Canoe County Sourdough
By Ron Berg
Copied without permission from the great canoe magazine of the boundary waters
Boundary Waters Journal Summer 1998 Pages 41-47
The sourdough legend is pervasive. Trappers, explorers, miners, and their ilk have been transporting sourdough into wild places for countless years. Sourdough provided a transportable and renewable yeast culture which made delicious breads, pancakes, and biscuits possible for the backwoods dweller or traveler. The alternative was hardtack, and leavened bread, or baking powder type quickbreads, which were believed by many to cause gastric distress if eaten too frequently. While the development of dried yeasts has long since replaced sourdough as a necessity, the unmatched flavor and versatility of sourdough breadstuffs is appreciated by aficionados all over the world.
If you are a romantic, and most of us who pack and portage the Boundary Waters are, the idea of preparing sourdough fixin's in a primitive camp appeals to our sense of place. And best of all it's not that difficult. Get your own sourdough starter going and you will soon be enjoying the delicious. sourdough recipes that follow - in camp or at home.
It's an easy matter to start your own sourdough pot. You can also purchase dried and, in some cases, fresh sourdough starters at some supermarkets, specialty stores and by mail order. My own pot was started in 1973 and is still going strong. Here is how you can easily make your own. SOURDOUGH STARTER makes about 1 cup of starter:
1 c. warm water (110° to 115°)
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. dry yeast
1 c. bread flour
Combine the water and the sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle the dry yeast over the water mixture and stir to dissolve yeast. Stir in the flour to make a smooth paste. Cover loosely with a towel and set in a warm place to sour. Stir a few times each day. After 3 or 4 days (longer if it is colder) it should be ready to use or to store. Store in a covered glass or plastic container in the refrigerator. Be sure to label it well to avoid some well meaning but ignorant soul from tossing out" ... a vile smelling jar of something that was rotting in your fridge."
Occasionally sourdough can go bad. If it turns pink or orange and smells dreadfully foul, throw it out as there is no salvation for it. To guard against losing mine I shared it with my friends. On at least two occasions I asked them to share a cup of their starter with me to replace the one of mine that had gone bad.
SOURDOUGH BASICS
Now you are ready to make a batch of starter to use in your recipes. Take the cup of sourdough you have kept in your refrigerator and pour it into a large bowl (I use an old ceramic bean pot) and stir in 1 C. of warm water (110° to 115°F). Next stir in 1 1/2 c. of flour (a higher gluten bread flour preferred) and stir like mad until well mixed. That's it! Loosely cover the pot or bowl and put in a warm place for 24 to 48 hours, until it stops bubbling and thins out a little. The reason for the varying length of time that it takes to finish working is the temperature factor. Sourdough works best around 85°F. Old time kitchens with their wood cook stoves were much warmer than today's kitchens and it took less time for the sourdough to work.
The last and most important thing to remember is to always, without fail, put one cup of starter back into the refrigerator for next time. What remains is 1 1/2 c. of starter to use in your recipe.
You can make sourdough starter ahead of time and keep it in your refrigerator to use when you wake up with a sudden hankering for a batch of pancakes or biscuits. There is no need to wait 24 to 48 hours. Simply measure out the amount needed for the recipe from your cache in your refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe. Be sure to start a new batch with the remaining cup for the next time.
One final tip is to put your storage container back in the refrigerator when making a new batch of starter. If something should happen to the starter you are preparing, you can always start a new one by adding small amounts of flour and water to the small amount remaining in the container.
TAKING YOUR SOURDOUGH CAMPING
It's easy to take your sourdough or use some you have made ahead. Remove a cup of sourdough (whatever you do, don't use your only cup] and put it into a large bowl Using a wooden spoon work in enough flour to make a soft dough, similar to biscuit dough. Using floured hands, form the dough into a ball. Bury the sourdough ball in your flour sack and pack as usual.
At camp reconstitute the sourdough early on the day before it is to be used by breaking up the sourdough ball into a large non-reactive container. Add enough warm water to reach the consistency of sourdough. If the amount in the bowl looks sufficient for your recipe (as well as a sufficient amount for repacking if desired), cover it loosely, put it in a warm place and let it work. If additional sourdough is needed, mix in equal amounts of flour and warm water. A good idea is to mix the sourdough the morning before and use it the next afternoon or evening to allow sufficient time to work.
Warm places to let the sourdough work might be near the campfire (turn occasionally), or on a warm rock in the sun (be careful it doesn't get too hot), or perhaps in your tent if it isn't too hot from the sun beating on it. The amount of time depends entirely on the temperature. Remember 85°F is optimum, but too much heat will kill all those little fellas in the sourdough that actually make it do what it does. The story goes that old time trail cooks would actually take the sourdough pot to bed with them to keep it warm on cold nights. .
Each of the recipes below requires 1 1/2 cups of sourdough starter. You will thus need a total of 2 1/2 cups in order to repack one cup for another day. A plastic container with a tight fitting lid works well if you have to transport the working sourdough. To be extra safe, put the container into a plastic bag and seal the bag with a twist tie. If necessary, "burp" the lid every hour or so to avoid blowing the cover off. Be sure to pack your working sourdough very carefully if traveling with it. Be forewarned, spilled sourdough is hell to clean up.
When the sourdough has worked sufficiently, it will have thinned out a little and quit bubbling. To repack, remove a cup of the sourdough, mix in flour as before and return it to the flour sack. From the remaining sourdough, measure out the amount needed for the recipe.
SOURDOUGH PANCAKES
These are my favorite items to make from sourdough. If you've been lucky enough to forage some wild blueberries, raspberries or thimbleberries, sprinkle them right on top of the batter after ladling the cakes onto the griddle. I would be remiss if I didn't point out that you can use this very same recipe to make the most delicious light and crispy waffles you will ever taste.
