Sourdough Bread
How to make light & easy sourdough bread
Enjoy this wonderful healthy bread, which all the extra nutritional benefits of sourdough and pre-soaking your flours! For more info about sourdough click here . You will need to ask around your local community to find someone with a sourdough 'mother' or 'starter'. Seek and you will find. You can make your own, but for best results and the wonderful satisfaction of being part of a lineage of bakers, get a pre-used starter.
So, once you have a starter in your hot little hands...
On the first morning:
Into a bowl pour ½ the sourdough starter, 1 ½ c rye flour, 1 c tepid water. Stir in with a knife. Sit for the day in a warmish place.
To the starter (in a jar), add1 c rye flour and 1 c tepid water. Sit in a warm place for the day and then return to the fridge until next bread baking day (weekly or more often keeps starter alive).
On the evening of the first day:
Into the dough add and mix in 1 ½ c of barley flour (or wholemeal wheat/spelt) and ½ c tepid water. Sit overnight.
In a separate small bowl mix 1 c barley/wholemeal flour and ½ c tepid water. Sit overnight.
The next morning:
Add small bowl of dough to big bowl, and 1 tsp of sea salt, and stir it all with a knife until combined. Overmixing is not an issue. Place in one large well-greased tin. Rest in a warm place to rise – until about double in size (usually takes about 2 hours)
When risen bake bread for about 45 minutes at 170 degrees C. To check it is done, tip out bread and knock to hear a hollow ‘cooked’ sound.
Note about using the starter: It doesn't matter how much starter you use -I say about half, but if the about starts to increase in the starter jar (over successive additions of flour/water), basically I tip out all but about1 cup of the started each time into the dough mix. The bread will turn out pretty much the same, regardless of how much starter you use! The best way to dispose of extra starter (apart from into your bread) is to give it away along with the recipe!
