The wonderful thing about sourdough bread is that it hardly takes any work and you can adapt it to any mixture of flours, depending on what is lurking in your cupboard. Here is my current favourite mix. I make 2 small loaves and freeze one for the following week.
However, you need to allow plenty of time for the sourdough to rise and a further four days to make the sour dough starter. I’ve listed the recipe for sour dough starter separately on the Cook Now page.
NBYour sour dough bread will sit doing nothing for a very long time and then suddenly, just when you think you’ve failed, it will start to rise. If nothing happens, continue to wait … it will rise.
Makes 2 small loaves (500g each)
Sunflower oil for greasing
100g organic strong white bread flour
100g stoneground organic rye flour
250g stoneground organic wholemeal bread flour
50g organic malted grain bread flour
8g sea salt
350g water
80g rye sourdough starter (see recipe on Cook Now page)
1 Liberally oil two x 450g bread tin. Mix together the flours and salt in a large bowl. Place a jug on your weighing scales. Take some warm water from the hot tap and slowly add to the jug until you have 350g warm water.
2 Stir your sourdough starter so that re-forms into thick liquid paste. Weigh out 80g and stir about 300g warm water into the starter. Pour this mixture into the flour and using your hands mix together until it forms a soft sticky dough. You don’t want it to be stiff or it will make a dry tough bread. If necessary add the remaining 50g water.
3 Turn the dough out on to a clean surface. Knead for 10 minutes. The mixture will stick to your hands, but ignore the discomfort and continue to work the dough pulling and folding or swirling it around on the work surface as best you can. Gradually the dough will lose its stickiness and feel soft and springy. If you feel really uncomfortable, every now and then, you can dip you hands in flour and use it to rub and dislodge the dough from your fingers. You can also add a tiny bit of flour to your work surface.
4 Divide in two and shape each into a loaf that will fit neatly into the oiled bread tins. Place each tin in a very large mixing bowl. Cover each bowl tightly with clingfilm and leave for between 12 and 19 hours at room temperature or until it has risen up to the top of the tin.
5 Heat the oven to 230˚C/fan 210˚C, gas 8. Place the bread in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 210˚C/fan 190˚C, gas 7 and bake for a further 20-30 minutes or until lightly coloured with a thin crisp crust. This bread does not rise up as it bakes, instead it forms a flat crust.
6 Turn out on to a cooling rack and, if you can resist eating it at once with lots of butter, wait until it is cold. Wrap one loaf in clingfilm and freeze, and store the other in a bread bin or wrapped in clingfilm or foil. Use as needed.
