Sourdough Brown Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Before measuring out your 2 cups of starter culture, it must be proofed: To proof, I usually start with 1 cup of starter and stir into it equal parts of flour and warm water (for this recipe, 1 1/2 cups of each would be more than enough).
• Let mixture sit, covered loosely, for 8 to 12 hours-- the longer it sits, the sourer the flavor will be.
• At this point, measure out the 2 cups required for recipe, and return leftover starter to refrigerator for next time.
• Pour starter into mixing bowl.
• Melt butter (microwave works well).
• Add milk to butter and warm briefly (85 degrees F).
• Add the salt and sugar, stir until dissolved.
• Add this mixture to the culture and mix well.
• Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring until the dough is too stiff to mix by hand.
• Turn onto floured board and knead in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and satiny.
• Pat dough into a 1-inch thick oval and form loaf by rolling oval up from the long side, pinching the seam together as you roll the dough, tucking ends to form the loaf.
• Place in lightly greased loaf pan (I spray with cooking spray), and let rise, covered, at 85 degrees F for 1 1/2 to 3 hours.
• When the dough rises 1 to 2 inches above the edges of pan, it is ready to bake.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake an additional 30 to 40 minutes (baking time varies according to your oven and your personal taste--some like a darker crustier bread than others).
• Remove loaf from oven and brush the top lightly with melted butter; turn loaf out of the pan and cool on wire rack.
• If you prefer, you can shape this into a round or oval loaf and bake on a baking sheet.

Steps:

• If using an ABM, place ingredients in bread machine pan in order according to the manufacturer's specifications.
• Select dough cycle and press start.
• If using KitchenAid mixer, or doing by hand, combine all ingredients and knead.
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and shape into desired loaf.
• Place in greased loaf pan and let rise, covered, until dough has doubled.
• Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until bread sounds hollow when tapped.
• Immediately remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
• For a soft crust, brush top with melted butter.

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and stir until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for 19 hours.
• After 19 hours, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Punch down the dough and turn it over onto itself a couple of times. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, shape the dough into a ball. Coat hands with flour, if needed, to prevent sticking. Sprinkle the tea towel with half of the cornmeal and lay the dough on top of it, with the seam side down. Sprinkle the top of the dough with the other half of the cornmeal and cover with the towel. Allow to rise for another 2 to 3 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
• Oven baking: While the dough is rising the second time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a 4 to 5-quart Dutch oven in the oven while it preheats. Once the dough is ready, carefully transfer it to the pre-heated Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake until the bread reaches an internal temperature of 210 to 212 degrees F, another 15 minutes. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
• Outdoor coals: Heat charcoal in a chimney starter until ash covers all of the coals. Place 20 to 24 coals on a Dutch oven table. Place a cooling rack (or other wire rack that is at least 2-inches high) directly over the coals. Set a 5-quart Dutch oven on top of this rack and allow to preheat during the last 30 minutes of the second rise. Carefully transfer the dough to the Dutch oven and cover with the lid. Place 20 coals on top. Bake until the bread reaches an internal temperature of 210 to 212 degrees F, about 45 minutes. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• For the levain: Combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, water and starter in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Cover and let sit at room temperature until bubbly and increased in volume by about 20 percent, about 8 hours.
• For the dough: Add the all-purpose flour, water and whole-wheat flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Weigh out 7 ounces of the levain (about 1 cup) and add to the mixer (discard any remaining levain). Mix on low until a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Add the salt to the dough and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes; the dough should feel a bit sticky and wet but look smooth and very stretchy. Scrape the dough into a plastic or glass container about twice its size. Cover and let sit at room temperature until puffed, about 45 minutes.
• Put the dough on a floured work surface, flatten it gently, then fold in thirds like a business letter. Transfer it back to the container. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.
• Repeat the folding process one more time, transfer back to the container, cover and let sit at room temperature for another 45 minutes. After the third 45-minute rest, the dough should feel soft and pillowy; when pressed with a finger, it should leave an indentation that begins to spring back.
• Gently scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide in half using a bench scraper. Shape each piece loosely into a round by gently tucking the edges under. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Drape 2 kitchen towels into 2 medium (8-inch) bowls and dust very generously with flour. Dust the top of the dough rounds very lightly with flour and flip over using a bench scraper. Flatten one piece of dough into a circle, then fold the left and right sides of the dough over the center. Keeping tension in the dough, begin folding down from the top edge in 3 segments, sealing the bottom edge with the last fold. Loosely cup the dough and, using your hands and the tension between the board and the dough, pull the bread very slowly towards yourself while creating a taut ball. Gently flip the dough ball over and into one of the prepared bowls. Cover loosely with another kitchen towel. Repeat the process with the second piece of dough. Place both in a warm place to rise until about 1 1/2 times their size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• About 20 minutes before baking, position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven, put a 4-quart Dutch oven and lid on the rack and preheat to 500 degrees F. When preheated, carefully transfer the hot Dutch oven to a heatsafe surface with oven mitts (leave the lid in the oven). Flip one round of dough over into the Dutch oven. Using a sharp knife, scissors or bread lame, score the top of the bread in a cross or desired pattern. Return to the oven, immediately cover with the lid and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 425 degrees F, uncover and bake until dark brown, about 10 minutes more. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack to cool completely. Return the empty Dutch oven to the oven, raise the temperature to 500 degrees F and let heat for 10 minutes before repeating the baking process with the second dough round.

