Reverend Al
09-28-2013, 04:49 AM
About 35 years ago my grandfather John Bradstock made up a batch of home-made Sourdough starter that he shared with the rest of our family. I still have some of his starter from that old, original batch that we've been using and feeding repeatedly for all of these years, so I'm lucky enough to have a "well aged" starter with tons of tangy flavour to work with. If you're not quite that lucky you can always start a fresh batch of starter yourself and just let it work for a bit until it's strong enough to give your baked goods that wonderful rich flavour ...
(I use my grandfather's Sourdough Biscuit recipe for the outside dough on the Sourdough Sausage Rolls.)
The "John Bradstock" Sourdough Biscuit recipe
(Al's grandfather)
Dry Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups of sifted flour in total, using 2 1/4 cups of Whole Wheat flour & 2 1/4 cups of Yellow Corn flour. (Important Note: Corn flour not Cornmeal, cornmeal is a bit too coarse for this biscuit recipe!)
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt (plus an optional 1 to 1 & 1/2 tsp. of Garlic powder if you like it as much as I do.)
Wet Ingredients
- 1/4 cup of cooking oil (or butter or margarine if you prefer the dough to be a bit more "short".)
- 1 & 1/2 to 2 cups of "Bradstock" sourdough starter
- 225 ml of "No Fat" (or regular) sour cream (1/2 of a 450ml container, save the rest for the next batch or better yet, just double everything and make a bigger batch ….)
- two large eggs
- some melted butter or margarine (to brush on top of the biscuits before cooking.)
Preparation & Cooking
Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl until well mixed. Combine cooking oil (or butter or margarine) with sourdough starter and eggs, (I do it right in the measuring cup). Mix wet ingredients thoroughly, then add to the dry ingredients. Mix all of the ingredients well, then turn the slightly wet ball of dough out onto a lightly floured board or work counter covered with bench flour and knead it gently for about 2 to 3 minutes. When you're finished, it should have a "satin" look and feel to it. (If it still seems a bit too wet, then gradually add a little more bench flour until it feels right)
Roll the dough out until it's about 3/4" thick. Cut out biscuits with about a 2 1/2" cutter (or with the floured end of an empty bean or soup tin if you're in camp). Place the biscuits into a lightly greased baking pan or cookie sheet. Brush the tops with the melted butter or margarine. Let rise 1 full hour in a warm place. Bake in a medium hot oven (about 325 to 350 degrees) for 15 to 18 minutes, or until nicely browned on top. You might want to experiment slighty with the cooking time, as I find that the biscuits dry out too much if over-cooked. They're much tastier if left slightly moist when finished.
The quantities listed above for a single batch makes about 12 to 16 biscuits depending how thick you roll the dough.
PS: This biscuit recipe is named after my grandfather, Mr. John Bradstock, as my original sourdough starter came from a batch that he made in his kitchen many, many years ago.
To make the Sourdough Sausage Rolls I generally just "wing it" for the sausage meat filling and I use a "1/2 & 1/2" mixture of ground beef and ground pork, add some finely diced onions, some very finely diced sweet Bell Peppers, one egg, a few bread crumbs, and then season the mix with garlic, seasoned salt, freshly ground pepper and what-ever else strikes my fancy that day! I mix it all together thoroughly and then roll it into long thin "logs" about 1" in diameter and as long as my baking sheets. I bake the "logs" for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees until they're done and then let them cool. At that point I make up a batch of the Bradstock Sourdough Biscuit dough and roll it out flat to about 1/4" thick. I put a "log" of filling onto the dough and roll the edge of the dough over until it meets on the far side and pinch the two sides together to seal it up. I trim the rest of the dough from around the roll and then slice off pieces about 1 & 1/2" long. Repeat with the rest of the filling "logs" until you run out of dough. I sprinkle the "logs" with sesame seeds first (just because I like the taste of them), but that is optional if you're not a big sesame seed fan. I then put them onto my baking sheets spaced slightly apart. I bake the cut rolls for 15 to 18 minutes until the dough is just nicely browned and then put the finished rolls onto wire racks to cool off.
Enjoy!
