Sourdough Companion is a community of bakers interested in naturally leavened breads. This very occasional newsletter features recipes, news and events from the baking community.
featured
Ciabatta integrale - (a wholemeal ciabatta with multi-grains)
by Johnny
Really I was just in search of a nice fat loaf of sourdough with big fat holes and a moist chewy crumb. After seeing the remarkable effects of adding some oats to bread, I thought I would experiment with this idea and also the addition of some cracked or kibbled multi-grains soaked in boiling water.
Chocolate & Praline Almond Sourdough
by shiao-ping { 2009 December 2 }
It was my son's 15th birthday last week. We threw him a surprise party (the ribbons in the pictures below were from his party). When I made my daughter's 17th birthday cake, I had a feeling that the next time when a birthday comes around, I would not want to make another sponge cake.Read more...Rustic Cheese Sticks
by TeckPoh { 2009 July 1 }
The previous times I made cheese sticks, I used the recipe from Dan Lepard's The Handmade Loaf....not a sourdough recipe. This time, the adventurous spirit of Johnny and LD in converting conventional breads to fully sourdough rubbed off on me; I decided to play matchmaker, marrying Susan's recipe from the Wild Yeast blog an...Light Rye & Light Wholemeal Rustic Pain au Levain
by shiao-ping { 2009 December 4 }
Recently I asked LeadDog what bread he would pair with his favourite wine and he said Pierre Nury's Rustic Light Rye. This gave me the opportunity to have a good look at how this bread was made. The formula came from Daniel Leader’s Local Brads, page 150. Main points of Leader’s formula are: A stiff l...Sourdough Croissant
by LeadDog { 2010 February 22 }
Time for me to do something a little bit different so I decided to do Croissants. I made them twice in one week so I know they are not very hard to do just different. The second batch has chocolate and almond pieces rolled up in them. The Croissants got me the best complement that I have ever had for anything that ...
Sourdough Baking Classes
Companion Bakery is a new baking centre located in Oatlands, Tasmania, Australia. Central to the bakery's philosophy is the use of organic flour and locally sourced ingredients. All bread is naturally leavened, shaped by hand and baked using an Alan Scott designed wood-fired oven. Beginning in April we will be holding sourdough baking classes. The classes are hands-on, guiding guests through every stage of the sourdough baking process. Classes are taught by experienced and friendly baker, Graham Prichard. Click here for more info on courses
New Recipes Section
Sourdough Companion has been re-launched with a new look and recipes section.
The Recipes section is a place for bakers to store & share their favourite recipes. Already some fantastic recipes have been contributed (many featured above). You are able to browse breads of particular styles such as Baguettes, Ciabattas, Fruit Breads, Pizzas or just browse all breads that are naturally leavened.
One special feature of the new recipes section is the automatic calculation of Bakers Percentages. Simply upload a recipe and a bakers percentage table will be calculated from your ingredients, giving you a greater overview of the makeup of your dough. See an example: Johnny's Ciabatta Integrale.
Feel free to sign up and upload your own recipe or head straight to the Recipes.
Callington Mill
Callington Mill is a Georgian tower mill built in 1832. The only mill of its kind in the Southern hemisphere, the mill is currently being restored into a fully working flour mill by March 2010. The mill will produce organic flour, specialising in ancient grains such as Rye, Spelt and Quinoa. We have been selected to operate the Callington Mill!
Videos, photos and other media will flow on from this adventure. We can't wait to document the workings of a traditional flour mill!
Companion Bakery is opposite the mill and will use the freshly ground flour. Flour fundamentals will also be apart of our baking classes.
Artisan Baker Association - Sourdough Standards
As identified in a recent article in Wish Magazine entitled 'Sourdough Wars'; there has not been an easily identifiable standard for Sourdough bread. This meant that bread with commercial yeast or souring agents could be called sourdough.
The Artisan Baker Association have introduced a new set of baking standards designed to make it easier for bakeries to declare what is going into their bread. Standards are listed at the bottom of bakery pages on sourdough.com
The Community
Sourdough Companion is now very much a world-wide baking site and we'd just like to say thanks to everyone for contributing and being part of the community.
Warmest regards,
Maedi & Graham Prichard
If you've got news, suggestions or thoughts please let us know:
[email protected]