Sourdough Bread Recipe
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Proving Time: 4–7 hours depending on ambient temperature
Cooking time: 50 minutes Makes: 2 loaves Credit: Styling, Food Preparation & Photography, Tracey Sunderland. You may need to turn the oven up to 240–250°C to get a more golden crust for the final 10 minutes. Notes: Sour dough is a slow bread, because the yeast is natural it takes longer to activate which can be easy to work with (as the rise can take from 24 to 36 hours) which is great because it can be started and left overnight before baking at a time that suits your routine best. Sourdough bread is made by the fermentation of dough (flour and water) using naturally occurring lactobacilli and yeast. Natural yeast exists organically in the flours we use and the air around us. This process has been used for thousands of years in baking and the production of alcoholic beverages. Sourdough has been used for hundreds of years in many countries and cultures around the world in these various varieties of daily bread. (Originally the following countries used a sourdough culture to make their bread using a variety of different flour types.) Danish, rugbrod ryebread; German, pumpernickel; American, Sanfrancisan Sourdough; Ethiopia, Injera, flat bread; Somalia and Yemem, lahoh; India, idly and dosa. The exact duration of the fermentation depends on many things, including how active your starter is and the temperature in your kitchen. As a natural yeast is very helpful not least for ‘home baking’ but also for health reasons. Sourdough is often easier to digest and with digestive problems on the rise, those with compromised guts are finding breads made with a longer fermentation (rise periods) to be more easily digested. I find that the longer the dough is left then the lighter the loaves will be, plus have a better flavour and texture. 3. Slow rise and ferment5. The final rise6. Bake the Breads |