Adventures in Bread Baking - Oatmeal Sourdough In My Current Favorite Variations

This is a recipe I have used over and over again, and I have many variations on it.  Today I will interrupt the written recipe below with photos and with my current favorite variations.

Oatmeal Sourdough

You can make this oatmeal sourdough bread in many ways.  Slice diagonally for great oven toast.(If you make the traditional tapered loaves.  Slice as usual for bread if you use the loaf pans as shown here.)

The night, or day before baking, to make a sponge, in a large bowl combine:

 

This is how the sponge looks in the morning.

1 cup sourdough starter

2 cups warm water

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

3 cups unbleached all- purpose flour (I have also used whole wheat pastry flour.)

Stir well.  Cover and let ferment overnight, or as long as 24 hours.  When ready to bake, to soften yeast, in another large bowl combine:

½ cup warm water

1 scant tablespoon (or 1 packet) active dry yeast.

(I also add the recommended amount per loaf of vital wheat gluten when using the pastry flour.)

Stir into softened yeast mixture, in this order

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup soft butter

1 tablespoon salt

fermented sourdough sponge

2 cups all-purpose flour

Beat well.  To make a soft dough, gradually add:

1 to 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour.

Turn out on a floured surface and knead until smooth.  Place in a greased bowl, turning dough once to grease the top. 

  Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, 45 to 60 minutes.  

Risen dough.

 Knead dough down in bowl.  Divide dough into three parts.  Pat or roll each part into an 8-inch square.

If adding a filling, spread them to within 1" of edges of square of dough.

  Starting at one corner of square, roll to a tapered loaf.  Place on greased baking sheets, seam side down.

I also use  small loaf pans, miniature size, with 1/6 of the batch of dough in each.  81/2 x 4 1/2 x 2" pans may also be used if dividing dough into thirds as usual.  

 Cover and let rise until almost doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.  Before baking, brush tops of loaves with melted butter, sprinkle with rolled oats, if desired.

Risen loaves.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes. *If you are using the mini loaf pans as I have here, check the loaves after about 20 min.  Should be brown and sound hollow when bottom is tapped.*  Cool on wire racks.  Makes 3 loaves.

Today's loaves set to rise.  Far loaves are really in too big of a pan size, but I was out of small pans.

 These loaves are: Bittersweet chocolate mint (at top)  Filled with a paste made of the leaves from 5 good sized (6" long" sprigs of chocolate mint fresh from the garden and about 1/3 cup of bittersweet chips, 2 Tbsp. butter, 1 Tbsp milk, and 2 Tbsp of walnuts processed in small food processor until a paste.

Parmesan and Pepperoni (Middle)  These are the loaves in the photos above, filled with about 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup mini pepperoni pieces.

Provence Herb loaves (bottom) these are filled with my herb paste made of parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and a tiny bit of lavender, butter, a bit of olive oil, and a tablespoon or so of walnuts processes until almost smooth in food processor. I salt the tops of the Provence Herb loaves because I didn't put any salt in the herb paste. I always try to decorate filled loaves in a way that shows what's inside.  Sometimes these decorations come off during baking.  

And here are the finished loaves.  As you can see, some of the pepperoni and the mint leaves have come off.  Can't wait until I get done with the yard work and get the laundry started.  I am looking forward to trying the Chocolate mint bread with some ice cold Moscato.  

We took some of this same type of bread with us yesterday when we visited our friends at Canadian River Vineyards and Winery.  We enjoyed sharing it with them while we sampled some of their wines.  We replenished our wine cabinet, and included in that was two bottles of their lovely sweet,but not cloying, Moscato.  I am using that as the carrot to get myself out into the hot yard to get the mowing done.  Also have to sort laundry.  Chores are not fun, but I am so glad to have the yard that requires mowing and the means to mow it.  I am also grateful for the clothing that needs washing, and the very nice washer and dryer to wash and dry them with.  After last Spring, I appreciate this house and all my stuff a lot more.  Still have too much stuff, but glad it is still here, and not scattered between here and Del City.

I will add a picture later of the sliced bread, and my wineglass, possibly.

Here we go!  Canadian River Moscato with my chocolate mint swirl bread.  Mmmmmm.

Garden Notes

Here is an inventory of the herbs I have found grow best here, and how many plants I have in my herb/flower beds at the moment.  (I use some more than others, for instance, the chocolate mint is just so nice to grab a sprig of and enjoy the fragrance while out in the yard, but I haven't found a good culinary use yet.)

