some tell-tale signs that your starter already had a party: there are lots of little bubbles inside the starter; you can see a ring around the container stopping at a particular height; there are streaks leading down from that ring. Think of these streaks like “legs” in a glass of nice wine. You know when you swirl it and then the wine runs down the glass in separate streams? Those legs are created by the alcohol in the wine and a similar situation is happening in your starter container. I always scrape down the sides of my container after mixing so I can easily spot if my starter rose and fell. This information is also crucial if you are going to make bread. You need to know how long it takes for her to double so she can hit that high note at the exact time you want to mix your dough. The kitchen is her oyster, you are just living in it .
Q: Ahhh I get it! She’s fast like a lambo. But I want to make bread at 9AM and she is doubling in 6 hours. I am NOT getting up at 3AM to feed her! I don’t care if the world is her oyster!
A: Come in close, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. The kitchen may be her oyster but you own the kitchen. You need to adjust her world so that she grows at the rate you want her to. What temperature is your kitchen? Maybe its warm and conducive to rapid growth. Cool her down. If you don’t have a colder part of your house, put her in a pot full of ice water over night. How much starter are you using? Are you eye-balling it? Well you can control that. Weigh it and stick to the 10% of the flour by weight.
Q: Why do I have to weigh my starter to feed it? Like, this isn’t science.
A: Yo, sassy. It is science. Volume measurements of the flour and water are one thing: Important but if measured properly, can be controlled. However, the volume of your starter changes by minute. 1 tablespoon after 8 hours is completely different than 1 tablespoon after 17 hours. You could be inadvertently be adding triple the amount of yeast culture one day and then barely any the next. Invest in a kitchen scale.
Q: Did you accidentally heat her up? Umm how hot? (Also, wtf were you doing?!)
A: Hotter than 140°F? She’s probably dead. Woops!
Q: What is the benefit to having an old starter? Why not just make a new one if I have time?
A: I have a question back at you—who the heck has time for that?! But in all seriousness, sourdough starters mature with age like a fine wine. The aroma and flavor will deepen and strengthen along with the potency of your yeast as long as you feed it regularly. Depending on the flours you use and your environment, the starter will take on its own unique flavor. A sourdough taste that is all yours!
Q: Do I have to throw all the old starter away?! It seem so wasteful.
A: It totally is wasteful, but it’s in the name of naturally leavened bread, so worth it IMO. You don’t have to throw it away. There are plenty of recipes that use old starter for the sourdough flavor minus the leavening.
Alternatively, you could maintain a smaller starter and then bulk it up when you want to make bread. As long as you keep the ratios of flour to water to culture the same, then its all good. Keep in mind that when you feed it to use it, you need to have extra in order to make the next day’s levain. So add 10% waste or 15% if you are stressed. All I mean by that is add an extra 10% on top of each of the measurements, for example, if the recipe calls for 200g flour in your levain you will use 220g. Make sure you increase ALL the measurements. Ha! Your 5th grade teacher was right – math is useful!
My new starter on Day 5!
Did you make this recipe? I want to hear all about it! 🥳Tag me on Instagram @cheflindseyfarr and use the hashtag #americanheritagecooking
Uncertain and unsettling times make me seek comfort in baking and cooking. Based on the number of friends, who up until this point I didn’t know even had an oven, asking me about baking bread, and the influx of bread posts on Instagram; I think it is safe to say that I am not alone here.
Just three weeks ago I was the pastry chef at two busy Manhattan restaurants and barely had time to breathe. Now it feels like there is too much air.
All that is left to do is bake and share everything I know with all of you. Teaching brings me joy and I am welcoming all the joy.
These Pumpkin Spice Cake Donuts are packed with real pumpkin and warming spices then fried to perfection and glazed with a sweet cinnamon sugar. Pretty much Pumpkin Breakfast Perfection.
I was just casually walking home from Staples the other day when {BAM!} I was hit by a massive craving for a pumpkin spice donut. I am an unabashed, card-carrying member of the “Pumpkin Spice for Life Club”. #merica
I popped into Dunkin Donuts and picked up one, but one bite had me wondering, “where’s the pumpkin?”
It was orange like pumpkin, there was kind of a spice flavor, but absolutely zero pumpkin.
I took one more bite just make sure. Sadness.
Unacceptable.
There is no disappointment quite like a pumpkin craving let down.
So I went home, cast aside my printer cartridges and made some pumpkin spice cake donuts.
Like my Mom always said, “If you want it done right, do it yourself.”
Unless you live in Brooklyn where there are approximately 12 great donut shops per capita. Envy.
These pumpkin spice cake donuts won’t let you down. They are everything a pumpkin spice cake donut should be: pumpkin-y, spicy, moist and delightfully cakey.
