OOP: sourdough gingerbread ( was Re:private-Re: SC - Happy Groundhog Day!)

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

And it came to pass on 2 Feb 00,, that LrdRas at aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 2/2/00 10:23:30 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> harper at idt.net writes:
> 
> << My date-nut bread was a late-night spectacular failure (scorched 
>  without, raw within), so I whipped up a quick batch of sourdough 
>  gingerbread. >>
> 
> LOL! You think that is spectacular?

Well, I bake most of my own bread, and though in the past I had my 
share of "doorstops", it's rare these days for me to go that far wrong.  
My loaves may not be artisanal, but they're usually edible.

> Sourdough gingerbread? This sounds interesting..........:-)

It was tasty, though I'm not sure that I could really detect the sourdough 
under all the spice and sweetness.  The recipe was out of "World 
Sourdoughs from Antiquity" by Ed Wood, who is one of the leading 
authorities on sourdough baking.  [I got my copy from Poison Pen 
Press at Pennsic.]  The gingerbread uses active sourdough starter as 
an ingredient, but gets most of its leavening from baking soda.

And to forstall the inevitable request, here is the recipe:

2 cups proofed sourdough starter (ie., fed, and left out for about 6-8 
hours, or until bubbly
2 TBS melted butter
1 cup molasses
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 egg, beaten
2 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup white bread flour 

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter and flour a 10-inch square pan (not 
owning such a thing, I used a 9-inch round).

Place measured starter in large mixing bowl.  Add butter, molasses, 
spices, egg, sugar and salt.  Mix well.  Add baking soda to the mixture 
and stir.  Add flour and mix until smooth.  

Pour into baking pan and bake 55-60 minutes, until gingerbread pulls 
away from sides and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out 
clean.

Cook in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack to finish cooling.

Misc. notes: I used all-purpose flour.  I only had 1/2 cup molasses in 
the house.  Since it was nearly midnight, and I didn't want to drive to the 
supermarket, I substituted 1/2 cup honey for the rest, and omitted the 
sugar.  The end product tasted like a hybrid between traditional modern 
gingerbread and a Jewish honey cake.  I think, in my tiredness, I 
inadvertantly increased the baking soda to 1 tsp., which may explain 
the texture, which was a trifle chewier than I expected.  Next time, I'll try 
the recipe as written, just to see how it's different.

Oh, and the best source of sourdough info on the web (recipies, FAQs, 
and where to get a starter) is at:
http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/sourdoughfaqs.html


Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
harper at idt.net