Lemon Balm (1) This one plant is a survivor of many seasons.  It grows in a pot on the patio, usually with Basil as a roommate.

Lemon balm in the foreground with basil.

Basil (4) There are four basil plants in the garden.  Two of them are in the pots shown above.  Basil is used in many things, most notably the pesto recipe I posted yesterday.

Sage (3) There are three  clumps of sage growing in the gardens.  (One in the pot on the left above, one in the herb bed, and a large clump in the back garden beds.)  Sage is used in many recipes, and looks interesting in the garden.

Sage is in the far end of this nearest garden bed.

 

 

 

The large clump of sage in the back garden.  This has been growing here for about 2 years now.

Rosemary (3)  There are three rosemary plants in my gardens out back, and one in the pot on the front porch.  You can barely see one of the rosemary plants in the first of the pictures above, right between the two marigolds on the right center.

Rosemary growing in the main herb bed in the middle of the yard.

There's oregano behind it, and begonias right beside it.









Lavender (4) There are four lavender plants in my gardens this year.  The one in the picture on the right  is mostly ornamental, and for fragrance. 

This one in the picture on the left is used for many things, including cooking.










Oregano (6)  There are about six clumps of oregano growing in the main herb bed.  They came from a couple of plants that just went native in there.  Mint is the only thing I know more pervasive than Oregano. 

This is but one of the large clumps of oregano in that main central herb bed.  Having fresh oregano is handy when making pesto and also tomato sauces.










Garlic Chives (7)  These have truly naturalized themselves all over the yard.  There's a small clump in the main herb bed, and then six or so in the back garden bed closest to the shed and the north fence.  Every time Matt does the weed eating back in that area behind the shed, it smells like garlic out there for a couple of days. 

All those spiky, grass-like plants are garlic chives.  They grow in that garden bed with basil, and  snapdragons and marigolds, and I think a begonia as well.

 Garlic chives are good for salads, in sauces, and are an important part of the pesto sauce I make.












Chocolate Mint (2)  This year I planted two little pots of chocolate mint.  I have never found a culinary use for it, but it smells so delicious, and is so enjoyable just to pick and carry around savoring the fragrance. 

This on the left is the chocolate mint that is in the center of the main herb bed.  Right at the feet of my little statue of St. Francis. 


Below and to the right is the chocolate mint in the back garden, in the front bed that is next to the shed.  It grows right next to the huge batch of sage,and among a lot of marigolds and a begonia or two.  There is also a clump of very hardy Mother Of Thyme right there.

Thyme  (2)  There are two kinds of thyme in my garden.  German thyme, also called creeping thyme or mother of thyme, and English thyme.  The mother of thyme can be seen just above and to the right of the chocolate mint in the photo above right.  

 And here below is the English thyme in the main herb bed.  

Parsley (2)  There are two parsley plants this year.  One in the corner of the main herb bed, and one in the square raised beds on the south side of the yard.  The photo shows the plant in the main herb bed.

Catnip (2) (Or possibly more)  The catnip is coming up volunteer from many years of previous plantings.  It is only in the main herb bed, and right near the oregano and parsley on the north-west side of that large bed. 

We no longer have a cat, but I guess I can supply my friends' cats with homegrown kitty happiness weed.  Catnip does have other uses, most in folk remedies, which I do not dabble in.

This is the current inventory of herbs in my gardens.  Thought it might make for an interesting post. 

Herbs, Sweat, and Pesto

Today I had to trim the basil back. For once is it growing very enthusiastically.  Since there was so much of it, I decided to  make a batch of my infamous pesto. 
Photos of the process to follow.

To start, you need to harvest enough fresh basil leaves, oregano leaves, and garlic chives to be sure you have sufficient greens for the pesto. 

 

Then you have to wash everything well.

 

You need 3 cups of basil leaves, 1 cup of oregano leaves, and 1/2 cup of garlic chives, cut into 1/4" pieces.

 

You also need 12 Tablespoons of Olive Oil (I Use extra virgin), 6 Tablespoons of herb vinegar (I use Salata), 6 Tablespoons of pine nuts or walnuts, 4 large cloves of garlic, sliced, 1 teaspoon of salt,  1/2 teaspoon of pepper, 1/2 or a little less, teaspoon of cayenne, and 2 cups of grated Parmesan cheese.

You start with the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper,and cayenne.  

Blend until is looks uniform and creamy, like the picture just above.  Then add the herbs and blend until smooth and creamy.  Add the cheese, blend well.

