Sourdough Bread

Sourdough was the topic of discussion while waiting for a pickleball court the other day and one person was adamant that "bread is bread - I use 3 ingredients, powdered yeast, flour and water. Why mess with a sourdough starter." I agreed that 'bread is bread' but elaborated that I let my sourdough boule rise in the refrigerator for a day or 2 to allow it to ferment and aerate and that this changes the flavor and texture and makes it more digestible. So, for me it's not so much what you use, but how you use it.

What I love about sourdough is that IT'S ALIVE and exudes a characteristic sweet, pungent smell of fermented dough, and tangy flavor of a fresh baked crusty loaf with a tender, airy crumb. Once you get the hang of the process it becomes second nature - just takes a little learning curve and the spirit of exploration and you've got it down!

History and Health Benefits

Sourdough bread predates to at least 8600 years ago with documented fermented sourdough type bread from Turkey.

The health benefits are said to be from having just three simple ingredients (versus store bought breads made with highly processed flour, sugar and seed oils stripped of nutrients with preservatives and emulsifiers of questionable nutritive value) and from the one to two day fermentation of grains which makes it easier on digestion and reduces gluten for gluten sensitive.

Obtaining a Sourdough Starter

The key is to have an active bubbly starter to work with. Sourdough starter is easy to divide and share and can be obtained from someone you may know or purchased online at Amazon or Etsy, or you can make it from wild yeast in the air which takes a week or so to establish.

Personal Note: I worked as a baker for a summer when I was 20 and my first starter was given to me by the owner of a restaurant who had a 40 year old starter and I kept it alive for 9 years before forgetting it in the refrigerator for a few months. I had to toss the grayish smelly liquid caked with red bacteria and start afresh. It wasn't until my first grandchild was on the way that I was drawn to bake bread again and I ordered a starter on Etsy reportedly from a three generation family-owned San Francisco bakery. It arrived in a small vile and I fed it for a few days to activate it and it worked fairly well. Then, a few months later I took a sourdough class in Portland from a pastry chef and received some of his starter and have used this for the past year with good success. I was recently given an apparently 900 year old starter purchased on Amazon and I did a taste test with some skepticism and the verdict was that it was sweeter and had more depth than the Portland starter.

Feeding the Starter

Feed the starter early in the morning for baking bread the following day.

Use a 1:1:1 ratio of live yeast starter/unbleached flour/water in a wide mouth glass canning jar or other container with a lid.

Cover the jar with a lid (I use a piece of parchment in place of the inner lid with the outer lid tightened over it and cover with a dish towel so it can breathe), and place in a dry, warm place such as near a stove top heat light or heater. Allow the starter to reach its peak active state (will bubble and if you place a tablespoon in a glass of water it floats when it's ready) which usually takes around six hours. Feed the starter every day or so to maintain the active state. On bread making days I feed mine at 6am and start the bread at around 1pm.

Takeaways:

Approximately 6 hours to peak activity after being fed

Should appear bubbly

Starter is ready to work with when it floats on water

Starter Recipe: Equal parts water/starter/flour

• Half Cup tap water: pour the room temperature or a bit warmer but not hot water into a wide mouth canning jar or other container.

• Half Cup live yeast starter: Add the starter to the water.

• Half Cup flour: mix in the flour with a table knife (less messy than using a fork). I've had good results with King Arthur organic unbleached flour but have made it with all kinds of unbleached flour and most any will do.

• Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm dry place to ferment. It takes about six hours to reach it's peak activity. Feed the starter daily to keep it active and when you're not making bread for awhile you can stall the starter as follows.

  
  

How to Stall the Starter when you're not making bread:

You can feed the starter daily when in bread-making mode to keep it active and when you want to take a break from bread-making you can place the starter in the refrigerator for up to a month or two to stall the process. It may take a few days to reactivate and you'll want to pour out any crust or gray water that tends to collect on the surface from yeast/bacteria activity. Before you reactivate it by feeding it again. Be careful to smell the starter before deciding whether to reactivate it - if it appears to have black, red or other colored patches or smells other than sweet and pungent, it's likely to harbor bacteria growth and you'll want to dump it out down to the original starter, or throw it out and start afresh.

