Sourdough Bread

  If you started your sourdough, and have it bubbling and brewing on your kitchen countertop, then you're ready to make sourdough bread.
This recipe is from the King Arthur Flour website, and makes perfect sourdough bread every time.

Sourdough Bread
Makes 2 Loaves

Ingredients:

1 cup fed sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 tsp. instant yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. salt
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour


Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients, kneading to form a smooth dough.
2. Allow the dough to rise in a covered bowl, until it's doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
3. Gently divide the dough in half, it will deflate somewhat.
4. Shape dough into two oval loaves.  Place the loaves on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.  Cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise until very puffy, about 1 hour.  Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
5. Spray the loaves with lukewarm water.
6. Make two fairly deep diagonal slashes in each loaf with a serrated knife.
7. Bake the bread for 25-30 minutes, until the loaves are a deep golden brown.  Remove from oven, and cool on a rack.

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Kitchen Note: This is not an essential tool for making bread, but I mix and knead my sourdough bread in my KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixer - it makes breadmaking a little easier and quicker.  But use the ceramic attachment, instead of metal, for sourdough recipes.
 The plastic cover on the mixing bowl is also handy to have for covering yeast-rising dough - and for keeping a recipe covered in the fridge for later use, or for covering and storing mixer attachments.

Flax Eggs

Flax eggs are a simple and healthy egg replacement, and binding agent for cookie, bread, or cake recipes.

 It's so simple.  Just mix together:

1 tbsp. flaxseed meal

and

3 tbsp. water

Let rest for 5 minutes, and it's ready to use.

 This recipe is equivalent to 1 egg.

Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Bake

 This is a simple casserole recipe that requires only a few basic ingredients, one cooking pot, and one baking dish.  And if you don't have canned smoked salmon on hand, I think tuna would work well instead - although I've never tried it.

Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Bake
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups (1 pint) canned smoked salmon, drained
12 oz. pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
1 1/2 cups vegetable pasta shells (bowtie pasta would work well too)
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Sprinkling of black pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta, drain, and place in separate bowl.
2. Cook broccoli, drain.
3. Add smoked salmon, cooked pasta, Cheddar cheese, and cream of mushroom soup to pot with drained cooked broccoli, mix together well.
4. Place mixture in 8" x 8" glass baking dish, and season top with pepper.
5. Cook in 350 degree oven for 30 - 40 minutes.