Instructions for simple Sourdough Pan Bread using Carl Griffith's 1847 Oregon
Trail Sourdough Starter and a Kitchen Aid K-45 mixer (revised May 2003)

Put into the mixing bowl:
1 cup fully active culture
2 cups water
3 cups bread flour
Mix manually
-----------------
Let sit covered until volume doubles.
-----------------
Manually mix in:
2 tsp. salt & 2 more cups flour.
-----------------
Machine knead ~10 min. at low speed while adjusting consistency by adding 1 cup
more or less of additional flour, until the dough no longer sticks to bowl or
fingers.
-----------------
Remove from mixer, hand knead briefly, and split dough.  Work in more flour
while hand kneading each piece. (Total cups flour=6, more or less.) Bat each
piece around in the bowl with the dough hook, at medium speed.  (Bat one while
kneading the other, repeat twice.)
-----------------
Form and reform each piece several times during 20 or 30 minutes, otherwise
keeping covered.  The dough should be soft enough to easily reseal a seam, but
should not stick to hands.

Finally form to oblong and cut tops with razor blade, 10 or 12 diagonal cuts.
Dough as finally formed should be silky smooth.
-----------------
Place in pans*, allow to rise 4 to 8 hrs., enclosed to retain moisture, until
top is an inch or two higher than the top of the pan. (3 in. is possible!)
-----------------
Bake 40 min. at ~375°F. Cold start OK.
(Expect little "oven push", or none.)
-----------------
*usual Teflon-coated steel pans, capacity ~64 fl. oz. (~8 cups) to brim;
Times are approximate, for ~70°F -- Shorten for summertime.
-----------------
Cans as measures:
A 24 ounce can is good for fetching the flour. Keep can with flour. A 16 oz.
can is good for measuring the water.
-----------------