Sourdough - a labour of love

Yum, sourdough.  It has such a unique flavour and is best eaten with nothing more than a nice slather of butter.  Now, with all the gluten free baking I've been doing over the past couple of months I've really been craving some "real bread".  But of course, I still don't want to end up eating a whole loaf myself.  So, I did some research and found what I believe to be a perfect compromise - sourdough.  Did you know that sourdough has numerous health benefits to which all other breads cannot hold a candle?  Just google sourdough benefits and you'll find tons of information.  But the short version is that beneficial bacteria are created during the fermentation process that are not unlike the good bacteria you would find in yogurt or sauerkraut.  Yay!

So, once I knew that sourdough was what I wanted to bake, I quickly found out that it wasn't as easy as throwing some yeast, water, flour and fat together and letting it rise.  No, sourdough requires days upon days of feeding and watching.  It's actually very little work--just don't start it expecting to have a loaf tomorrow.

Now, I am not going to post a recipe here.  Rather, I am going to point you to the website I used for my starter and bread.  It is a very comprehensive, day-by-day chronology of how to build your sourdough starter and ultimately, make your bread.  http://cookistry.blogspot.com/2011/04/building-sourdough-starter.html.  The only place where I found I didn't match her instructions was in the time it took to get an active started.  She said 8-10 days and mine took 15.  I tried after 11 and the bread failed miserably.  Hence, my message to you is, be patient.  Only use your starter once you see it bubbling up in the jar after your daily feed.  If it doesn't rise, it's not ready, no matter how many bubbles you have!

Give it a try and let me know how you make out.  Here's what my first (successful) loaf looked like - and yes, I baked it on a pizza stone(!):

Date-sweetened oatmeal raisin cookies

I know, two sugar-free cookie posts in a row...  But once again, I had something in mind and I didn't want to stop until I perfected it.  Now, the banana cookies are awesome, but you don't always want banana in your cookies, right?  So I tweaked some recipes I had -- some with sugar, and some without -- and came up with these truly awesome no sugar, no grain flour cookies.  These cookies are only sweetened with dates so are very much guilt-free and especially kid friendly--cookies for breakfast anyone??  I think my toddler liked these ones best too!
Now, if you are more of an oatmeal choc chip cookies fan, feel free to substitute mini choc chips for the raisins or currents.  They would just no longer be "sugar-free" (but still way healthier than standard oatmeal choc chip cookies!) ** Update: I made these cookies with mini chocolate chips and they might even be better than the raisin ones...

SUGAR FREE OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

1 cup almond flour

¼ cup coconut flour

¾ cup rolled oats
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt

¾ cup dates, boiled, drained and stirred to make a paste
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp coconut extract
raisins or chocolate chips

¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, combine butter, eggs, dates, vanilla and coconut extract.  Pour dry mixture into wet and stir until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and coconut.
3. Taking 1 Tbsp of batter at a time, form into small disks, approx 1-1.5cm thick. (NOTE: These cookies do not spread out like regular cookies so the shape you make them before going in the oven is the shape they will stay).  Place onto baking sheet and bake until starting to brown around the edges, approx. 12 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Banana cookies (psst! they are sugar-free)

Ingredients / Directions:

2 c rolled oats
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c coconut
3 over-ripe bananas
1/4 c coconut oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1 c dates
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cover dates with water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Turn off heat and let sit for a few minutes until dates are soft.  Stir dates with a wooden spoon to make a paste.
3.Mash bananas in a large bowl. Add to dates along with oil, egg, and extracts.
4. Combine oats, flour, coconut, and cinnamon in a bowl.  Stir into banana mixture.
5. Allow batter to sit for 15 minutes or parchment-lined cookie sheet. (You can flatten them if you like.)
5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.