SOURDOUGH RECIPE (makes two large loaves)

Combine in large mixing bowl:

4 cups lukewarm water 

1.5 cup active starter (use liquid measuring cup - it should float).

10.5 cups organic unbleached King Arthur flour

6 scant teaspoons sea salt 

BENCH (Counter) RISE

- Cover mixing bowl with seran wrap and/or dish towel (keeps the dough from drying out) and let the dough rest a half hour to an hour in a warm, dry place.

- Do four stretch and folds at approximately half hour intervals to incorporate air bubbles. The dough should become more shiny and elastic with each subsequent stretch and fold.

To stretch and fold just pull the dough up gently from each side of the dough ball and fold it back over itself. 2-3 stretch and folds should be enough - don't over-knead the dough or it will not hold air as well and become dense.

-After the stretch and folds let the boule rest and rise again up to four hours or so until doubled in size and it jiggles like jello when you move the bowl (best to forget it a bit). 

OVERNIGHT COLD RISE

- When satisfied with the rise put the dough into a doubled plastic grocery bag (put a 1/2 tsp olive oil in your hands and coat the inside of the bags before sliding the dough boule inside. Tie the bags shut and place in refrigerator for up to two days to enhance sourdough flavor.

BAKING 

When ready to bake bread remove the bag from refrigerator. Divide dough in half with a sharp knife and shape gently into two *boules preserving the air bubbles as best you can. Line two bowls with parchment and place the boules inside to rest and continue to rise.

-Place two Dutch ovens w lids in oven side by side and preheat them to 450. 

- score the boules lightly w sharp knife and pick up the parchment w boule nestled inside and place carefully into center of hot Dutch ovens.

- Bake the boules 30 minutes with lid on.

- Then remove lids and bake for 10-15 minutes more until desired crustiness (can spritz oven w water to create steam for a crustier bread).

ALLOW BREAD TO COOL before slicing so the crumb has a chance to fully form and doesn't deflate.

STORAGE

Make ahead to share with friends or for hosting dinners. Fresh sourdough can be kept in a preferably breathable canvas bag on the counter for a couple of days but is best kept fresh by putting it in the freezer and removing it as wanted. If we're not using it immediately we like to slice the loaf into thin slices and store in a ziploc with parchment paper between the slices. It stays fresh for a month and it's easy to toast a slice or make into croutons as wanted.

VARIATIONS

Sweet & Savory Add Ins

Jalepeno Cheddar Sourdough

2-3 fresh Jalepenos sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 cups cubed sharp cheddar cheese

optional 1/2 teaspoons of paprika, garlic, and oregano or cumin for depth

Fold the ingredients into the sourdough boule before the final stretch and fold and refrigerate overnight.

Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough

Add 6-7 handfuls of raisins after the second stretch n fold and gently fold them in. Finish the bench rise and refrigerate overnight. When ready to shape the bread next day, make a paste with cinnamon, brown sugar, and softened butter.

Cinnamon Paste:

Mix together with a fork:

1 stick softened butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

6 tsp cinnamon

Gently spread the dough into a rectangle without deflating it too much and spread half the cinnamon paste down the middle. Fold the two ends over to meet at the centerline then spread the other half down the front of the folded dough. Then roll up the dough gently from one end deflating the dough as little as possible as you go. Tuck in loose ends and fold over flaps of dough to hide raisins or cinnamon paste that is oozing out. Shape into a boule and place on fresh parchment paper in a bowl to rise for up to an hour. Bake as above in a preheated Dutch Oven at 450 for the first half hour then lower temp to 400 and remove the lid and bake for 15 minutes more. I press the convection button for the last 5 minutes of baking to enhance browning and caramelization.

