Homemade Sourdough Bread

Homemade Sourdough Bread

Adapted from Happy Days with the Naked Chef

The method stretches over a week, but once you’ve got the starter mix, you can make it every day.

On the first day you should organic rye flour as it contains wild yeast and bacteria necessary to “develop” the starter. It should be organic because it has to be free of any additives or chemicals which can stunt the growth of the microflora.

Ingredients

Starter

1 lb / 453 gr organic rye flour

Water as needed

Bread

2 lb / 906 gr strong organic flour (white, whole wheat, rye, etc.)

Water as needed

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Any seeds, nuts, or dried fruit you wish to add to your bread

Directions

Monday: Mix the flour with enough water to make a soft dough in a large bowl. Put it outside for an hour, then bring it inside to a warm place and cover with plastic wrap.

Tuesday: It will start to bubble. Leave it alone.

Wednesday: The mix will continue to bubble and will go slightly grey. At this point, stir in a handful of flour and a bit of water, enough to get the mixture back to the same consistency as on Monday. Leave it again, still covered.

Thursday: Leave it alone.

Friday: By now, you’ll have a beery, malty smelling, ashy colored mixture, full of natural yeasts, full of character. This is the starter

Make your bread by adding all of your starter to the flour. then adding enough water to make a firm, pliable dough that is not sticky. Knead it for a good 5 minutes.

Remove a 1 lb /9 453 gr piece of dough for your next starter before adding any salt. Cover and set aside, ready to repeat the process the next day, and so on, etc.

Add salt and any other “stuff” you want to the dough. Shape it and put it into a bowl lined with a floured tea-towel. Leave in a draft-free place undisturbed for 14 hours.

Saturday Morning: Time to bake the bread. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°). Gently turn the dough onto a floured baking tray, with a sharp knife cut quite deep slashes into it, and bake for 1 hour or until it is crisp and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Allow to cool and enjoy fresh.