Make your own sourdough bread
Baking a loaf of sourdough bread may seem like a delicate scientific process, but it’s really quite simple, and yields healthy rewards. Every sourdough loaf begins with the “starter”: a mixture of flour and water in which wild yeast and good bacteria produce the fermentation that makes your dough rise. As they work together, the yeasts and bacteria break down gluten to make the bread more digestible and nutrients readily available; lower starches and carbohydrates to help regulate blood-sugar levels; and create lactic acid which inhibits the growth of mold. Commercial yeasts do none of these things. Plus, making a loaf of sourdough leads to a wonderful sense of accomplishment and connects you to an ancient tradition!
Here are the basic steps to creating a sourdough starter:
Day 1: Mix ¼ c. whole wheat flour with 3 Tbsp. non-chlorinated water and let sit overnight in a loosely-covered container (glass is recommended) at room-temperature.
Day 2: Add another ¼ c. flour and 3 Tbsp. water, mixing well with a wooden spoon. Again, let the starter sit overnight. You will soon start to notice bubbles and that characteristic sourdough scent. This means the yeasts and bacteria are doing their jobs well.
Days 3 and 4: Repeat steps from Day 2. If your starter is getting too big for the container or the sour scent is becoming very strong, you can discard an equal amount to what you “feed” it. At this point, you can keep your starter alive for as long as you’d like by storing it in the refrigerator and feeding it as above once a week. Remember to periodically discard some starter, so that there is always a balance between living organisms (yeast and bacteria) and food supply (flour and water).
Day 5: Time to make your bread! See the recipe below for directions.
Basic recipe for sourdough bread
2 cups sourdough starter
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil or softened butter
3 cups flour
Combine 2 cups sourdough starter, 4 tsp sugar, 2 tsp salt, 2 tbsp oil or softened butter in a glass or ceramic mixing bowl using a wooden spoon.
Knead in 3 cups flour (or your choosing!), ½ cup at a time until dough is smooth and elastic.
Cover dough in greased mixing bowl to rise for an hour in a warm place.
Punch down the dough, kneading it 4 or 5 times, and shape into a firm, round loaf. Place on greased cookie sheet and let it rise again until it has doubled in size and won’t spring back when poked.
Time to bake! Place your loaf in 350-degree oven and bake for 30-45 minutes. If you want a hard crust, place a shallow pan of water in oven during baking to create steam.
Enjoy!
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Green & Healthy Maine is published by TheSunriseGuide, LLC. This article originally ran in the 2019 SunriseGuide.