No Starter Sour Dough Bread

A couple of years ago my family fell in love with garlic sour dough bread.  It is a lot more expensive than the regular bread, so we only buy it every once in a great while.  I always wanted to make it, but don't have the patience to wait and keep up with the standard sour dough starter.  I came across this recipe from Averie Cooks it looked so yummy that I decided I might be able to actually make it myself. Due to my craziness I ended up creating my own recipe and surprisingly it turned out fabulously!  The family gobbled it up!  The only thing I will do different next time is not divide the dough in to two loaves.  I will only make one, so that the bread is a little bit thicker.  It was still an huge hit though.

No Starter Sour Dough Bread
1 (5-6 oz) container of plain Greek Yogurt with "active cultures" (the normal one serving size)
1/2 -1 cup sour cream (or more Plain Greek Yogurt)
1 teaspoon yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons Ranch dressing
3-4 cups four

In a stand mixer dissolve the yeast in warm water and let sit for about 5 minutes until it gets a bit bubbly.   Add and mix the yogurt, 1/2 cup sour cream, ranch, salt, garlic and garlic salt.  Add the flour 1 cup at a time mixing for about 5-7 minutes.  It should be a heavy wet dough.  If it is dry or crumbly add more sour cream until the dough is the right texture (I ended up using 1 cup of sour cream).

Remove dough from bowl kneading it with your hands just a bit to create a large ball. Place ball in a large greased bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray and place in a warm area to raise for about 6 hours.

After the 6 hours (you can let it raise for more)

Remove from the bowl and lightly knead it for a couple minutes.  Pat the dough into a large round mound and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cut an "X" in the center of the loaf with a serrated knife.

 Lightly cover it again with greased plastic wrap and let it raise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven (this is the secret for the perfect crust).
When oven is ready place your cookie sheet with your dough on it on the rack above the water.
Bake 50-60 minutes or until the bread is a dark golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap on the top of it.

Remove from pan on to a wire rack and rub top with butter.  Allow to cool. (This is the part my children had a hard time with for they did not want to wait)

Slice and enjoy!!