Sharry Miller

Sourdough Musings

Since yesterday's Scottish Buttermilk Bread didn't meet our bread needs for the week, and since I haven't used my sourdough sponge (starter) in a month, I decided to make some sourdough bread today. Actually, I made that decision late last night and added two cups of white flour and two cups of water to the cup of sponge I had in the refrigerator. It needed to sit on the counter overnight to get well activated... Read more →

Scottish Buttermilk Bread

My adventures with Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads continued yesterday with the making of Scottish Buttermilk Bread. With this loaf I was forced to acknowledge that if I'm going to work my way through all of the recipes in the book, I'm going to make loaves that don't suit my needs, that is, aren't standard loaves of bread appropriate for toast, sandwiches, etc. Clayton describes Scottish Buttermilk Bread as being "closely akin to... Read more →

Bread of Five Risings

I checked the clock and added time carefully before I tackled the next recipe in Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads. It was nearly 4:30 when I started, and since the recipe said the dough required five risings, I wasn't sure it would be done in time for dinner. It took my fingers and toes to calculate, but I decided all would be well if we didn't eat early. I was wrong. We finished... Read more →

Baking Bread

As I type, a bowl of warm bread dough is rising in my oven. It is a miracle. Every loaf of bread is a miracle. A few years ago, I purchased Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads,revised and expanded, mind you. It has sat on my cookbook shelf, like most of my cookbooks, completely ignored. Occasionally I'd glance at it and think that I should methodically for my way through all of its 748... Read more →