For Margaret Linström, baking sourdough bread is filled with nostalgia. Memories of how she waited in anticipation for a steaming slice from her Auntie Jane always comes to mind when she thinks about her love for baking bread.
This sourdough starter recipe will help you create your own sourdough starter from scratch at home in seven easy steps. Your starter is the cornerstone of great bread – once you have it showing consistent signs of fermentation each day, which takes on average 5 to 7 days, you’re ready to start baking sourdough bread!
“We would wait expectantly for the steaming loaves to emerge from the oven and then slather thick slices with homemade butter, churned by Uncle Kerneels in an old-fashioned butter churn. It truly was heaven on earth for me!”
Ingredients
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 400 g whole-grain rye flour
- 800 g water
Method
Day one
To a clean jar, add 100g whole rye flour and 125g warm water. Mix ingredients and keep somewhere warm for 24 hours.
Day two
To a clean jar, add 75g of the mixture from Day One (discard the rest), 50g whole rye flour, 50g all-purpose flour, and 115g water. Mix ingredients and keep somewhere warm for 24 hours.
Day three
To a clean jar, add 75g of the mixture from Day Two (discard the rest), 50g whole rye flour, 50g all-purpose flour, and 115g water. Mix ingredients and keep somewhere warm for 24 hours.
Day four
On day four, you will give the mixture two feedings. In a clean jar, add 75g of the mixture from Day Three (discard the rest), 50g whole rye flour, 50g all-purpose flour, and 115g water. Mix and let rest for 12 hours. In the evening, after 12 hours, repeat the discarding and feeding you did in the morning. Let the mixture rest overnight.
Day five and six
For days five and six, continue to discard down the jar contents and then feed with the same ratio of ingredients as Day Four, twice a day. You can use the same jar for these feedings.
Day seven and onward
In the morning on Day Seven, discard the jar’s contents down to 20g of the mixture and add 30g whole rye flour, 70g all-purpose flour, and 100g water. Repeat this feeding once a day, indefinitely.
Sourdough bread with all-purpose flour (adapted from theperfectloaf.com)
This recipe is for an easy loaf of healthy and nutritious sourdough bread made with all-purpose flour – all made in one day.
- 460g all-purpose flour
- 340g water
- 9g salt
- 92g ripe sourdough starter
Mix at 09:00
Add the Main Dough ingredients, reserving 50g of water, to a mixing bowl and mix with wet hands. Mix and strengthen the dough for 2-5 minutes, pinching the ingredients together and folding the dough over itself repeatedly until it’s cohesive and smooth. During this time, slowly add in the 50g of the reserved water if the dough feels like it can handle it: it shouldn’t be soupy or extremely wet, if it is, don’t add the remainder of the reserved water.
Bulk fermentation at 09:15 to 12:45
This dough will need 4 to 5 sets of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation, the first set 30 minutes after bulk fermentation begins. Perform the rest of them at 30-minute intervals as needed. After the last set, let the dough rest the remainder of bulk fermentation.
Pre-shape at 12:45
Lightly flour your work surface and scrape out your dough. Lightly shape the dough into a round shape. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes, uncovered.
Shape at 13:05
Shape the dough into a round or oval shape, then place the dough in proofing baskets.
Proof at 13:15 to 15:45
Cover the proofing basket entirely and let it sit out on the counter for 2 to 4 hours, temperature depending.
Bake at 15:45, preheat oven at 15:00
Preheat your oven with a baking surface or Dutch oven inside to 230°C.
When the oven is preheated, score it, and transfer it to the preheated baking surface or Dutch oven. Bake for 20 minutes. After this time, remove the lid (if using a Dutch oven) and continue to bake for 30 minutes longer. Let the loaves cool for 2 hours on a wire rack before slicing.
Serving suggestions sourced from Culturesforhealth.com
Pickled onions and cheddar cheese are a delicious topping. Crack an egg into a pan and fry it, cut into quarters and top a slice of sourdough bread. Mushroom & Caramelised Onions: Fry the mushrooms in a pan, browning them for about five minutes. Add balsamic glaze and water to caramelize the onions, allowing them to stew for about five minutes. Pile the mushrooms and onions.
Compiled and photographed by: Gypseenia Lion
