Day 2 Sourdough Starter and Amazing Sourdough Rosemary Crackers

I'm in absolute LOVE with my Sourdough starter.  

I can't wait to share all of the amazing things I have made in just the first week.  And I must admit I am surprised how easy it has been caring for the starter.  I have already adjusted the amount of flour and water at each feeding to make sure I have enough "waste" to make more delicious recipes.  The key is equal parts of the sourdough starter, flour and water.  And to make sure you are feeding it once or twice a day if out of the fridge.

In week one I have successfully made

Day 2 - three varieties of Sourdough crackers

Day 3- Sourdough garlic, rosemary, basil moz flat bread

Day 4 - Sourdough waffles

Day 5 - Sourdough Egg Noodles

Day 6  - Sourdough Bread - as I finally had ripe sourdough starter to use

Day 7 - Sourdough Soft Pretzels

Okay here we go - the recipe I used to create some mouth watering, out of this world Sourdough crackers.

1 cup Unbleached wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup sourdough starter (unfed/waste)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp
2 tablespoons of dried rosemary
Olive oil for brushing
Maldon Sea Salt for sprinkling on top

1. Mix together the flour, salt, sourdough starter, butter, and rosemary to make a smooth(not sticky), dough.

1. Divide the dough and shape each piece into a small rectangular slab. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to a couple of hours, until the dough is firm.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Very lightly flour a piece of parchment, your rolling pin, and the top of the dough.
3. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough to about 1/16" thick (I roll it as thin as i can get it without tearing). 
   
4. Transfer the dough and parchment together onto a baking sheet. Lightly brush with olive oil and then sprinkle the Maldon salt over the top of the crackers.

1. Cut the dough into bite size squares; a pizza cutter works great.
2. Poke each square with the tines of a fork.
3. Bake the crackers for 20 to 25 minutes, until the squares are starting to brown around the edges. Midway through, reverse the baking sheets: both top to bottom, and front to back; this will help the crackers brown evenly.
4. When fully browned, remove the crackers from the oven, and transfer them to a cooling rack. Store airtight at room temperature for up to a week; freeze for longer storage.  

I must admit the cracker were gone in a matter of a few minutes so we didn't have to worry about it.

Thank you King Arthur Flour for the great recipe for Sourdough Crackers which I used.

This recipe serves as a great base for creating other flavors and types of crackers.  I have also added fresh garlic and black pepper to make a highly seasoned sourdough cracker.  And my favorite was using King Arthur Vermont Cheese Powder and Garlic powder - I will never eat another store bought cheese cracker again!

I can't wait to share more sourdough recipes in upcoming posts.

Day 1 - King Arthur Flour Fresh Sourdough Starter - FEED ME

My Sourdough adventure begins.

I am excited, nervous and anxious to see how this new baking journey is going to go!

King Arthur Flour and I have a long delicious history together.  And when I saw a great sale on their website, I decided it was time to embark on my sourdough journey.

My one ounce Fresh Sourdough Starter arrived today and a simple booklet with Sourdough tips and recipes.  And the message, "Feed Me".  In order to keep the starter alive and healthy it is recommended you feed it within 24 hours. 

So after I put my boys to bed I followed the instructions carefully.

It was time to feed my starter for the first time.  **it is recommended to weigh out all the ingredients for accuracy**

I weighed 2 ounces of lukewarm water and added it in the container of fresh sourdough starter.  Let me tell you, the sour and acidic aroma made my mouth water in anticipation of recipes to come. 

I gently stirred the water around to loosen up the starter.  And then the starter and liquid were added into a bowl with 8 ounces of lukewarm water and 8.5 ounces of Unbleached All-purpose flour.  A quick stir to incorporate all the ingredients and now it was time to cover the bowl loosely in a cool room and wait 8 to 12 hours for the next step.  I am hopeful as I already saw some small bubbles.

To be continued....

**I purchased the sourdough starter and this series of posts is not sponsored by King Arthur Flour**

'Twas the Night Before Christmas Break was over

'Twas the Night Before Christmas Break was over.......

And this Mom decided to finally go through her children's backpacks! (YES...Epic Fail!)

Of course our youngest son had an optional extra credit assignment that was due Monday morning!  Which left him 3 hours to complete before much needed bedtime would arrive.

Did I mention that "this" son is a go getter and an over achiever?  Sooooo, there was no question the extra credit HAD to be done!!

Well, his teacher was gracious to give many extra credit options that all pertained to the class novel study of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.  "Easy" options like making a map, a missing persons poster or a critique of the book they had already read.

Any guesses on which extra credit my son "HAD" to do?

A DIORAMA!!!

Good Lord Help Me!!!

So, what does this Momma do?  Yes, first I googled trying to get some easy inspiration on Hatchet dioramas.  But, if anyone who has ever helped with a diorama knows, there is no such thing!

On to the next plan. I talked to my son to see what he envisioned.  Oh, the ideas just flowed....a plane crash, animal attacks, a tornado and more.  What to do?  What to do? 

Before my son set his idea in stone, this Momma ransacked the bottom of two toy boxes looking for anything that would become "stars" in the diorama.  I found many cast members that were not a fit.  But there it was the holy grail....a bear, an action figure, a broken helicopter and some fake foliage.  SUCCESS!!

Next we found an old shoe box (as a parent you know never throw a shoe box away - even if it means storing them for almost a year), construction paper, Elmer's glue, craft sticks and wood glue.  My son was soo excited and started creating his vision.

By now I was getting into the diorama myself so I went out with a pair of scissors and trimmed small pine branches off our shrub in the back yard and collected a small branch.  Let me tell you these additions fit in perfectly...BUT

Trying to make pine branches stand up in a shoe box to look like a "real" forest without poking holes in the bottom of the box...hum. Gorilla glue? Nope didn't work.  Wood glue? No.  Elmer's glue? Took too long to set up.  Old Fashioned Super Glue?  With much persistence, patience dwindling and canned air (Don't ask) it worked!

The Diorama is complete and my son is sooo proud and that is all the matters.

Now just to get it to school in the morning in one piece as the weather forecast is for winds gusting to 50 mph! 

Back to Blogging. Welcome 2019

It's been a long time and I have missed all of you!

Life is always changing and if full of its rewards and challenges.

So the big question is.....what am I going to focus on via Fishful Thinking in 2019?

Product Reviews?  Giveaways?  Recipes?  Life Lessons?  Blogging Tricks and Tips? Technology? Or something else?

I would love to see what you are interested in or maybe a mix of everything...A melting pot.

So....To Be Continued.....

Let's make the best of it, no matter the circumstances.