Sourdough bread is a traditional fermented food and like all fermented foods it comes with lots of health benefits!  Bacteria present in the sourdough starter (wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria) not only lower the sourdough bread’s phytic acid levels, thus increasing mineral absorption, but they also breakdown gluten in the flour, release antioxidants, increase folate levels, reduce the bread’s glycemic index, and more!  We turned to sourdough bread while on our journey to cure cavities and have never looked back!  Friends with gluten sensitivity have noted that they can consume sourdough bread without issue and the benefits to individuals suffering with diabetes are promising.  In short, sourdough bread is a “superfood” in my book!

Making sourdough bread is an involved process.  It may feel extremely daunting at first, but I promise after the first time it gets easy!  However, while easy, it is a time consuming process.  So, when making sourdough bread, always make at least two loaves or better yet three or more.  The incremental time is minimal compared to making one.  The finish bread freezes extremely well and tastes like fresh once defrosted!

And, if you are going to spend the time making sourdough bread at home, make it interesting!  You can get good plain sourdough bread at a store.  Add herbs, spices and more.  Our favorites include onion, garlic, rosemary/basil/oregano, olive, and walnut/raisin.

Before you can make sourdough bread you need sourdough starter.  The easiest option is to get some from a friend and the hardest is to make your own from scratch.  My advise is to order the starter online if you cannot get it locally.  By mail the sourdough starter comes as a dried powder with instructions on how to wake it up.  In short, you feed it equal parts water and flour over a week or so.  The one we purchased and continue to use is Organic San Francisco Sourdough Bread Starter.

The first step to making sourdough bread is to activate the starter by feeding it three times.  In between bread baking, save at least 1/2 cup of starter in a glass jar in the refrigerator.  Feed equal parts water / white flour every 1-2 weeks if not using.  Using white flour to feed the starter creates less room for error.  You will have lots of leftover starter, use it to make pancakes, baked goods and more!  There is never a good reason to throw it away.  Recipes to come!

Note, this sourdough bread recipe is EXTREMELY forgiving.  Do not get too worried if you mess up a bit on timing or ingredients!

Sourdough Bread Recipe

Ingredients & Equipment (Day 1)

1. ~2 cups of white flour (to feed / activate the starter)
2. ~4 cups of flour (whole wheat, rye, hard white, spelt, etc.)
3. 1 cup sourdough starter (fed 3 times)
4. 1.5 cups room temperature water
5. 1 tablespoon salt (or less) 
6. Olive oil
7. Optional spices / flavors
   • Sauteed onions
   • Sauteed garlic
   • Spices: 2 tablespoons dried rosemary, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon dried basil
   • Chopped olives (just olives or add spices from above)
   • Walnuts & raisins
8. 1 glass bowl (2 if you do not want to wash between steps) 
9. Plastic wrap & rubber band or string
10. Proofing basket or bowl with well floured flour sack towel (choose organic)

Ingredients & Equipment (Day 2)

1. Oven
2. Dutch oven
3. Raw oatmeal
4. Parchment paper
5. Spray bottle
6. Knife
7. Cooling rack
8. Bee’s wax wrap or foil

Instructions (Day 1) 

1. Feed the Starter 3 times.  Take starter out of the refrigerator.  Feed three times to activate the bacteria.  Feed approximately 1-1.5 hours apart, until frothy or lots of bubbles on top.  You can speed up the process by placing the glass jar in a bath of warm water.  Each feeding should be equal parts white flour and water with the total volume not to exceed the amount of starter already in the jar.  So, if starting with 1 cup of starter, feeding one is 1/2 cup water & 1/2 cup white flour, feeding two is 1 cup water & 1 white flour and feeding three is 2 cups water & 2 cups white flour.  If making only one loaf start with 1/2 cup of starter and decrease feedings accordingly.  Exact measurements are not critical.  Be sure to save at least 1/2 cup of starter for next time!
2. Mix 1.5 cups water and 1 cup starter, then combine with 3 cups of flour and optional spices / flavors in a glass bowl.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 20-60 minutes.  Salt is reserved for later to allow bacteria to activate further with new flour as salt may impede this process.  You will ultimately need 3.5-4 cups of flour.  Adding only 3 cups at this step ensures you do not add too much.  You will add more during the kneading phase once you can feel the dough and judge how much is needed.  Any mix of flours works great and depends on personal preference.  We use a mix of whole wheat, spelt, hard white and others.
3. Place dough onto well floured surface, add 1 tablespoon salt into dough and knead for 10-15 minutes.  If dough is very wet, add some flour before removing from the bowl.  You may need a hard spatula to scrape all the dough from the sides of the bowl.  Dough will be sticky.  Add just enough flour so that dough is workable, not sticking to your fingers.  If you are making two or more loaves of bread, knead one for 1-2 minutes, then let it rest while you knead the other, and switch off.  If doing more than one loaf you do not need to knead double the time.  Keep total kneading time to 15-20 minutes.
4. Form dough into a boule and place into an oiled bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Let sit for 1.5 hours.  To form a boule, pat down dough so it is flat, fold over each side into the middle (left side, then right side, then top, then bottom), flip dough upside down and tuck sides under the dough as you rotate it in a circle.  Place the dough seam side down into an oiled glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  If the kitchen is cold, consider letting the dough rise in a warm area.  You can heat the oven slightly and then turn it off or place a warmer or hot water bottle in a cooler with the dough.  Or, if the kitchen is cold and you do not want to speed things up, skip step 5 and let the bread rise for 6-7 hours.
   
5. Form dough into a boule and place back into oiled bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Let sit for 1.5 hours.
6. Form dough into a boule place seam side up into a proofing basket, or a round bowl or loaf pan with well floured smooth cotton towel.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Secure with a rubber band or string. Let rest 1.5 hours.  Refrigerate for 8-36 hours.  The longer the dough stays in the refrigerator the more of a “sour” taste it will have.  Note, the dough will rise in the refrigerated and may push against the plastic wrap, this is normal.

Instructions (Day 2)

1. Remove dough from the refrigerator.  Pre-heat oven and Dutch Oven to 450 (about 1 hour).  If your Dutch Oven has a plastic handle on the lid, DO NOT place the lid in the oven when preheating or it will melt.  After the oven reaches the right temperature the lid will be find.  Any Dutch Oven will do, if you do not own one, you do not need to spend crazy money on one.  It should be at least 4 quart.  Dough should come to room temperature while oven is preheating.
2. Sprinkle raw oatmeal on a piece of parchment paper, place dough on parchment paper seam side down.  Holding the edges of the parchment paper lower the dough into the Dutch Oven.  Cover with lid then lift lid slightly and spray inside of the lid with water 10-20 times, cover quickly and bake for 5 minutes.  To get the dough onto the parchment paper, flip proofing basket or bowl upside down onto the paper, then gently help the dough unstick from the sides or remove the towel.  If the dough does not look perfect at this point, its ok!  It will come out looking fine!  Please use THICK pot holders, the Dutch Oven will be VERY hot. 
   
3. Open lid of Dutch Oven and cut two parallel lines or a wide square tick-tac-toe pattern on top of the bread using a knife.  Spray inside of lid with water as in above, cover quickly and bake for 40 more minutes.
   
4. Remove bread and place on cooling rack.  Enjoy your homemade sourdough bread warm or let it cool!

To store the bread, wait until completely cooled, then wrap in parchment paper and wrap the parchment paper with bee’s wax wrap or foil (wrap as air tight as possible).  Refrigeration is not necessary.  The souring process creates anti-molding properties in the bread!  To freeze, either freeze the entire loaf or slice and then freeze.

Please share pictures of your sourdough bread masterpieces!