Sourdough - Garlic Bread

I've never made Sourdough Garlic Bread before. I grabbed the starter from the fridge and got started. Starter is amazing if you think about it. I do not feed the starter regularly. I've gone months without feeding it before. I've had this starter 3 or 4 years now. I just forget to feed it sometimes.  Last year, I tried using milk and sugar to feed the the starter. Maybe because I only did that one feeding, it was different but not a big difference in the taste. So I went back to just using flour and water. I pulled it out of the fridge, added about a 1 1/2 cups of flour and some hot tap water. I let it sit for a few hours.

Time to make the dough! I added two cups of starter, 2 tsp of salt and 2 tbsp of sugar. Then I added 1 cup of hot tap water. I used the handle of a wooden spoon to stir it until I can use my hands. The spoon handle is easy to clean. Lastly, I added flour until the dough was easy to handle without sticking to my hands. If you want to know which recipe I use this is it: "by SteveTheBreadGuy"
How to make sourdough bread at home

I also added some Oregano and Garlic Powder. I should have added that sooner, but honestly I did not start out thinking I was going to make garlic bread. I did not measure how much I put in, I just poured in what I thought I would like. Kneaded it to get it all mixed in. Evidently I like a lot of it.

Added a little Olive Oil so that it will not stick to the sides of the bowl, put a towel over it and let it rise. Starting at 9 PM on Friday night, I let it sit overnight and then some. The yeast was not real active, probably because I have not been making bread for a while.

About 10 AM Saturday, it has risen a lot. Punched it down, did a few folds. Shaped it back to a ball. I put a little olive oil in the pan, wiped the edges with a paper towel and plopped the dough in it to let it rise. I let it rise all day.

I had it just in the kitchen, but it was in a cool place. I finally moved it to a place where the sun was shining in. That seemed to get it rising faster.

Waited until it was this big enough. It was pretty lumpy looking this go round.

Preheated the oven to 375. Stuck it in, and set the timer for 30 minutes. The house was starting to smell like pizza night. My son got excited because he thought I was making pizza. At 30 minutes I checked it. Ii still had dough sticking to the knife. Set it for another 2 minutes...still doughy. Another 5 minutes...still dough on the knife. I did this a few times. I was getting worried the crust would burn or be as hard as a rock.

Out of the oven and on the rack. It's about 9:30 Saturday evening. Normally the total process does not take this long. I'm thinking it was because the starter was weak, and it was set in a cool place to rise. Therefore, it took a long time to rise this time. In the past, I did not have to wait long enough to let it rise. I just went by the clock, but you really need to go by looking at it. It rises faster when it's warmer in the house.

Success! We really like the taste. I will be adding garlic and oregano again.

The crust is crunchy, but not real thick. I would have liked it if the bread had bigger holes in the rise, but when it is like this it is easier to put spreads on it. Sopped with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and it tastes great.

Tell me your favorite sourdough recipe.  It is real easy to make since it just sits around. Basically all you do is touch it a few times and let it sit.