“Making sourdough is so easy!” You’ve probably heard this a million times.
I know I have. And yet, somehow it gets complicated so quickly. To me, it feels like some of the homesteaders out there like to gatekeep the skill of baking bread with a word bank of terminology you’ve never heard of and an entire day spent stretching your dough every 30 minutes. Some people even take their sourdough on vacation with them.
I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be this complicated; and it really is easy.
By the end of this post you’ll be a pro at making sourdough bread. And the bonus here is that this recipe makes 2 loaves. 1 for now, and 1 for a friend (or the freezer).
First, I want to dive into the benefits of sourdough and why if you’re reading this, you should learn how to make it at home. Baking bread at home or shopping weekly at a local bakery used to be a fact of life, until grocery stores became prevalent. We’ve all had homemade bread, and there is no doubt it tastes much more superior than what you would buy at the store. But did you know that homemade bread can actually be nutritious?
With the convenience of buying bread in the store, over time, the bread we are eating on a daily basis is so processed that now many health experts say to avoid it altogether. It contains processed wheat flour that is heavily sprayed with chemicals. It becomes what is called a dead food. This means it is completely devoid of nutrients and it just fills your stomach. In an attempt to revive the flour, it is “fortified” to add vitamins back in. Spoiler alert – these fortified nutrients are also chemically made and are ones to avoid. Store bought bread (even from the bakery section) is packed with sugar and processed ingredients to allow it to stay on store shelves for longer.
But the truth is, it doesn’t have to be this way!
Enter SOURDOUGH – made from a living culture that contains probiotics and essential nutrients. This means it is good for your gut and overall health. The process of rising the dough using sourdough starter digests the gluten in the flour even allowing those with gluten sensitivities to enjoy it. Use high quality ingredients, and enjoy high quality, healthy bread.
I personally cut out gluten at a doctor’s recommendation and saw incredible improvements in my health. I missed bread so much and found a local bakery that baked it fresh daily. After eating their bread for a few months, I finally learned to bake my own. I avoid gluten in about 90% of my diet, with the remaining 10% being sourdough.
I hope now you’re jazzed about learning to make sourdough due to its many benefits. I promise once you learn, you will enjoy its flavor and the convenience of always having a fresh loaf.
But first, you will need to procure the supplies and learn a few new terms.
Bread Terminology
- Sourdough starter – a living culture, kind of like sauerkraut or yogurt
- Tare – the process of zeroing out your scale
- g – grams, bread is made by weight, not volume
Items you will need:
- 2 large baking bowls
- 2 large glass jars
- 2 kitchen towels
- baking scale
- 2 bread storage wraps
- dough scoring knife
- a large baking rack
- 2 glass bread pans
- 1 danish dough hook
- organic unbleached bread flour or all-purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur brand)
- organic whole wheat flour (King Arthur)
- sourdough starter – seriously ask a neighbor or post in your local facebook group. Making your own is overrated and you might get lucky like my mom did and get a mature 40 year old starter to bake with. When not in use, store it in the fridge.
- himalayan salt
- pasture-raised butter
- filtered or spring water
Now that you have all your supplies and have learned the lingo, it’s time to start baking. Begin the first step the morning before you’d like to have fresh bread.
Step 1: Rise the Starter
First, if you are storing your starter in the fridge, bring it to room temperature. Using your kitchen scale, place one of your empty jars on top and tare it out to 0. Pour your starter that you procured from a friend/neighbor into jar until it weighs 150g.
Add 150g of bread or all-purpose flour and 150g of warm water.
Stir the mixture, and cover for several hours until it has roughly doubled in size (4-6 hours).
Once the mixture has doubled, pour half of it out and repeat the process of rising the starter.
We call this “double do-ing” and thank Olivia Culpo for teaching us this method. This produces an extra bubbly starter, resulting in the best bread ever.
Step 2: Making the Dough
Your starter has spent the day rising and is now very active and bubbly. You’re just about to go to bed and it’s time to make the dough.
Using one of your large bowls, place it on the scale and tare it out to zero.
Add the following ingredients to the bowl:
- 200g active starter
- 22g himalayan salt
- 275g organic whole wheat flour
- 825g organic unbleached bread or all-purpose flour
- 855g warm water
Using your danish dough hook, mix the ingredients together until dough is formed. This will take a bit of arm strength, but it will form a sticky dough.
Place your second bowl on the scale and tare it out to 0. Transfer half of your dough (roughly 1090g) from the first bowl to the second. Now you have 2 dough balls, on their way to becoming loaves of bread.
Cover the bowls overnight.
Step 3: Stretching the Dough
This is the part you’ve seen on social media. I’m here to tell you, this does not have to be an all-day event.
In the morning, you’ll notice your dough has grown significantly.
Clean off your kitchen counter ensuring it is completely dry and flour the surface.
Grease both of your bread pans with melted butter.
Using a spatula, scrape the first dough ball out of the bowl and onto the counter.
Perform 3-4 series of stretch and folds using your hands. These do not need to be perfect, you just want to manipulate the dough a bit.
After your last fold, roll the dough up and place into the bread pan with the seam side down.
Repeat the process on the second dough ball and cover both pans for 2-3 hours.
Step 4: Baking the Bread
You’ve almost made it, it’s time to bake your bread!
Preheat your oven 450F.
Using the dough scoring knife, score a few lines or a fun design into the top of your bread. The main purpose of this is to allow the air to escape as the bread bakes.
Place your loaves in the oven for 35 minutes, rotating halfway through.
Once the loaves are done baking pull them out of the oven and let them rest in the pans for 5 minutes.
Turn the loaves over onto the baking rack and let the loaves rest for at least 20 minutes.
Do not prematurely cut the loaves or they may deflate.
Step 5: ENJOY!
Congratulations, you have successfully made sourdough bread! Cut a slice, slather it with butter and enjoy.
Step 6: Preserve
Once your loaves have fully cooled, wrap them in your beeswax wraps, using your hands to press the wrap together. Store 1 loaf on the counter and the other in the freezer.
None of these are paid links, I really do just want to spread the word of sourdough.