1 1/2 c. sourdough
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. dry milk
114 c. melted butter
2 T. sugar 3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
Preheat a griddle or skillet over your campfire or camp stove. Put the sourdough into a bowl or cook pot and beat in the egg, dry milk and melted butter. In a small bowl or coffee cup combine the sugar, salt and baking soda. When the griddle is hot, it is time to add the sugar, salt and soda "catalyst" to the starter. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the top of the sourdough mixture and fold into the batter. Have your ladle at hand. As the batter bubbles up, ladle out a test pancake about 3-4" in size. This first pancake will tell you if your cooking surface is the right temperature. It is yours to enjoy. Eat it out of hand while your campmates watch with envy. Serves 3-4.
SOURDOUGH BISCUITS
2 c. flour (use either bread flour or all purpose)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 T. dried buttermilk powder'
1/2 c. butter or shortening
1 1/2 c. sourdough starter
1/2 c. lukewarm water
Melted butter (or bacon grease)
Before you go, combine the flour, salt, baking soda and buttermilk in a Ziploc bag and pack. In camp early on the day before you want to bake, reconstitute the sourdough as described above. Measure out 1 11 2 c. Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl or cook pot and cut in the butter or shortening with a pastry blender or a fork until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir the water into the sourdough starter. Add the sourdough mixture to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until a dough is formed.
Turn out onto a floured board and knead 5 or 6 times. Roll or pat out to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a round biscuit cutter or with a knife into squares and place in a lightly greased biscuit pan or small cookie sheet. For soft-sided biscuits place them with the sides touching; for crusty biscuits, place them about an inch apart. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter or bacon grease and set in a warm place for about 30 minutes to rise. Position a reflector oven in front of a lively fire and set it far enough from the flames to bake the biscuits for about 15 minutes until browned and done. Serve hot. Makes a-dozen or more biscuits.
SOURDOUGH BREAD OR ROLLS
Although sourdough alone will cause bread to rise sufficiently, the addition of yeast will accomplish this much quicker. I usually pack a piece of heavy plastic sheeting about two feet square or so to knead the bread on. The bread can also be kneaded directly in the mixing container if large enough.
2 tsp. dry yeast
2 T. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 T. dry milk powder
1 1/2 c. sourdough starter 1/4 c. warm water (110°-115° F)
2 T. vegetable oil melted butter or bacon grease
Additional bread flour as needed to make a soft dough
3 T. vegetable oil, melted butter, or bacon grease as needed for greasing pan
Before you go, combine your yeast, sugar, salt, dry milk and 1 c. of the flour in a Ziploc bag and pack. In camp early on the day before you want to bake, reconstitute the sourdough as described above. When the sourdough is done working, measure out 1 1/2 c. for the recipe in a large bowl or cook pot. Add the warm water and the oil to the sourdough and mix in the prepacked flour mixture. Slowly add additional flour to make a soft dough.
Turn out on a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as necessary. Be careful about adding too much flour unless you like leaden bread or rolls. Remember to keep the dough on the sticky side adding only a sprinkling of flour as needed to be able to work the dough. Shape into a free form loaf or into rolls and place on a well greased baking sheet or pan which will fit in your reflector oven. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Bake the loaf in front of a three-Mississippi fire until browned and done, turning the pan frequently. Add wood and/or move the reflector oven as necessary to maintain the proper temperature. Check for doneness by tapping on the top of the loaf or a roll. If it sounds hollow it is done. Remove to paper towels to cool or eat directly out of the pan. May also be reheated in the reflector oven just before eating. Makes one loaf or about a dozen rolls.
S0URDOUGH BANNOCK
Don't have a reflector oven? Make bannock, an )ld time trail bread baked in a skillet over a campfire. Here is a tasty sourdough version.
1 c. flour, bread flour or all purpose
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. sourdough starter
Before you go, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda in a Ziploc bag and pack. In camp early on the day before you want to bake, reconstitute the sourdough as described above. Measure out 1 1/2 c. starter and place in a bowl or large cookpot. Sprinkle the prepacked flour mixture over the top of the sourdough. Mix together with a spoon only enough to moisten the dry ingredients. Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead gently about 10 to 15 times to make a soft but still sticky dough.
Pat the biscuit dough into a flat cake about 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick on a floured board. With your fingers work a hole in the center of the dough much like a giant doughnut. This helps the bannock to cook more evenly and will make more of the marvelous crust. Warm a heavy bottomed frying pan, over the campfire or cook stove. Don't get it too hot! Grease the bottom and the sides of the pan with some bacon grease or whatever oil or shortening is on hand and place the bannock in the pan, patting it gently into place. Grease the top of the bannock and set the skillet in a warm place. Let it rise for about an hour.
Place the skillet over low coals and cook until the bottom of the bannock is nicely browned. Be careful! It is a fine line between browned and burned. Now either flip the bannock over and finish cooking or prop the pan up in front of a low fire and bake until the top is brown and the bannock is done. Makes one loaf.
Now break off a steaming hunk and slather it with butter and some homemade wild berry jam if you have it. Remember, "roughing it" is for those who don't know any better.
SOURDOUGH CAMPFIRE DOUGHNUT HOLES
These tasty treats can be made using either the sourdough biscuit or the sourdough bannock dough. Either roll the dough into 1" balls using floured hands or drop by the teaspoonful into hot bacon grease (or vegetable oil) and fry, turning as needed, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove to paper towels to drain and while still hot toss in a bag with sugar, powdered sugar, or cinnamon sugar. To eat these out of hand with a steaming cup of campfire coffee on a frosty Boundary Waters' morning as the sun sends elusive beams through the steam rising off the lake is to experience a deep and abiding sense of well being.