How to make sourdough bread at home

When my friend Renan taught me to make breadIt seemed simply amazing to me. We start with something as inedible as flour, add water and sourdough, and we were helping nature display its magic. It was a team effort. We mixed the ingredients together, and she created a fragrant, warm, tender and delicious piece of sourdough bread.

Today I am going to share with you this sourdough bread recipe with whole rye so that you can also achieve this magic in your own home.

In this video you will find another very simple sourdough recipe with spelled flour:

We have spent centuries trying to dominate nature with dubious results, but when making bread we collaborate with her to create something that does not exist as such and that is also good, healthy and nutritious.

Today, since we buy almost everything ready-made, making sourdough bread is a wonderful way to recover human sensations, to connect with the rhythm of life.

What is sourdough and how does it improve bread?

The natural yeasts of the sourdough slow down fermentation compared to industrial yeasts, and act at a lower temperature, which enriches the bread dough. Along with yeast, sourdough contains bacteria, which create lactic and acetic acid.

In addition to improving the flavor, the bacteria in the sourdough will help us to keep bread longer. They also produce a moister bread with a crispy crust and better color. Nutritionally, this bread is usually better digested, as the bacteria predigest the starch.

At the same time the bacteria reduce the phytic acid contentwhich taken in excess, especially if whole wheat bread is eaten regularly, can alter the absorption of some minerals.

Sourdough gives bread a better flavor and texture.

Making bread at home has many advantages.

We can make bread as a hobby, for fun, for health, to make it to our likingto create new recipes…

The effort pays off if the focus is changed. knead bread requires concentration, being in what needs to be, and with it relaxesmakes you forget about the rest for a few moments.

Somehow make homemade bread connects us with another rhythm, that of nature, where things have their time. It also connects us with our most human rhythm.

But it’s easy to say all that. And I think the interesting thing is to try it, to start making bread. The best, at least for me, It is the wonderful aroma that it leaves in the house long after it has been cooked.. It is the aroma of protection, well-being, happiness.

The modern franchises of precious industrial breads know that well. They have been permeating their premises with synthetic aromas of freshly baked bread for many years now. They know that they touch very old threads in the fabric of our emotions.

Sourdough bread recipe

This way of making bread, developed by Dan Lepard in his book Handmadeis faster than usual and gives excellent results.

How to make the sourdough

Day 1

50 g of water.2 teaspoons of whole rye.2 of strong white flour.2 of raisins and 2 of skimmed yogurt.

Mix everything in an airtight jar. Cover and let stand at room temperature.

Day 2

50 g of water.2 teaspoons of wholemeal rye.2 of strong white flour.

Repeat the process adding first the water and then the flours.

Day 3

100 g of water.4 teaspoons of wholemeal rye.4 of strong white flour.

Bubbles begin to appear. Repeat the process.

Day 4

100 g of water. 125 g of strong white flour.

Foam from fermentation should appear. Set aside and discard three quarters of the mixture. Add the water and stir.

Sieve to remove the raisins. Return the mixture to the pot and add the flour. Stir and leave covered at room temperature.

day 5

100 g of water125g of strong white flour

It has already fermented and a very acid aroma is appreciated when opening the jar. Discard three quarters of the mixture again. Add the water, stir, and then add the flour.

The more flour, the slower the fermentation. lid and, if you are going to use it daily, store it at room temperature.

Otherwise it keeps refreshing every 4-5 days, removing three quarters and adding more flour. Store in the refrigerator.

How to make bread with sourdough

These are the instructions for making two loaves of plan blanco.

Ingredients:

200 g of sourdough (or, failing that, 10 g of baker’s yeast). 300 ml of water. 500 g of unbleached white flour. 8 g of fine salt. Baking paper.

First step: Mixing

In a large bowl, mix the sourdough with the water. Add the flour and salt. Mix everything well with your hands for about 5 minutes. Let the dough rest for another 5 minutes.

Second step: Kneading and rest

Oil the countertop and knead vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds. The movement is as if the dough were being pushed out, and the hand, returning, folds it in on itself. Between each push, it makes a quarter turn. Shape into a ball and let rest for 5 minutes covered with a cloth. Wash the bowl, dry and brush with oil. Mix again for 10 to 15 seconds. Make a ball again, place in the bowl covered with the cloth and let rest for another 10 minutes. Repeat the above and let rest for 30 minutes. Repeat the above and let rest for 1 hour. Repeat the above and let rest for 2 hours. Divide the dough and form two balls, cover and let rest for another 15 minutes. Flour two bowls or baskets lined with clean cloths and flour. Flour the table and form two balls with the masses again. Put them in the bowls and cover with another cloth. Leave them like this, at room temperature, until they increase their volume by 50% (4 to 5 hours).

Third step: Baking

Preheat the oven to 220 ºC for at least half an hour so that the heat is even. On the tray with baking paper, turn a loaf over and make a cut, either crosswise, or all the way around or from side to side. Ideally it is a very sharp cutter or knife, and it must be done quickly and decisively. Moisten with a water spray and bake between 50 and 70 minutes in the middle or lower part of the oven. Remove and let cool on a wire rack. Do the same with the other piece.