There are many recipes for sourdough bread. I think that the way we do it is the easiest and quickest you will find around. I would like you to see this recipe as a guide only. You will find your own way of doing it very soon and don’t give up if your bread won’t be perfect for the first few times. It is an evolutionary process that is worth trying. You don’t get such healthy and delicious bread anywhere else. It is not much work to do it either. Try and enjoy!
Sourdough Bread Recipe
- 2 cup rye four
- 2 cups wholemeal flour
- 2 teaspoon salt ( the pure salt without the anti-caking agent, also called kosher salt, should be used )
- seeds or not, this is to your liking – We sometimes don’t add any, and sometimes do 1 tablespoon of each: sunflower, pumpkin, and black sesame seeds, or just sprinkle at the top when moved into the baking dish
- around 500-600ml warm water (filtered or cooked and cooled down would be the best)
- 4-5 tablespoons of sourdough starter
1. Combine flour, salt, and seeds.
2. Mix the sourdough starter and warm water with a plastic or wooden fork or spoon in a large cup. Add the starter-water mix into the flour mix and knead in a food processor or use your hands in a bowl for about 10 minutes. IMPORTANT! The dough should be super soft but still holding together. You will see it right at the beginning of the kneading process. Add some water if you think that the dough is too firm, or flour if it is too runny.
3. Move into a baking dish, greased with butter, and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Keep in a warm place until the dough is raised at about 1/3 more than at the beginning. This will very much depend on room temperature. During the summertime (we live in a sub-tropical area), when we get around 30-35°C, it takes about 4 hours. During winter, when the temperature at home is around 22°C, it takes about 6 hours.
4. Remove the kitchen towel and bake at 230°C at the bottom and top heat settings for about 70-80 minutes. The fan-forced setting is not recommended and also do NOT pre-heat the oven.
5. Take the bread out of the baking dish immediately after the baking time is over and place it on a rack to cool down.
6. Wait for about one hour before cutting in!
ENJOY!!
Options:
- You can replace the wholemeal with plain flour, add walnuts, cranberries, or others depending on what you like. The most important is that you watch the consistency of the dough. It has to be very soft. This is the most important part of the job as the amount of water will determine whether your bread is fluffy or hard as a stone 😀
