Whole Wheat Sourdough

Over the summer I learned to make sourdough.  I loved it!  I made sourdough bread, pancakes, pizza crust, biscuits, and probably other delicious things too.  At the end of the summer things got a little crazy in my life, and sourdough (and breadmaking in general) was one of the first things to go...after this blog.  Now that my life is much more in control, I cannot wait to make start another starter, hopefully a few days ago.  Wait!  That didn't happen!
So here is how to make your own starter.  Hopefully I'll share some recipes in a few days.

1.  Mix equal parts of wheat flour (or any flour) and water in a quart-sized jar.  I started with 1/2 cup of each.
2.  Put a napkin over top, and screw it on with a lid.  The napkin allows for airflow to get into the jar.  The idea with sourdough is that you are getting natural yeasts and healthy bacterias from the air.
3.  Set in a warm place.
4.  "Feed" the starter twice each day, following steps 1-3.  I usually use 1-2 tablespoons of each flour and water at each feeding.  Be sure to mix well, making certain to scrape the bottom and sides of the jar.
5.  Within 2-4 days you should start to see bubbles.  This is all dependent upon things you can and can't control such as temperature.  When I started my starter during the summer, I had a lot happier of a starter than I expect to this time.  Just do your best to keep it warm.  Keep the jar on the stove so that it warms up while your cooking, etc.  (Note:  When I tried in the future, I found it rather impossible to get good results in the cold winter temperatures.  I'll give it another shot, and then I think I'll just have to wait for warmer weather.)
6.  You can make crackers in less than a week of starting your starter, but you should probably wait 1-2 weeks prior to making bread, just to make sure your starter is happy (lots of bubbles).
7.  When you're ready to make a recipe, take out as much starter as the recipe calls for, then replace with equal parts of flour and water.

Easy!  This really only takes about 1 minute of work each day!

I learned how to make sourdough from Kitchen Stewardship.  If you don't like my directions, you can check out her's.  I also started by using her recipes.  Then I got more adventurous.

Wheat Bread revisited

Nearly a year ago I posted my wheat bread recipe.  Since then I have made some minor adaptations, so I thought I would post it again.  If you don't have powdered eggs, just use a regular egg, and realize that you may need to add a little extra flour.  With regard to the molasses and honey, I fill a 1/3 cup measuring cup with oil, pour it into my bowl, then use that same measuring cup to measure my molasses and honey.  I fill it about 2/3 full of molasses, then fill it the rest of the way with honey.  The measurements below are not exact, nor do they equal exactly 1/3 cup.

Whole Wheat Bread

Printable recipe

about 6 ½ cups whole wheat flour (I like to use 2 cups red wheat, and the rest white)

1 ¼ T yeast

2 1/3 cups lukewarm water

1 T salt

1 T powdered egg

1/3 cup oil

3 T  molasses

2 T honey

1 ¼ T bottled lemon juice

Mix 3 ½ cups flour and yeast together in an electric mixer with dough hook attached. (On a KitchenAid, you should never exceed speed 2 when using the dough hook.) Add water all at once, and mix for one minute, scraping sides as needed. Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Add salt, powdered egg, oil, molasses, honey, and lemon juice, and mix for one minute. Add a little less than 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing between each cup. Beat until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl (mostly), about 10 minutes. If after 11 minutes dough has not come away from the edges of the bowl, you may add additional flour, a couple of tablespoons at a time. The dough should feel a little sticky, but soft.

Preheat oven for 1-2 minutes (at any temperature), then turn off oven. Divide dough, and, with oiled hands, place in 2 oiled 8x4 inch bread pans. (You may shape the dough if you wish, but it is not required.) Let rise in warm oven for 15-20 minutes, or until dough reaches the top of the bread pans. Do not remove bread from oven. Turn oven on to 350ºF, and bake for 35 minutes. Remove bread from pans, and cool on racks.

Child Friendly Wheat Bread

I developed this recipe from my Whole Wheat Bread recipe to be more friendly toward my not-quite 1 year old. I wanted it to not include the honey or egg, and to have less sugar.

Whole Wheat Bread for Children

6 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 ¼ T yeast

1 tsp baking powder

2 1/3 cups lukewarm water

1 T salt

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

3 T oil

2 T brown sugar

1 T molasses

1 ¼ T bottled lemon juice

Mix 3 ½ cups flour, yeast, and baking powder together in an electric mixer with dough hook attached. (On a KitchenAid, you should never exceed speed 2 when using the dough hook.) Add water all at once, and mix for one minute, scraping sides as needed. Cover with a dish towel, and let rest for 10 minutes. Add salt, applesauce, oil, brown sugar, molasses, and lemon juice, and mix for one minute. Add remaining 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing between each cup. Beat until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl (mostly), about 10 minutes. If after 11 minutes dough has not come away from the edges of the bowl, you may add additional flour, a couple of tablespoons at a time. The dough should feel a little sticky, but soft.

Preheat oven for 1 minute (at any temperature), then turn off oven. Divide dough, and, with oiled hands, place in 2 oiled 8x4 inch bread pans. (You may shape the dough if you wish, but it is not required.) Let rise in warm oven for 10-15 minutes, or until dough reaches the top of the bread pans. Do not remove bread from oven. Turn oven on to 350ºF, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove bread from pans, and cool on racks.

Note: This recipe must be made in an electric mixer. If you make it by hand, you will need to use a lot more flour, which will give you a much tougher dough.

Wheat Bread

I created this recipe by combining several other recipes, because I wanted a wheat bread recipe that was quick, easy, did not include a lot of unusual ingredients, and that was light. In the process I learned several things about wheat bread. First, if you want 100% wheat bread to be light, you have to use an electric mixer with a dough hook. Otherwise, you have to add a lot more flour. Second, unlike when making white bread, you add the flour then 10 minutes later it comes away from the sides of the bowl. (When making white bread in a KitchenAid, you keep adding flour until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.) 


Recipe revisited here.

Whole Wheat Bread

6 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 ¼ T yeast

2 1/3 cups lukewarm water

1 T salt

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

2 T + 2 tsp molasses (or honey)

2 T + 2 tsp honey

1 ¼ T bottled lemon juice

Remove egg from refrigerator and set on counter. Mix 3 ½ cups flour and yeast together in an electric mixer with dough hook attached. (On a KitchenAid, you should never exceed speed 2 when using the dough hook.) Add water all at once, and mix for one minute, scraping sides as needed. Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Add salt, egg, oil, molasses, honey, and lemon juice, and mix for one minute. Add remaining 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing between each cup. Beat until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl (mostly), about 10 minutes. If after 11 minutes dough has not come away from the edges of the bowl, you may add additional flour, a couple of tablespoons at a time. The dough should feel a little sticky, but soft.

Preheat oven for 1 minute (at any temperature), then turn off oven. Divide dough, and, with oiled hands, place in 2 oiled 8x4 inch bread pans. (You may shape the dough if you wish, but it is not required.) Let rise in warm oven for 10-15 minutes, or until dough reaches the top of the bread pans. Do not remove bread from oven. Turn oven on to 350ºF, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove bread from pans, and cool on racks.