My Sourdough Favorites
- cinnamonandsabbath
- Apr 29, 2024
- 9 min read
I started my sourdough journey in August of 2023 when I was looking for a time consuming hobby to spend less time scrolling on my phone and more time using my hands and brain. I immediately fell in love and dove head in, trying a million different recipes and convincing everyone I could that they should try it too! This hobby has been such a joy for me! It is so rewarding to spend your time cultivating, create something with your own hands, and then get to share it with your family and friends as a form of love. Everything I have tried has turned out pretty dang perfect on the first try, so I want to share some of my all-time no-fail favorite recipes with you!
I'm passionate about the fact that if you want it to be, sourdough really can be a low maintenance, easy, cost-effective hobby. The sourdough world can be very confusing and contradictory if you get too deep into the blogs and facebook pages. Don't use metal utensils. Stir with a metal fork. Don't screw your lid on, just place it lightly. Use a canning jar with an airtight clamp. Put it in the fridge to last longer. The fridge makes it stale faster. Discard only lasts a week. Discard lasts indefinitely. It's a bit much if we are being honest. I don't follow a single one of the "strict rules" and my sourdough starter is very happy and successful! That's why I wanted to compile this list of everything I have learned so far- to make it a little easier for you. I'll share what I started with, my favorite recipes, how I store them, and how I freeze extras.
A lot of people ask me "what in the world do you do with everything you bake?" or "I can't/don't want to eat that much bread!" The best thing about bread is that you can freeze it and then thaw it out and it will taste exactly the same! So what do I do with all of the things I bake? It really isn't that much to keep up with. Most months, I bake at most once a week, but sometimes not even that much. We eat a third of it right away. Crackers, pizza dough, scones. Maybe once a month I'll make a Saturday treat like bagels or cinnamon rolls, and we'll eat them for a couple of days. We freeze a third of it. Every time I make a loaf of bread, I pre-slice it and then freeze it and we eat on it for a month. I keep rolled balls of cookie dough in the freezer and we pull out two at a time when we get a late night sweet tooth. Then, I give a third of it away! New moms, grieving families, friends, my husband's ministry, etc. So, as far as hobbies go, I feel like it is actually pretty manageable and gets put to good use!
The coolest thing about becoming obsessed with sourdough, is that once you get into it, you can literally make anything. I'm talking never-need-to-buy-anything-bread-related-ever-again. It's amazing. You can make tortillas, hotdog buns, hamburger buns, english muffins, biscuits, pie crust, pizza dough, sandwich bread. Anything your heart desires or your husband requests!
Here is the sourdough starter recipe I used. I printed it out, put it in a binder with sheet protectors, and read it at least five times. I don't normally stick to hobbies I'm not good at, so it was important to me to get this right. I chose one blog to follow and I followed her to a T. I've never had hooch, a bad smell, or no rise.
I love her whole blog! I suggest reading through and learning everything you can! After you click that link, if you want to read more you can just click the sourdough tab, and it's pretty cool to learn about what exactly the sourdough starter and the discard are and their purpose. How crazy is it that we are fermenting something ourselves? A little scary to think about, but it's like a fun little science experiment!
For supplies, I didn't want to spend too much money, because it's hard to tell if I'll stick with something... so here is what I bought. I bought two mason jars with airtight clamps from TJMaxx for $4.99 each (one for active starter, one for discard.) I bought the cheapest digital scale with grams that Walmart had and the only bench scraper they had. Then I bought whole wheat flour to start my starter and Great Value unbleached all purpose flour to keep it going. I also bought a rolling pin & a dutch oven with a gift card I had. That's it. I say "that's it" lightly, but relatively, I think I made a lot smaller investment into this thing than others do. I don't have a kitchen aid with a dough hook, or even a dough whisk. I'm not exactly sure what a banneton is used for. I hand mix and kneed everything I make. Which honestly, I find to be one of the most enjoyable parts. There's just something about digging your hands in and getting a little messy!
Now, what you're here for, my top 10 favorite sourdough recipes! We'll do 5 savory, then 5 sweet!
My go-to bread recipe is this overnight sourdough boule! It's easy for me to fit into my weekend schedule and it turns out perfect every time! https://dirtanddough.com/easy-overnight-sourdough-bread/
I make this about once a month. I pre-slice it, put it in a freezer Ziploc bag with parchment paper in-between layers, and store in it the freezer. I will usually pull out a couple slices every Saturday morning and toast them while Stephen makes over-easy eggs, and we enjoy a yummy breakfast sandwich! I look forward to it every weekend!
Our other guilty pleasure is toasting a slice and topping it with some homemade peanut butter and jelly. Have you ever had an open-face, completely home made, hot pb&j? It's to die for!
If you're making the bread to enjoy fresh you can really store it however you want! Cut it in half and store face down in your bread box, pre-slice and throw into Tupperware or a gallon Ziploc. Leave it on your counter for 3-4 days or store in the fridge for a little bit longer.
I love using my discard to make these crackers!
They taste like Cheezits with a kick! The sea salt, the sharp cheddar, the idea to cut them with a cute cookie cutter, 10/10. These are so good and they last longer than other crackers I've tried. Very easy and tasty way to use up your discard!
I store these in a Ziploc bag on the counter.
A recipe I recently tried for the first time and have already made twice is this focaccia: https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2022/04/best-sourdough-focaccia-bread-recipe/
There was a dreamy day last summer that I'll never forget. My sister came to visit me and we went to my local farmer's market. We bought a loaf of focaccia and a tub of goat cheese. Then we went to the park and devoured every crumb of both while sitting on the edge of the canal, and washed it down with fresh homemade lemonade.
