Sourdough bread is a time-honored delight, crafted through the alchemy of flour, water, and wild yeast. Characterized by a tangy flavor and a chewy texture, this artisanal bread boasts a golden-brown crust and an airy, hole-studded crumb.
What sets sourdough apart is its reliance on a natural fermentation process, where a live culture of wild yeast and lactobacilli transforms the dough. From the satisfying crackle of its crust to the nuanced aroma that fills the kitchen, each loaf tells a tale of patience, craftsmanship, and the artistry of traditional breadmaking.
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How to Make Sourdough Bread:
There are 5 simple steps to making sourdough bread.
Step 1, mix the Dough:Â This is simply mixing your water, sourdough starter, salt and flour in bowl, mixing into a shaggy dough.
Step 2, stretch and folds and bulk fermentation: You will complete 4 sets of stretch and folds during your bulk fermentation period. Each stretch and fold will be 30 minutes apart. With each set of stretch and folds, you work the gluten to strengthen the bread dough.
Step 3, final rise: After your stretch and folds are complete, you will cover your bowl and let the dough rest in a warm spot. It shouldn’t double in size, but it should rise by about 75%. Then you can shape it.
Step 4, cold ferment the dough: With this recipe you’ll cold ferment the dough in the fridge, ideally for 24 to 48 hours. This slows the fermentation down, and creates the wonderful sour tase.
Step 5,scoring & baking: After the dough has cold fermented, you’ll turn it out onto a piece of parchment paper, dust with flour, deeply score it; then transfer it to a COLD Dutch oven.
Ingredients:
Flour
Water
Salt
Optional: You can add anything you would like! Garlic, herbs, cinnamon, raisins, cheese, jalapenos.
The best part about making bread yourself? It’s 100% natural. There are no chemicals or nasty preservatives in homemade sourdough sandwich bread.
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Sourdough Benefits
Why is sourdough bread good for you? Sourdough breads are fermented breads made with wild yeast. The fermentation process helps digestibility and nutrients absorption more than regular bread can.
Sourdough Lowers blood sugar levels: One of the benefits of sourdough bread is that it helps keep blood sugar levels more stable than your basic white bread. The bacteria in the sourdough starter alter the structure of the bread molecules, making the body absorb them slower and lowering the bread’s glycemic index. This means that insulin levels will not spike as high after eating sourdough bread.
