Sourdough, what's that?
Sourdough is one of the most ancient known bread. Its origin being first recorded in the fertile crescent (crescent-shaped region in the Middle East bordering the Mediterranean sea). This is a leavened bread but not with any of the modern day leavening agents such as bakers yeast, baking powder, soda- as back then these were not that easily available in the supermarkets of Mesopotamia.
I’m sure that someone would have accidentally come across the bread being fermented, thanks to the wild yeast just loafing in the air. And from then on the future generations have kept talking about a crumbly twist of fate. Folks then had to believe in the wild yeast to do the magic and proved that you just knead a little time and accidental genius to create something extraordinary
A sourdough bread is typically fermented for over 12 hours, during which the wild yeast and beneficial bacteria work their magic—fermenting the dough and gradually breaking down the gluten structure. In contrast, regular bread is usually fermented for just 30 to 45 minutes, giving the gluten little time to decompose. This means that in sourdough, much of the heavy lifting your stomach acids and gut bacteria would normally do is already taken care of by the microbes in the dough before you even take a bite.
Is sourdough healthy or just a lump of dough?
Fun Fact
The gluten concentration in regular or flat breads can be around 120,000 to 130,000 ppm, while in sourdough, it drops dramatically to just 200–300 ppm—making it far easier to digest and much gentler on your gut. Now that’s what we call a gut-friendly rise
Will you need a
sourdough starter,
Yes, you will need to make a starter for fermentation to happen in your sourdough. But don’t worry—it can be tricky, but it’s easier than explaining memes to your parents. All it takes is some flour, water, and one expensive ingredient: patience.
Starters are always better made with whole grain flours. In our case, we’ll use whole wheat flour, as the husk helps introduce natural bacteria and wild yeast, making for a better, healthier culture.
I’ve also heard of people adding a little curd or even fruit to give the starter a bit of a boost—that little kick of bacteria can help things get going faster.
the 'Starter' process
1. Add equal parts flour and water to a clean container.
2. Give it a good mix.
3. Add a pinch of salt.
4. Let it chill at room temperature for at least 3 to 7 days, giving it a stir every day.
5. Over time, a thriving village of wild yeast and bacteria will take up residence in your starter—and that’s when the magic begins.
Sourdough bread a recipe for beginners with starter
Equipment
- 1 Convectional oven
- 1 Bowl for mixing the dough
- 1 Banneton lined with a towel
Ingredients
- 400 gm Bread Flour
- 240 gm Water
- 40 gm Sourdough starter
- 8 gm Salt
Instructions
- Considering that your starter is ready and actively bubbling some CO2 here and there.
- Fermentolyse: mix flour, water, salt and of course your starter and leave it to completely hydrate itself for about 2 hours.
- Building the gluten strength: in order to strengthen its gluten we have to perform an essential ceremony of folding the dough. its a simple step that has to be done 3 times in every 1 hour.
- Shaping: shape the dough by pulling the dough towards you and tucking it tightly, and put it in a banneton (proofing basket), tucked side should be facing up and put it in the fridge overnight.
- Scoring: take the dough out of the banneton, score. Make a cut from the off center all the way through.
- Baking: keep a tray filled with water at the bottom of the oven and let it pre heat on230 °C
- Then put the dough and bake it for about 20 minutes with the steam. Steam helps the in getting that beautiful oven spring that we all desire.
- Remove water and bake it for more 20 minutes.
- And VOILA its ready!!!
You can also browse some of my salad recipes.
Amazing
Whooo , Best recipe
Excellent
Excellent
Amazing very well written
It’s a lovely recipe..very well explained 🙂
Keep it up!
Nice Raj….keep it up!!!!
Amazing, very tasty and easily explained. Thank you so much!!!
Detailed information given.
So very proud of you Raj❤️
easy to understand the recipe and to know more about sourdough
Very informative, and rightly curated each details and added intresting history behind makes it worth reading, it’s a new information for me personally and would be helpful for many who generally use bread in the kitchen without having in-depth knowledge about it, it’s beautifully curated, keep it up Raj, best wishes to you…
thank you so much means a lot.
Very well written recipe and good information about sour dough
Thank you so much means a lot.
Good recipe
Would surely try
Lovely
New thing to learn
Nicc