Baking your own bread with sourdough

Have you ever baked your own sourdough bread? If not, you should give it a try. Sourdough bread is a great alternative to traditional yeast bread that is not only healthy and delicious, but also easier to digest. Follow our step-by-step instructions to make your own sourdough and then use it to bake a quick loaf of bread.

What makes sourdough bread so special?

Flour, water, heat and time- these are the most important components for your sourdough! However, you do need a bit of patience to prepare and develop sourdough. But we promise you: When you remove your first loaf with sourdough out of the oven, this moment will fill you with complete pride.

Sourdough is one of the oldest natural leavening agents in baking

In contrast to yeast bread, sourdough bread is easier to digest because it doesn’t contain yeast. It also allows our bodies to absorb more nutrients from the grain. It’s no wonder that the traditional production of sourdough is so popular.

It’s definitely worth trying sourdough. It’s not without reason that sourdough bread has been experiencing a real comeback in recent years. It scores points with its incomparable, slightly sour aroma and its unique taste. The sourdough gets this primarily from lactic acid fermentation.

Let’s begin: sourdough starter

This dough is the base that you feed with flour and water every day until it can be processed into bread dough.

Ingredients: 50g organic rye or any wholemeal flour, 50ml warm water (approx. 40°C), some organic dry yeast.

Utensils: Mixing bowl, tall glass container, wooden spoon, tea towel.

Day 1: Make sourdough

For your sourdough starter, mix 50 grams of rye flour with 50ml of lukewarm water. Remember that the dough will rise- so you should use a tall container rather than a wide one.

Mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth dough. With a tea towel, cover the sourdough starter (the microorganisms in your dough need oxygen to work). Place your covered dough in a consistently warm place (approx. 24-28°C). In winter, it is best to place it near a n over or radiator.

And now it’s time to wait! If the dough has worked, small air bubbles will form after just a few hours and the dough will smell fresh and sour. After 12 hours you can stir the dough for the first time.

Day 2-4: Feeding the sourdough

You can “feed” your dough for the first time 24 hours after making it. The rule of thumb is: feed, stir, keep warm. Add 50g flour and 50ml warm water to your dough and mix the ingredients well. Cover it again and put it in a warm place. Thanks to the long rest periods, all the ingredients have ample time to combine optimally. Continue feeding on days 3 and 4 so that you have a well-fed starter dough by day 5.

The wait is worth it

The big day has arrived- today you can bake your first bread with your sourdough base. The advantage: you decide what goes into your bread. Sunflower seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds…you can make your bread exactly how you like it.

Even if you are one of the most impatient among us, you can bake sourdough bread without making the dough yourself first. You can now find ready-made sourdough extract (liquid or powdered) on the market, which you can simply mix into the flour and water to imitate the taste of sourdough.

How to bake your bread with sourdough

Ingredients:

200g homemade sourdough
200g organic spelt flour
300g organic rye flour or another organic wholemeal flour
350ml lukewarm water
1-2 teaspoons of salt
100g sunflower seeds
Flour for the base
Oil for the baking pan
Some water for spreading

Utensils:
Mixing bowl, wooden spoon, hand mixer with dough hooks or food processor, solid surface for kneading, square or oval enamel bread baking pan, sharp knife.
Sourdough can attack the non-stick coating of your baking pan. A cut and scratch resistant pan made of enamel is ideal for sourdough bread.
Step 1
Put your sourdough, flour, dry yeast and water in a mixing bowl and stir the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Knead the dough well for for about 2 minutes with a hand mixer or food processor and then add the salt. Knead the dough again for about 3 minutes. If you over-knead your sourdough, your bread may not rise properly when baking.
Cover your dough with a tea towel and let it rest in a warm place for 1.5 hours.
Step 2
Put some flour on a firm surface (worktop or large cutting board) and knead the dough well with floured hands. Now add the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds etc. to your dough (keep some seeds for later!) and work the ingredients in well.
Next, place your dough in a greased baking pan, press it firmly into the sides and smooth it out. Let it rest in a warm place for about 1.5 hours. Preheat your oven to 240°C (top and bottom heat).
Step 3
Brush the risen dough with a little water. Spread the remaining seeds on your bread dough as decoration and cut the dough lengthways with a knife. Place the bread dough on the bottom rack of your oven and turn the temperature down to 190°C after about 10 minutes. Bake your bread for about 50 minutes.
Flavour enhancer: To ensure that your sourdough bread can develop its full flavour, you should not cut it until the next day.

Enjoy you sourdough bread!