Bread has a bit of a bad rap. With the surge in gluten sensitivity, many wellness-minded folks have sworn off bread altogether, but if you love a little toast here and there, sourdough, which is naturally fermented, is the healthiest option. Featuring a fermented starter that you can make at home, sourdough bread is gentler on the gut in a way other bread isn't.
Traditional sourdough breads are often fermented for periods longer than 24 hours. This timeframe allows for the yeasts to thoroughly digest the natural sugars in the flours. For this reason, traditional sourdough breads may be more easily digested by those who have trouble consuming other bread products.
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What Is Sourdough? Sourdough is an old gift from science traced back from ancient Egypt, and is the first form of leavened bread. Sourdough is made by the fermentation of dough using naturally-occurring lactobacilli and yeast. It has a mildly sour taste, and better inherent keeping qualities due to the lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli. The souring of the dough is healthier for us than non-fermented breads. The fermentation process makes it easier to digest by breaking down gluten and providing the good tummy bacteria, a natural probiotic if you will. I love baking with sourdough because of the health benefits and flavor profile.
Why Is Sourdough Better? My love for DIY sourdough started when I became a mother. I had always had an eye on health and cared about what I put into my body. Yes. I am that person who reads food labels meticulously. But when I had a child of my own I really started to pay attention to what ingredients went into my body and our family’s bodies. I remember going to buy a loaf of bread at the store, turning over the package and seeing a paragraph long ingredient list of ingredients and gasping. Bread is simple, it shouldn’t need more than just flour, water and salt, maybe some levain or yeast… right? That’s when I journeyed into the art of sourdough bread baking at home. I taught myself how to make a starter using just flour and water then started making a simple no-knead bread -- recipe below!
How To Pick The Right Flour
On Sourdough Starter. A sourdough starter is a simple mixture of flour and filtered water that naturally ferments. Some sourdough starters are family heirlooms passed down generations, while others are just for a short time. If it goes bad, it’s okay, it’s easy to make again.
On Picking Your Flour. When I first started making sourdough I really didn’t think about the flour I was using. I think I simply used all-purpose flour. But I quickly learned that not all flour is created equal and that they type of flour used can make a big difference. For this reason I recommend using a good quality flour when starting out. Search for flour that is unbleached and one that does not contain a lot of added chemicals.
If you are new to baking, I recommend using bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein and gluten content which means it’s easier to work with and can produce a better rise. All purpose flour can be used but because it is lower in protein it can create a wetter dough that is more difficult to work with. Whole grain flours are great flours too. They can just be trickier as they are higher in minerals which can speed up the fermentation time and can create a wetter dough. Lastly, to get more consistent results when baking I find that it’s important to use that water that is filtered and unchlorinated.
Other Helpful Tools for DIY Sourdough Bread
The following tools are helpful when baking bread:
Dough whisk. This can be used to help incorporate the flour and water together. CHECK OUT
Dough scraper. This can be used to better handle the dough when shaping. CHECK OUT
Mixing bowls. Make sure your bowl is large enough to mix all of your ingredients. CHECK OUT
Scale. This is one of the most important pieces in getting a more consistent loaf. Measuring ingredients allows for more precision. CHECK OUT
Dutch oven. Although you can bake your bread without a dutch oven, I find that a dutch oven works wonders on my bread and I often get a better rise if I use it too. CHECK OUT
Patience, love + kindness. The art of bread baking or really any ferment is to learn to be patient and kind on oneself even if it doesn’t turn out exactly as you planned. Remember the starter is wild so this adds another layer of trickiness but it can also be that much more rewarding.
How To Create Your Own Sourdough Starter
A sourdough starter is a simple mixture of flour and filtered, un-chlorinated water that naturally ferments. Some sourdough starters are family heirlooms passed down through generations, while others are just for a short time. If it goes bad, it’s okay, it’s easy to make again. [olists num=1]
How To Make DIY Sourdough Bread
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