Sourdough Bread

Tasting this for the first time around a month ago totally transformed the way I look at bread. Forget everything you've ever known - all that was wrong. This is the real thing. This is sourdough bread!

What makes sourdough bread different from normal bread? Well, it's the fact that it's not made with yeast as such (certainly not the kind you'd find in a packet) but rather the naturally occurring yeast in our environment. The kind that ferments fruit juice if you leave it out in the open for long enough.

So, how do you capture this yeast so that you can make bread with it? The easiest way is not to capture it at all but to get a "starter" from a friend who already makes sourdough bread. A "starter" is simply 2 tablespoons of risen pre-cooked dough - before you put the sourdough mix in the oven, scoop out 2 tablespoons and put in a jar. Close the lid and leave at room temperature for 2 days. You can then store in the fridge for 8 days. 

What if you haven't got a friend who can give you the "starter"? Well, you'll have to make your own! Combine a tablespoon of flour with a little water in a jar to make a thinnish mix. Cover with a tea towel and leave at room temperature. After around 7 days, it should have started to ferment - you can tell by the "yeasty" smell. Add a little more flour and leave. Repeat for 3 days. You now have a starter. You can tell if it's worked by:

a) the smell
b) it should have little bubbles
c) it should have risen slightly

If you don't get a,b and c, then just try again - it will work in the end.

Once you get this bread right, you'll never want to buy bread from a shop ever again. Trust me on that! The taste is divine. The loaf will feed one person for around 5 days and it will not go bad in any way in those 5 days. Day 5 will taste like day 1. 2 slices and you're satisfied for hours after. It's the real ingredients, you see. And those seeds - full of essential minerals and fats. Flax is rich in Omega 3, to give just one example.

Cost per loaf: 5 zl

What you'll need:

- 2 tbsp of "starter"
- 500g of regular flour
- 200g of rye flour
- 4 tbsp of bran
- 4 tbsp of oats
- 2 tbsp of pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp of flax seeds
- 2 tbsp of sunflower seeds
- 2 tsp of salt
- 0.75 litres of lukewarm water

Let's do it!

1. Get the water in a pan

2. Mix up the flours, seeds and salt in a bowl

3. Check the water in the pan is in fact lukewarm (if your little finger can stand it for 10 seconds) and add the "starter"

4. Mix well with an egg whisk

5. Mix in the flours and seeds

6. Leave overnight (or for 8-10 hours) covered at room temperature.

7. Butter up a bread dish and scoop the mix into it

8. Scrape out the remains of the mix from the pan into a jar - this will be the "starter" for your next loaf!

9. Your oven should be up to around 200 degrees - get the dough in!

10. Take out the bread exactly 60 minutes later and enjoy!

What did this cost?

- regular flour: 1 zl
- rye flour: 1 zl
- seeds and the rest: 3 zl

Per loaf: 5 zl