Recipes / Family Notebook
Mother's Recipe · Printable
Mother's Sourdough French Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups starter batter (from the sourdough starter)
- 1 package dry yeast
- 6 cups flour
- 1 cup tepid water
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Cornmeal for sprinkling
- A little water to brush on each loaf
Directions from the notebook
- About 12 hours before baking, prepare the sourdough batter (proofing) from the refrigerated starter, then cover and leave it out overnight.
- Dissolve yeast in water.
- Mix with starter batter and stir in sugar and salt.
- Stir in flour, then knead until smooth.
- Place dough on a plastic sheet and cover with a large metal bowl. Let rest 1½ hours so it doubles.
- Punch down, knead and divide in half.
- Shape and sprinkle with cornmeal.
- Dab a little water on each loaf with a pastry brush.
- Allow to rise until doubled.
- Bake at 375°F for about 30 minutes.
Notebook note: The separately recorded Sourdough Batter gives the overnight feeding mixture: 1½ cups starter, 1 cup tepid water, and 1½ cups flour. Family clarification: The sourdough starter was normally kept in the refrigerator. “Make batter the night before” meant taking it out, feeding it, and leaving it covered on the counter overnight before making the bread. The notebook calls for 2 cups of this starter batter; the exact feeding quantities are not specified.
Family story
The creator's mother enjoyed trying something new. After someone gave her a sourdough starter, she began experimenting with sourdough baking. The creator's father especially loved sourdough, and the creator grew to like it too, although she generally did not care much for bread. These are preserved as her mother's notebook recipes, without modern substitutions.