Pizza Dough

After the the dough has doubled in size for the counter rise you can use it to make delicious pizza dough. Place a piece of parchment on the counter and roll some sourdough into a thin 1/8 inch pizza round. Pull the parchment onto a pizza screen or pan with holes and tomato sauce, toppings such as pepperoni, sausage (pre-cook a bit to insure it will cook through), mushrooms, green pepper, basil, and shredded mozzarella. Bake at 400 until crusty and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Sourdough Musings

Learning about sourdough started in 1980 when I worked as a baker for a summer at the Little Kitchen in Aspen. Owner and chef, June Kirkwood, shared her 40 year old sourdough starter and I managed to keep it alive for nine year. I recall pulling it out of the refrigerator after forgetting about it for several months and opening the starter lid to reveal a gross smelly gray liquid with patches of reddish bacterial growth on the sides of the jar which I promptly tossed. Time to begin again.

It wasn't until the incubation period of our first grandbaby I found myself inexplicably drawn to learning to make sourdough bread - something about nurturing the live yeast to grow and become a beautiful loaf of bread. The practice of making bread has been a source of wonder and awe as it requires tending live yeast to grow and expand into something that nourishes. That being said, it's taken me a year of experimentation to get consistently satisfactory results and it was well worth the effort and I don't have to drive an hour to get a decent loaf of bread.

I value learning from others and exchanging notes on the process and encourage your input along the way. Sourdough making is quite simple once you get a feel for the variables you're working with. For me it required an attitude of utmost curiosity without judgement to get it to the consistently decent stage so I encourage others to dig in and give it a go over and over and over again until it becomes second nature.

Sourdough Terms (AI generated information):

*Levain

is a French term translating directly to "leaven" or "sourdough starter" in English. It refers to a natural fermentation agent made of flour and water used to raise bread, often specifically referring to the cultured sourdough starter used for baking rather than the long-term "mother" starter. 

Key Aspects of Levain:

• Meaning: Leaven, sourdough starter, or ferment.

• Context: Used in baking to make pain au levain (sourdough bread)

• Pronunciation: Pronounced luh-VAHN in French; often pronounced luh-VAIN in English.

• Synonyms: Mother dough, starter, or leavening agent. 

In English, it is often used interchangeably with "sourdough starter," but technically, the levain is the specific portion prepared to inoculate the final bread dough. 

*Boule

A boule is a traditional French term for a round, crusty loaf of bread that resembles a "ball," typically featuring a thick, golden crust and a soft, chewy interior. It is a versatile, rustic, and commonly artisan-style bread often made from wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast, which can be easily adapted into sourdough or other variations. Boules are excellent for tearing, sharing, and serving in large, thick slices, or can be hollowed out to serve as a bread bowl for soups and dips

Sourdough Nutrients (from google AI source): Sourdough bread offers

complex carbs, protein, fiber, iron, folate, and minerals like selenium, with its fermentation enhancing nutrient availability by breaking down phytic acid, making it potentially easier to digest and better for gut health than conventional bread, though actual content varies by flour type (whole grain boosts nutrition). Key nutrients include B vitamins (thiamine, niacin, folate) and minerals (iron, manganese, zinc, magnesium), with prebiotics for gut health, and beneficial compounds with antioxidant properties. 

Macronutrients (per medium slice/serving) 

• Calories: ~130-190

• Carbohydrates: ~25-37g

• Protein

  : ~4-8g

• Fat: ~1g

• Fiber: ~1-2g (more with whole grains) 

Key Vitamins & Minerals

• B Vitamins: Folate (B9), Thiamine (B1), Niacin (B3), Riboflavin (B2)

• Minerals: Iron, Selenium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper 

Unique Benefits

• Enhanced Mineral Absorption: Fermentation reduces phytic acid, a compound that blocks mineral absorption, making iron, zinc, and magnesium more available.

• Prebiotics: Contains prebiotics that feed good gut bacteria, supporting a healthy microbiome.

• Easier Digestion: The long fermentation process breaks down complex carbs and gluten, potentially making it gentler on the digestive system.

• Antioxidants: Contains beneficial bioactives with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. 

Factors Affecting Nutrition

• Flour Type: Whole grain sourdough has significantly more fiber and nutrients than white flour sourdough.

• Fermentation Time: Longer, traditional fermentation improves nutritional quality.