This recipe reminds me of that day! And it tastes just as good! I love to warm up some garlic herb Boursin cheese in the oven and we spread that on top, but it would honestly be just as heavenly plain! I store half the loaf pre-sliced in the freezer in a Ziploc, because there's just two of us here!
This past weekend I made this flatbread recipe theheartwoodhomestead.com/easy-sourdough-flatbread-recipe-with-discard-or-active-starter/
They turned out really good! Instead of splitting it into 4-6 flatbreads, I just divided it into two, and made them into flatbread pizzas! I added bbq sauce, red onion, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and chicken. It was such a good and easy dinner!
I stored leftovers in the fridge in a Ziploc bag.
My favorite recipe to make in the fall is these breadsticks
I love making these Olive Garden copy cats to go with soup when it's nice and chilly outside! I've made them for holiday parties, holiday dinners, and cozy nights at home!
I store leftovers on the counter in a Ziploc bag. I think these would freeze really well!
It is time for me to share with you my # 1 all time favorite recipe. Cinnamon Crunch Bagels. Yeah, you heard me right. What could possibly be more satisfying and gratifying than making beautiful homemade bagels from scratch with the sourdough starter you fermented yourself? : sharing the most delicious bagel ever with your friends and family.
Here's the recipe:
Bake with caution, you may become addicted.
I'll be transparent- I store the bagels in Ziploc bags in my bread box, but the bags get filled with beads of moisture, making the bagels tough around the third day, even when I add a coffee filter filled with rice. Ultimately I recommend pre-slicing and tossing in the fridge or freezer (you're gonna toast them anyways!)
Or, for maximum freshness and joy, eat them all in one day!
I really love this bagel recipe so I have used the base of it to get creative and try a couple different flavors. I've experimented with rolling blueberries into the bagel at the part where it says to add the cinnamon filling. I've also added onion powder and chives into the dough for a yummy savory bagel. Or I've done plain with sea salt on top. All have turned out really good!
Want a Cinnamon Roll Recipe instead? Here's my favorite:
The first bite my husband took out of one of these, he looked at me with wide eyes and said, "WOW!" He said it was the best cinnamon roll he's ever had and kept asking me how I did it. Safe to say: 10/10, we recommend. There is seriously no better feeling than when he raves to other people about my cinnamon rolls. I told my parents when they were visiting that I think my goal is to be like my Great Aunt Mary. When you think of me, I want you to think about my homemade cinnamon rolls!
I store these in the fridge in Tupperware and heat them in the microwave for about 25 seconds in the morning. We also sometimes freeze half of them by wrapping them individually in aluminum foil (optional,) and then putting them in a Ziploc freezer bag. You can place one in the fridge the night before to thaw, and then heat up in the morning!
Hi, my name is Krisi, and I'm addicted to scones. My friend Bethany gave me this scone recipe littlesproonfarm.com/chocolate-chip-sourdough-scones-recipe/ and my life hasn't been the same since. I make them for everyone and always do a double batch to keep some for me and Stephen. Then, she gave me this recipe good-to-gather.com/sourdough-maple-pecan-cones/ & it’s also so good! I recently found this recipe thefeatherednester.com/blueberry-sourdough-scones/ and I'm having a really hard time deciding if these or the chocolate chip ones are better!
I store leftovers on the counter in a Ziploc bag.
On a really delightfully snowy day in January I made these cinnamon vanilla biscotti owlbbaking.com/cinnamon-vanilla-biscotti/. We just about ate the entire batch hot out of the oven! We had to stop ourselves because I actually made them to bring to a friend! They are so good!
There were no leftovers when I made this, but if there were I would store them on the counter in Tupperware.
I'll leave you with a childhood memory, these strawberry poptarts alittlebluehome.com/strawberry-sourdough-poptarts/.
These are a really good treat right out of the oven on a Saturday morning! Better than store bought! But, I’d dare to say that all of these recipes are!
That's it ya'll! That's my fully compiled list of favorite recipes, some tips on storing, picture proof of all the yummy goodness, and some of my heart behind a hobby that makes a great product to give away or bring people in!
If you're still scared to start sourdough from step one, message me and I'd love to give you some of my established starter for free!
This Saturday will be the first meeting of my new small group Taste & See. I am so excited! It's for married women who bake sourdough and we're going to be going through the book Extraordinary Hospitality (for Ordinary People): Seven Ways to Welcome Like Jesus. We'll meet at my house the last Saturday of every month, everyone will bring a sourdough goodie to share, and we'll chat about our book study, what we made/what else we've made that month, meal ideas, life, etc. I have a big passion for both community with other believers & a joy filled life + marriage, and my hope is that this small group will result in close uplifting friendships with other women where we encourage each other in marriage and ministry, and form community within each other and our families.
My "life verse" behind this small group is Acts 2:42-47
"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."
I want to be together, with women whom I have things in common with! I want to attend church together and break bread with them in my home! I want to have generous hearts and praise God! I want the Lord to use us to add the the number of those being saved!
I hope this blog post encouraged you to try sourdough if you've been on the fence, or introduced you to some new recipes or ideas of what to try if you already bake! Take the pressure off and dive in!
If you’re in OKC, married, and bake sourdough, text me so you can come to my small group!!!
See you next month!
Love ya, bye!
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