I’m a huge fan of sourdough bread. I’ve always wanted to figure out how to make it so I can eat it whenever I want. So I finally did. I’m going to share with you a very simple and quick way to make sourdough bread. This recipe has all the flavor but none of the hassle of traditional sourdough bread.
Traditional sourdough recipes rely on the fermentation of the sourdough to rise the bread instead of using yeast. Although the resulting bread is very, very good it can take more hours than most people have to make homemade bread. So this recipe is a combination of new and old bread-making traditions, using both yeast and sourdough. So yes, you need a sourdough starter for this recipe. But sourdough is actually easy to make and easy to maintain, it’s like feeding a goldfish, it just needs a little bit of food every day. If you don’t have a sourdough starter here is one unique way to make one. There are of course many other ways to obtain a starter, including but not limited too, from a friend that already has a starter, or by buying a commercial starter. But, I digress, I’m going to assume you have a starter already.
Think of this recipe as a baseline for a multitude of bread making opportunities. If you don’t like sourdough, exclude it and try adding 3/4 of a cup of water. Do you like your bread sweet? Then add a couple of teaspoons of sugar. Want it salty? Use three teaspoons of salt rather than two. If you dislike wheat flour use all white and vice versa. Want to use bread pans go for it. Or you can use a dutch oven Change up the recipe as it suits you but the basic recipe is pretty tasty too.
White Wheat Sourdough Bread
An easy, light, tasty bread.
Ingredients
- 4 tsp yeast
- 1 1/2 cup warm water split into 1 and 1/2 cup
- 2 cup wheat flour
- 2 cup white flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sourdough starter bubbly and active
- 2 Tbl cold butter chopped into small pieces-optional
Instructions
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Add yeast and one cup of the warm water into a small bowl and set aside.
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Add the salt and the flours in a large bowl and whisk together.
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Add one cup of bubbly sourdough starter to the dry flour/salt mixture. The sourdough should be bubbly and the consistency of melted marshmallows to be ready to use.
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Add the yeast and water mixture you had set aside to the flour/sourdough mixture.
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Add an additional 1/2 cup of warm water to the mixture and stir with a wooden spoon.
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Dump the mixture onto a floured work surface such as a counter or wooden cutting board and knead for about 5 minutes
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Try not to add too much flour to the mixture, add just enough to keep your hands from sticking. This will keep the bread light and airy. You can also try wetting your hands to keep the dough from sticking to them.
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Add butter chunks in thirds and knead into the dough.
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When the dough is smooth and satiny, just barely sticking to the work surface, place the dough in a large buttered bowl or buttered dutch oven.
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If you're using a dutch oven put the lid on. If you are using a large bowl wet a hand towel until just damp and place over the top. Put the dough in a warm place to rise such in a warm windowsill, on the 'proof' setting in your oven, or near a fireplace.
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Let the dough rise for about two hours or until the dough sinks when you poke it with a finger.
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If you're cooking a large round loaf, push the dough flat and fold it back under itself forming a rough ball with the seams underneath. Cover again with the lid in the dutch oven or place the dough on a cookie tray and dampen the towel again and cover. If using bread pans, split the dough in half and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle about 2/3 the width of the bread pan. With your hands roll the dough from short end to short end into a log. Pinch the ends of the log together and slightly tuck under the dough log. Place the dough seem side down in the pan. Repeat with the second half of the dough. Cover with a moist cloth or plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for one hour.
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
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When heated put the bread in the oven and use a spray bottle to mist the bread with water. Bake the bread in the same dutch oven, cookie sheet, or bread pans for 30 minutes or until the bread makes a hollow sound when you tap it with the handle of a bread knife.
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Take the bread out of the oven and let the bread sit for 15 minutes before cutting into it. Enjoy!
