Making Sourdough Bread

Once we have our sourdough starter, we are ready to make a loaf of bread.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup sourdough starter
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup rye flour or whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups filtered water
• 50 g whole wheat flour (approximately 3 1/2 cups)

Directions:

Note: After removing 1/2 cup of starter, use this opportunity to feed the remainder and put it in a clean container.

Stir together water, starter, 1/3 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/3 cup rye flour. Let sit for 1 hour or several hours in the refrigerator.

Stir in remaining flour and water and let sit another hour.

Every hour, for the next three hours, give the dough a good stir.

Note: Your sourdough will be sticky and more moist than traditional yeast dough. This is what you want. I promise!

Place the dough in a well-floured (I highly recommend using brown rice flour) proofing basket or bowl. Also flour the top of the dough.

Cover and let sit for 4-8 hours at room temperature (or 8-12 hours in the refrigerator), until doubled in size.

Half an hour before you want to start baking, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. I recommend baking sourdough bread in a covered cast-iron Dutch oven. If you choose to do so, put it in the oven while it heats.

Gently “pour” the dough into the Dutch oven (or vessel of your choice) and score the top with a sharp knife.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and use a spatula to remove the bread from the Dutch oven.

Cool completely on a wire rack.

It is very tempting to eat your sourdough bread while it is still hot, however, the flavors develop as it sits, so leave it alone for as long as you can stand it. 🙂

Enjoy!