Sourdough bread

It's finally ready. Our fermented sourdough recipe.

Sourdough is an old form of bread leavening. It relies on a mix of "natural or wild yeast" and lactic acid bacteria that are naturally present in flour, rather than baker’s yeast, to leaven the dough.

Although sourdough bread is usually made from the same ingredients as traditional breads, the fermentation process improves its nutritional content immensely. Whole grain breads contain a good amount of minerals, including potassium, phosphate, magnesium and zinc.

However, the absorption of these minerals is hindered by the presence of phytic acid, which is commonly referred to as phytate. Phytates are considered anti-nutrients because they bind to minerals, reducing your body’s ability to absorb them. Fascinatingly , the lactic acid bacteria found in sourdough bread lower the bread’s pH, which assists in breaking down phytates. This results in a bread that has a much lower phytate content.

Lower phytate levels increase mineral absorption, which is one of the ways in which sourdough bread is more nutritious than conventional bread. Researchers also believe that sourdough fermentation may modify the structure of carbohydrate molecules. This reduces the bread’s glycemic index (GI) and slows down the speed at which sugars enter the bloodstream.

RECIPE

2 cup sourdough starter (you can buy starters that are already done for you, but if you can make it yourself it is worth it) you can view our sourdough starter recipe here

2 cup lukewarm water

4 tsps of salt (this slows down the fermentation process, allowing more good bacteria to grow)

6 cups of good quality flour (I use sprouted whole wheat flour or Organs all-purpose organic flour)

Method

Combine the starter, water and salt in a large bowl, stir and let stand for 5 minutes.

Start adding the flour, 1/2 cup at a time and let stand for 5 minutes. Whole wheat flour takes time to absorb the water, you don’t want to add to much flour otherwise your bread will be as hard as a rock.

Continue to add ½ cup at a time so that the bread dough does not become stiff. When all of the flour is added, flour a clean surface and pour your dough onto your surface. The dough should be very sticky.

Knead the dough, and continue to add small amounts of flour so that the dough does not stick to your hands. The dough should start to feel elastic and easy to knead. Knead anywhere between 8-15 minutes – depending what type of flour you use.

Grease a bowl and pop your dough into the bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 8-12 hours at room temperature (leaving it overnight works well so you can make a start on it the next day because it will need another rise). It should double in size by this time.

 Sprinkle your surface with more flour to prevent sticking. Take the dough from the bowl and add 2 tablespoons of flour and shape your dough to what you will be baking it in – if you’re using a loaf tin, shape it to fit – or if you are using a traditional proofing basket, then flour it now and add it in. Place the shaped dough into your tin or basket and loosely cover and leave it to let rise for 3 – 5 hours (or whenever it doubles in size).

Preheat your oven to the hottest oven temperature. Once the oven has preheated turn it down to 220 degrees. If you are using a dutch oven to cook your bread, pop the dutch oven (with the lid on – take the lid off for the last 10 minutes to brown) in the oven to preheat and then line the bottom with some baking paper.

Place the bread in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 180 and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when you knock on it.