We’re bringing sourdough week to a close in fitting fashion with an easy and delicious recipe for homemade sourdough bread.
This loaf is crusty, tender, and a little chewy, which is nice since a lot of homemade breads are on the crumbly side. And again, because those natural yeast and bacteria from the starter are basically predigesting it for you, sourdough bread is easier on your digestive system, better for people with gluten issues, and helps you assimilate all the nutrients from the whole grains.
You’ll want to start this early in the morning, because of the wait time, though the longer you leave it out, the more sour it gets – if you like a little pucker with your bread, put it in the fridge for a few days.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sourdough starter
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup milk
- 4-6 cups flour
- 1 Tbsp salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the starter, water, and milk. (If you’re in a hurry, you can also add 1 tsp yeast to speed the rising along.)
- Add the flour, one cup at a time, mixing well before adding more. If the dough becomes too stiff to mix by hand, dump it onto a floured counter to knead the rest of the flour in. The dough should be firm and just a little sticky when it’s done. I generally use a little over 5 cups of flour total, but it may vary depending on how thick your starter is.
- When the dough has come together, flatten into a rough circle and sprinkle the salt over the dough. Continue kneading for another 8-10 minutes, or until the dough is nice and stretchy.
- Clean and lightly oil your original bowl, place the dough in and cover, then let rise for about 2 hours.
- Dump the dough onto the counter, divide into two even chunks, and gently flatten into rough rectangles, approximately the length of your loaf pan.
- Roll the dough lengthwise and place into a greased loaf pan, seam side down.
- Cover and let rise for another couple hours – time may vary depending on your conditions, but it’ll be ready to bake when it rises an inch or two over the top of the pan.
- Preheat your oven to 400 F.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temp to 350 F and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and crusty.
If you like round loaves, go ahead and make them round and bake them on a baking sheet.
This works well for a sandwich loaf, and since I don’t have a professional bread slicer, I’ve found that using an electric knife is great for slicing thin and evenly.
Leave a Reply