:bigsmyl2:
http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd466/Reverend_Al/SourdoughSausageRolls001Large_zpsa500f4ba.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/Reverend_Al/media/SourdoughSausageRolls001Large_zpsa500f4ba.jpg.html )
http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd466/Reverend_Al/SourdoughSausageRolls002Large_zpsb657c3f0.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/Reverend_Al/media/SourdoughSausageRolls002Large_zpsb657c3f0.jpg.html )
(I use my grandfather's Sourdough Biscuit recipe for the outside dough on the Sourdough Sausage Rolls.)
The "John Bradstock" Sourdough Biscuit recipe
(Al's grandfather)
Dry Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups of sifted flour in total, using 2 1/4 cups of Whole Wheat flour & 2 1/4 cups of Yellow Corn flour. (Important Note: Corn flour not Cornmeal, cornmeal is a bit too coarse for this biscuit recipe!)
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt (plus an optional 1 to 1 & 1/2 tsp. of Garlic powder if you like it as much as I do.)
Wet Ingredients
- 1/4 cup of cooking oil (or butter or margarine if you prefer the dough to be a bit more "short".)
- 1 & 1/2 to 2 cups of "Bradstock" sourdough starter
- 225 ml of "No Fat" (or regular) sour cream (1/2 of a 450ml container, save the rest for the next batch or better yet, just double everything and make a bigger batch ….)
- two large eggs
- some melted butter or margarine (to brush on top of the biscuits before cooking.)
Preparation & Cooking
Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl until well mixed. Combine cooking oil (or butter or margarine) with sourdough starter and eggs, (I do it right in the measuring cup). Mix wet ingredients thoroughly, then add to the dry ingredients. Mix all of the ingredients well, then turn the slightly wet ball of dough out onto a lightly floured board or work counter covered with bench flour and knead it gently for about 2 to 3 minutes. When you're finished, it should have a "satin" look and feel to it. (If it still seems a bit too wet, then gradually add a little more bench flour until it feels right)
Roll the dough out until it's about 3/4" thick. Cut out biscuits with about a 2 1/2" cutter (or with the floured end of an empty bean or soup tin if you're in camp). Place the biscuits into a lightly greased baking pan or cookie sheet. Brush the tops with the melted butter or margarine. Let rise 1 full hour in a warm place. Bake in a medium hot oven (about 325 to 350 degrees) for 15 to 18 minutes, or until nicely browned on top. You might want to experiment slighty with the cooking time, as I find that the biscuits dry out too much if over-cooked. They're much tastier if left slightly moist when finished.
The quantities listed above for a single batch makes about 12 to 16 biscuits depending how thick you roll the dough.
PS: This biscuit recipe is named after my grandfather, Mr. John Bradstock, as my original sourdough starter came from a batch that he made in his kitchen many, many years ago.
To make the Sourdough Sausage Rolls I generally just "wing it" for the sausage meat filling and I use a "1/2 & 1/2" mixture of ground beef and ground pork, add some finely diced onions, some very finely diced sweet Bell Peppers, one egg, a few bread crumbs, and then season the mix with garlic, seasoned salt, freshly ground pepper and what-ever else strikes my fancy that day! I mix it all together thoroughly and then roll it into long thin "logs" about 1" in diameter and as long as my baking sheets. I bake the "logs" for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees until they're done and then let them cool. At that point I make up a batch of the Bradstock Sourdough Biscuit dough and roll it out flat to about 1/4" thick. I put a "log" of filling onto the dough and roll the edge of the dough over until it meets on the far side and pinch the two sides together to seal it up. I trim the rest of the dough from around the roll and then slice off pieces about 1 & 1/2" long. Repeat with the rest of the filling "logs" until you run out of dough. I sprinkle the "logs" with sesame seeds first (just because I like the taste of them), but that is optional if you're not a big sesame seed fan. I then put them onto my baking sheets spaced slightly apart. I bake the cut rolls for 15 to 18 minutes until the dough is just nicely browned and then put the finished rolls onto wire racks to cool off.
Enjoy!
:bigsmyl2:
http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd466/Reverend_Al/SourdoughSausageRolls001Large_zpsa500f4ba.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/Reverend_Al/media/SourdoughSausageRolls001Large_zpsa500f4ba.jpg.html )
http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd466/Reverend_Al/SourdoughSausageRolls002Large_zpsb657c3f0.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/Reverend_Al/media/SourdoughSausageRolls002Large_zpsb657c3f0.jpg.html )