Artisan Sourdough Made Simple
Artisan Sourdough Made Simple is the first recipe book I have downloaded in e-format. I only did so because the lovely Celia asked me to. I really need to get stuck in to testing Emilie Raffa’s recipes. In the meantime, here is a little bit more about the recipe book.
Things to note
- It is important to choose a good quality flour that is unbleached and does not contain any chemical additives. Also make sure your flour is fresh.
- Emilie recommends using filtered or purified water but I don’t as our tap water is excellent.
- Both Emilie and I use weight measures rather than volume for baking. Did you know that in Australia a tablespoon is 20mls and in America a cup is 240mls?
- Leaven is the result of the feeding your starter to use in recipes.
- The ingredients she uses are local to her, and I cannot get some of them in South Africa
Chapters are divided into
- about the ingredients
- about the tools
- how to create a sourdough starter
- baking your first loaf
- sourdough steps at a glance
- sweet and savory artisan loaves
- pan loaves and sandwich bread
- whole grains and specialty flours
- focaccia, rolls and everything else
- bread art
- recipes for leftover sourdough starter
- to enjoy with bread
- small batch quick jams
- techniques
- source list
A sourdough starter
Celia sent me Priscilla in a dry format. A few years back I dried some to send on to other sourdough enthusiasts. Sadly, my own starter died at the same time and so I used a pinch of Cordelia and started my own from scratch. You can make your own by following my recipe for wheat, or rye starter. Emilie does not recommend that you stir the hooch back into the mixture. Since reading her book I have stopped doing so. It certainly takes away from the very strong smell.
Recipes that caught my eye
All the recipes in her book use a 100% hydration starter. This to me is the easiest when working with a wheat starter. A high hydration starter refers to anything that is 75% and above and is really wet. A low hydration starter is anywhere between 50% and 68%
- decadent chocolate chip
- cinnamon raisin swirl
- country farmhouse white
- soft honey whole wheat
- Saturday morning fruit and nut toast
- multigrain sandwich bread
- overnight Danish rye bread
- mighty multigrain
- rustic pumpernickel
- stuffed croque monsieur
- soft share and tear rolls
- crispy sourdough grissini
- baked camembert wreath
- almost no-knead fougasse
- make-ahead stuffed spinach and artichoke dip braid
- sourdough key lime ricotta cookies
- sourdough zeppoles
- skillet Greek yoghurt flatbreads
- spicy white bean and arugula dip
- cherry balsamic jam
What I made
I used the basic no-knead focaccia recipe as a base to create my own versions. To start I made a Sicilian focaccia, then a tomato and smoked olive focaccia and lastly a caprese focaccia.
My verdict
Artisan Sourdough Made Simple includes a baker’s schedule in the first two recipes which is great for beginners. The photographs are very good and what I love is that there are sketches in the book as well. This has been in the back of my mind for my next recipe book. if I ever get time to write it. This book is very comprehensive and I would recommend if you are looking to start somewhere with sourdough that you buy this. Emilie uses pots to bake in which is a new technique for me. I have bought a round tin which I will test out with one of the recipes. I found the scoring patterns very interesting and will try them out when I get time.
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime January 10
-
- 2016 – Vanishing Games
- 2011 – Béchamel Sauce
I’ve ordered an old fashioned hard copy of the book but have to wait a couple of weeks for it to come back in stock. Looking forward to using it!
I look forward to reading about what you try!
This bread looks fantastic Tandy! The pumpernickel caught my eye too! I was just reading in our local paper that bread is making a big comeback as a luxury food. People are no longer fearing carb free diets and want it back. Interesting. For years here in American, people avoided pasta and bread as it in themselves it was making people fat. Nope. Just the quantity!
It’s a misguided perception that one thing makes you fat. I will look for some of the flours overseas.
I have yet to take the plunge and upload a book, good for you. Sounds like a great book!
I prefer hard copies but didn’t want to wait.
It’s a great book! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! Thanks for supporting Em too, she’s awesome, as are you! xxx
Thanks for the compliment Celia xx
Always wanted to learn how to make sourdough bread, a friend of mine master the art of sourdough bread making, it is so delicious. It sounds like a great book!
And sourdough is actually quite digestable for people who have gluten issues 🙂
Those recipes sound great! I’ve seen quite a few of Celia’s creations from the book on IG too 🙂
Hers are excellent
This looks and sounds like an excellent book, Tandy! I love the flavours of focaccia you chose. 🙂
Thank you – I am loving experimenting 🙂
This sounds like an interesting book. I bought my first ebook recipe book the other day too.
Not sure I would buy another one in e-format 🙂
Tandy, your focaccia looks gorgeous! I love baking sourdough bread — I just did the third and final feeding of my starter, and in a couple hours I’ll be stirring up the dough. I bake a sandwich loaf twice a week to keep my husband in his morning toast. And between times make a lovely boule. I’m so excited because a friend just told me her husband wants to get into making sourdough bread and will be calling me in a week or two for a lesson! (I call my starter Gracie, after my bread-baking grandmother.)
I love the name! I will be making more sourdough loaves soon 🙂