By Megan Hanson
As a bread lover, I can’t get enough of the comforting aroma of freshly baked bread. Whether it’s a dinner roll, homemade sourdough toast, or croutons in a salad, carbs are my love language. For the past year, I’ve made baking bread every Sunday as a hobby. Not only is it enjoyable, but it also allows me to eat healthier and know what’s in my food. My baking repertoire includes sourdough traditional loaves for the holidays, sourdough dinner rolls for sharing, and sandwich bread-style loaves for everyday use. And when the bread starts to go stale, I turn it into homemade croutons.
I prefer making bread using natural fermentation instead of commercial yeast because of its wonderful flavor and texture, health benefits, and few ingredients required. Sourdough bread, in particular, is made through a natural fermentation process involving bacteria and wild yeasts. A sourdough starter culture is used to seed fermentation in new dough. (Read this Colorado State University pub for more info.)
To make sourdough bread, you need a healthy starter that shows consistent signs of fermentation each day. The dough’s first rise is called bulk fermentation, followed by proofing, the dough’s final rise. During these critical steps, the dough undergoes fermentation and leavening, resulting in a final loaf of bread with a light and airy texture.
If you’re looking for ways to use sourdough in everyday recipes and bread, try making these beginner friendly sourdough breads. It’s crusty and delicious texture makes it perfect for any lunch or dinner table.
Sourdough Artisian Bread Recipe
1000g bread flour (8 cups)
200g active sourdough starter (1 1/4 cups)
750g water (3 cups)
22g salt (1 1/4 tablespoons)
*This recipe yields two loaves of bread**
Dough: Mix active sourdough starter and water in a large bowl. Add salt and gently mix. Add in bread flour and mix until all of the flour is fully hydrated (3-5min). Rest covered with a damp dish towel for 1 hour.
Fold & shape: Stretch and fold the dough four times every 30 minutes over 2 hours. Cover the dough with a damp dish towel between every stretch and fold. After 2 hours of stretch and folds, rest the dough for approximately 1 hour ( you may need longer depending on the temperature of your home and how active your starter is). Flip the dough out of your bowl on the counter and divide your dough into two equal pieces. Shape dough pieces and place in a banneton basket, covered in the fridge overnight.
Baking: The following day, preheat the oven with a Dutch oven inside at 450° F for 45 min-1 hour. Remove dough from the fridge and score. Place the loaf in the preheated Dutch oven with the lid on for 20 min. Remove the Dutch oven lid. Turn oven to 400° F and bake the bread for 10-20 minutes until golden brown.
Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe
Ingredients
· ⅓ cup (65 grams) sourdough starter, bubbly and active (fed within 12-24 hours)
· 1⅓ cups (300 grams) warm water, filtered (95º to 100º F)
· ¼ cup (56 grams) granulated sugar
· 3½ -4 cups (500 grams) of bread flour. I recommend weighing your flour; see notes for using measuring cups
· 1½ tablespoons (20 grams) extra-virgin olive oil
· two teaspoons (9 grams) sea salt
Instructions
1. Add the starter to a large bowl. Mix in warm water and sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add bread flour, oil, and salt. Stir with a dough whisk or wooden spoon until a thick, shaggy dough forms.
2. Flour your hands, and finish mixing dough by hand until most of the flour has been absorbed. Don’t worry if the flour is on the sides or bottom of the bowl. Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Coax the dough from the bowl and stretch and fold it by stretching 4 inches, then push it down the middle and turn 1/4 until you make a circle. Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a damp towel, and let it rise at room temperature overnight (at least 8-10 hours) until doubled in size. Do not refrigerate the dough.
4. In the morning, lightly flour your countertop. Remove the dough from the bowl, gently stretch it into a rectangle, then use your fingers to dimple the dough to release the air from the dough (as shown in the photo). Roll up the dough into a log shape. Cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
5. Spray the bread pan with cooking spray. Tighten the dough log by gently pulling it toward you along the countertop for 5-8″. Place it in your loaf pan, seam side down. Cover and let rise for 1-2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size. Press the corner edge of the dough in 1/2″ and if the indentation remains, it’s ready to bake.
6. Preheat your oven to 375º. Bake in the center of the oven for 40 minutes. The top of the loaf should be golden in color. After 10 minutes, tilt the pan to remove the bread to cool on a cooling rack. Wait at least 1 hour before cutting (to prevent the loaf from deflating).
And when you’re feeding your starter and have excess sourdough, discard it; which means using it in other ways and recipes! My favorite recipes to use discard in are dinner rolls, pizza dough, and breakfast muffins.
Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
· 1/2 cup warm water
· one tablespoon sugar
· 2 ¼ teaspoons Active Baking Yeast
· 2 large eggs
· 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
· 1 cup sourdough starter
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 3-4 cups all-purpose flour
EGG WASH:
· 1 large egg
· 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, pour in the warm water and sugar.
2. Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes. (Be sure the water isn’t too hot. It should be about 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit.)
3. Add the eggs, oil, starter and salt. Mix on low speed until combined. Add 3 cups of flour and mix the dough using the beater blade until combined. At this point, add more flour, ¼ cup at a time. I’ve found that sourdough starters often vary in consistency, sometimes thicker or thinner than others. Add enough flour so that the bread dough feels slightly tacky. It should not feel dry but shouldn’t stick all over your hands. We find that 3 ½ cups of flour works great with our starter. The dough will get less sticky as you knead it, so be careful not to add too much flour at the start!
4. Knead the dough using the dough hook on the stand mixer for about 7 minutes or until the dough feels smooth, springs back if you touch it, and doesn’t feel too sticky. *You can also use the dough setting on a bread machine to knead the dough…or knead by hand! Just be careful not to add too much flour.*
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with cheesecloth or loosely with plastic wrap, and set it in a warm spot. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour or until doubled.
6. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 12 balls. (Or if you want smaller rolls, make 15.) Roll the dough between your hands to make a smooth ball, then place the dough balls in a greased 9×13 baking pan.
7. Allow the dough to rise again until almost doubled.
8. Whisk together one egg and one tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Brush this egg wash on the tops of the unbaked rolls. This gives them that shiny golden brown top.
9. Bake the rolls in an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes.
Megan is the NDFB Director of Member Relations