Sourdough Sandwich Bread...

I love the bread table my husband made me.... especially when there's delicious loaves of sourdough cooling.... the smell is more than any of us can handle and one loaf rarely makes it through the cool down period every book or cook advises.  I never could figure that out... I guess the flavors blend or something.... but just how the heck are you suppose to wait? We dig in...taste's good to us!

True sourdough bread can be tricky ... creating a starter is not difficult but requires patience as does learning to bake bread with whole grains. While  I had pretty good luck with hearty artisian bread that was delicious thickly sliced for soup or dinner,  I wasn't satisfied with any of the sandwich bread recipes I'd tried.... in fact alot of them turned into croutons and the really bad ones went to the chickens!   Until!   I am a long time subscriber of "Countryside" magazine and had copied a recipe years ago but had never tried.  I had mashed potatoes left over from Thanksgiving and knew this recipe called for them.... it's my new favorite... tender crumb and the loaves rise well above  the pan.   Thank you Shawn & Beth Dougherty from "The Sows Ear" and the Queen of Minnesota farm wife Sandra Callens of "Silofence Farm".