Sourdough Bread Recipe
Let’s use the simplest recipe for a sourdough bread. You can substitute any flour type or grain you want, or mix two different grains.
White Wheat flour sourdough recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup homemade sourdough starter
- 1.5 cup white organic flour
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- half a teaspoon of salt – natural sea salt or rock salt
Mix all ingredients, kneading the dough for about 8 minutes or until the salt is all mixed in. You can add a little flour on your surface and on your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to it. Place it in a bowl (cover the inside of the bowl with a little oil to prevent sticking), cover with a plastic wrap and leave standing for 12 hours in a warm place to let it rise.
The dough should double in size, if it didn’t, knead it again and leave in a bowl to rise for few more hours in a warm place (25-30 degrees C). The rising of the sourdough depends how matured is your starter. If you using your starter for a first time, the bread will take longer to rise and will not be as soft. This is because the starter is not yet very strong and will not be developed enough to rise the bread well. Persevere however, and after making couple of breads it will get better.
Form the loaf or place the sourdough in a baking tin, handle it gently to prevent to break the bubbles. Let it stand for another 45 min in a warm place. Preheat the oven 15 min before baking on 180-200 degrees C to have even heat throughout it. Place a small bowl with water at he bottom of the oven to add moisture – for more baking tips go to Baking the sourdough bread page . Place the loaf in the middle of the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. For a thicker crust, bake longer on lower temperature. For a softer crust, bake on higher temperature for a shorter time and place a small water bowl at the bottom of the oven.
Take the bread out when it is done and place it on a rack or wooden board to cool down. Bread should cool down for about 2 hrs before being eaten as it is not healthy to eat a fresh hot bread straight from the oven.
Tip: For a slow baking or overnight baking to make it ready for breakfast, make the dough at the evening, place it in a preheated oven just before you go to bed. Bake for 5 min, turn the oven off and leave it standing until morning to rise slowly. It will be ready next morning when you get up for breakfast.