 I had a few issues with that ginormous food processor, so no pictures of the herbs awhirl, I'm afraid.  Here's the finished product, all packed in containers to freeze.

Now you know how to make my pesto sauce.  I got the recipe from a book called Herbal Treasures by Phyllis V. Shaudys.  The book is choc full of things to do with the herbs from your garden.  It would be worth a Google search to see if it's still available if you love herbs.  

I also made a paste of parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and a tiny bit of lavender for a poultry seasoning.  Haven't tried it yet.  Going to see how it works tomorrow, perhaps.  

The gardens this year have been lovely.  It has been a lot of work, producing much perspiration in this humid Spring and Summer we've had.  It has also been rather expensive buying plants, potting mix, fertilizer, and the water to keep it all growing.  So far the weather has been reasonable.  Here's hoping it doesn't get so stinking hot and fry my poor gardens alive like it did year before last.  Got so discouraged that year, I didn't even try last year.  

Here are some reasons I'm glad I got the gardens going this year:

Sorry they won't line up for me.  Never could get the knack of that on this blog software.  Maybe someday.  For now, this will have to do.

 

Some Independence Day Observances

It's been awhile since I wrote anything.  Been having a dry spell, a bit of a numbness and sadness about me.  Don't know why.  Some relationships are a little distant, that concerns me, but I know overall, things are good.  Just haven't known what I wanted to say.
Today was the day we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  My grandfather was caretaker of the home one of the signers who was from Georgia.  Meadow Garden, home of George Walton.  We stayed in his little house on the grounds when we visited.  The main house was creepy if you were there alone.  The downstairs kitchen was all right, but upstairs, I heard someone walking around on the floor above me when I KNEW nobody else was in the house. Could hear someone humming in the kitchen sometimes, but it was a good feeling, not creepy like the footsteps.  (I was 11 that year, I think.)  Always think of Grandpa and Meadow Garden on the 4th, the day Mr. Walton earned his place in history.  Grandpa was only at the house (belonged to a local historical society) for a few years before retiring, but it was a fascinating place. 

About a month ago, I volunteered to help out at the library's tent in the Celebration In the Heartland at Buck Thomas Park.  This is an annual event in Moore, lots of vendors, local agencies, churches, businesses, and the library, have tents or booths set up to do a little community outreach.  We usually have a couple of craft activities, a water play table for the little kids, and sign ups for Summer Reading, and temporary tattoos, and stuff like that.  This year I ran the tattoo area.  Matt helped a lot when we got busy.  There were a LOT of people there this year.  Really made us glad to see how many who came in were our regulars who recognize us from the library, and really, a lot of new faces who were very glad to hear about the library. 

After we tidied up the tent and helped load the van, Matt and I walked over to the bank of the little creek that runs through the park, and sat on the ground to wait for the fireworks.  There were frogs in the creek making noise, and fireflies darting around.  LOTS of people, but the vibe was very happy, very friendly.  I usually do NOT do well in crowds, but well, these were my neighbors, my library customers, not really strangers.  Everybody was very polite.  Amazing, really.  
The fireworks show was fabulous.  It's been YEARS since I've seen one up close.  (We used to be able to see the fireworks in the park from our driveway, but the intervening trees are too large now.)
It was a great feeling to sit there, and be as amazed as a child again by the bright lights and loud booms.  The cheers and applause of my neighbors making a heartwarming added effect, when you could hear it over the music. 

Today I felt better about a lot of things, and it was my community that helped me remember just how blessed I am.  I may not agree with the prevailing politics around here, but I will not deny that my neighbors are good people.  Their hearts are in the right places, they are trying to do what they believe is right, and even if they disagree with you, most of them will still like you.  This little city has been through an awful lot in the last 18 months. This year's celebration was much lighter of heart than last year, and there is more hope and new life and there are even new residents with us.  After all the destruction that made the news a year ago in May, it would be nice to see someone show the growth, the rebuilding, the joy that is evident in Moore today. 

It took a LONG time to get out of that parking lot and home tonight.  (Probably could have walked faster.)  Still, people were for the most part being considerate and taking turns and I didn't hear any honking.   Once we got clear of the park, things went very quickly.  We really do live about a mile or maybe a little more away.  We've been home for awhile now, and winding down. 
So grateful to all my Moore neighbors and friends, and also to my Twitter friends, for sharing this day with me, and for helping me cheer up.  You guys are the best.  Really.