Sour Dough Bread

Back when my parents had the Sawmill we knew a Mennonite family. They were allot like the Amish in that they never used electricity or cars. They grew much of their own food and generated their own electricity for some things. They made all their own clothes and had a huge loom as big as our living room at which they made their cloth or blankets. My brother Duke would go down to help them make Maple Syrup every February. They had a grove of mable trees which they would collect the sap from and then boil it down into Maple syrup. Every time Dad would go down to visit them for business (they had a metal shop and made Dad's shaving mills) they would send him back with fresh vegetables from their garden or fruit from their orchard. One time they sent back Sour Dough Bread Starter. It was awesome! The basic premise is that you have the basic starter which you "feed" every week taking some out to make the bread. I would make the bread every week, but it was gone so fast that I started 3 batches of starter which I would rotate through the week, so I could make 12 loaves each week. It's really pretty easy and tastes great! Once when we moved the starter was thrown out and I haven't been able to find a recipe for "starting" the starter! Well...the other day I was looking online and came accross this recipe and it's the same one I used all those years ago...so I thought I'd share it with you all!

SOUR DOUGH BREAD STARTER

3 tbsp. instant potatoes
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. very warm water (A warm Lukwarm...not scalding...it will kill the starter if it's too warm, but you will know by how much it "bubbles" after sitting out all day.)

Mix well and allow to set out on counter five days then refrigerate seven days.

Put initial starter in refrigerator 3 to 5 days, you can feed on the third, fourth or fifth day as follows:
3 tbsp. instant potatoes
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. very warm water

Mix well, add to starter, let stand out of refrigerator 8 to 12 hours (all day). When bubbly, take out 1 cup for bread. Return starter to refrigerator. Wait 3 to 5 days to feed again. If you don't make bread after feeding three times discard one cup or give to a friend. This is to avoid deflating starter. Starter may be frozen, for future use.

SOUR DOUGH BREAD
1 c. starter
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. warm water
6 c. Flour

In a large bowl mix all ingredients. Grease large container, put bread in, turn to grease top, cover with foil. Let stand overnight. Do not refrigerate. Next morning punch down and divide into 3 parts, knead each part on a floured surface 8 to 10 times. Put in greased loaf pans, brush with oil. Cover with waxed paper and let rise 4 to 5 hours. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Brush top with melted butter. Can be frozen. If putting bread in pans on work day to rise it can set all day.

Timing breakdown:
Feed starter in the morning like 8 or 9 a.m.
Then at 8 or 9 p.m. make up dough to set overnight.
Make bread next morning and put in loaf pans to rise until supper time then bake.

ENJOY!!!!