Many thanks to my neighbor and childhood friend, Andrew, for sharing this whole-wheat version of the sourdough bread my mom has made for years. For the past two weeks I’ve become a regular bread maker. If I start this process on a Friday morning before work, the bread is ready to bake on Saturday morning. There’s nothing quite like the smell of baking bread filling the house. Not to mention having fresh bread for toast, sandwiches, croutons and homemade bread crumbs. It’s very economical, too!
SOURDOUGH STARTER
Put your initial starter in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 days. When ready to bake, take starter out of the fridge and set it on the counter. Feed it with the following:
- 1 cup of warm water
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 3 Tbsp instant potato flakes
Stir the starter, then let it stand at room temperature for 8-12 hours. Stir again and take out one cup of starter to use in making bread. Return the remaining starter to refrigerator. Keep refrigerated, loosely covered. Feed again in 3-14 days.
INGREDIENTS
Mix the following in a large bowl:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
- 1 cup of starter
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup oil
- 6 cups whole wheat bread flour (from the bulk bin at Whole Foods)
After dough is well mixed, drizzle with olive oil. Cover with a clean dishcloth and let rise 6-12 hours (I let mine rise in the oven). Turn bread out on waxed paper sprinkled with flour. Knead a few times to form a smooth mound, adding more flour as needed. Divide into three loaves. Place loaves in greased bread pans and let rise again for 4-8 hours. Bake loaves at 350 for 25 minutes.