Steps:

• First, make your starter. In a large bowl, mix together 100g of the flour with 125ml slightly warm water. Whisk together until smooth and lump-free.
• Transfer the starter to a large jar (a 1-litre Kilner jar is good) or a plastic container. Leave the jar or container lid ajar for 1 hr or so in a warm place (around 25C is ideal), then seal and set aside for 24 hrs.
• For the next 6 days, you will need to 'feed' the starter. Each day, tip away half of the original starter, add an extra 100g of flour and 125ml slightly warm water, and stir well. Try to do this at the same time every day.
• After 3-4 days you should start to see bubbles appearing on the surface, and it will smell yeasty and a little acidic. This is a good indicator that the starter is working.
• On day 7, the starter should be quite bubbly and smell much sweeter. It is now ready to be used in baking.
• Tip the flour, 225ml warm water, the salt, honey and the starter into a bowl, or a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir with a wooden spoon, or on a slow setting in the machine, until combined - add extra flour if it's too sticky or a little extra warm water if it's too dry.
• Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins until soft and elastic - you should be able to stretch it without it tearing. If you're using a mixer, turn up the speed a little and mix for 5 mins.
• Place the dough in a large, well-oiled bowl and cover. Leave in a warm place to rise for 3 hrs. You may not see much movement, but don't be disheartened, as sourdough takes much longer to rise than a conventional yeasted bread.
• Line a medium-sized bowl with a clean tea towel and flour it really well or, if you have a proving basket, you can use this (see tips below). Tip the dough back onto your work surface and knead briefly to knock out any air bubbles. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and dust it with flour.
• Place the dough, seam-side up, in the bowl or proving basket, cover loosely and leave at room temperature until roughly doubled in size. The time it takes for your bread to rise will vary depending on the strength of your starter and the temperature in the room, anywhere from 4-8 hrs. The best indicators are your eyes, so don't worry too much about timings here. You can also prove your bread overnight in the fridge. Remove it in the morning and let it continue rising for another hour or 2 at room temperature. The slower the rise, the deeper the flavour you will achieve.
• Place a large baking tray in the oven, and heat to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Fill a small roasting tin with a little water and place this in the bottom of the oven to create steam. Remove the baking tray from the oven, sprinkle with flour, then carefully tip the risen dough onto the tray.
• Slash the top a few times with a sharp knife, if you like, then bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown. It will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 20 mins before serving.

Steps:

• 9:00AM (Day Before Baking):.
• Make the levain by combining 25 grams mature starter, 25 grams whole wheat flour, 25 grams bread flour and 50 grams warm water (80°F), in a Mason jar, until well combined. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and store in a warm spot until it doubles in size, about 5 hours. I like to put it in the oven (no heat) with the light turned on.
• 12:00PM (Day Before Baking):.
• About halfway through the levain's rising time, make the autolyse. In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, spelt flour and 350 grams of the water. Use your hands to squeeze the flour into the water until all of the flour has been hydrated. Use a plastic dough scraper to scrape any bits of the dough from your hands. At this point, we're not looking for a smooth dough at all. We just want the flour hydrated with water. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest alongside the levain.
• 2:00PM (Day Before Baking):.
• This step of the process is called bulk fermentation. At this point your levain should have doubled in size. Measure out 100 grams of levain and add it to the autolyse. Use your hands to incorporate the two mixtures together by poking your fingers through the dough. Then you can start folding the dough unto itself until it becomes uniform. Let rest for 15 minutes. Then sprinkle in the salt and pour the remaining 25 grams water on top. Fold the dough onto itself until it comes together once again. You might find that the water and dough separate a bit but continue folding until the dough becomes uniform and soft.
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 4 to 5 hours. This depends on the temperature of your kitchen and the temperature of your water. The best part about this recipe is that you don't have to knead the dough too much. You just have to fold the dough onto itself a few times during this rest.
• Every 30 minutes uncover the dough and fold it onto itself by wetting your hands and going into one side of the dough and pulling and stretching it up and over onto itself. Do this a few times, rotating the dough each time. Cover, return to rest and repeat a few 4 to 5 more times during the bulk fermentation period.
• 7:00PM (Day Before Baking):.
• Carefully transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Fold the dough onto itself from top to bottom and then side to side. Cover loosely and rest for 20 minutes. Flip the dough over and then shape into a round smooth ball as best as you can.
• Dust a proofing basket or large round bowl (lined with a clean kitchen towel) with rice flour. Rice flour doesn't absorb into the dough, which will prevent it from sticking to the bowl. Transfer the dough into the prepared basket or bowl, round smooth side down. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight.
• 8:30AM (Morning Of):.
• Place a 5 qt or larger dutch oven (with the lid) in the oven and preheat to 450°F for 1 hour.
• 9:30AM (Morning Of):.
• Remove the dough from the fridge. Cover with a small piece of parchment paper and place a pizza peel or cutting board on top. Flip over and then remove the bowl from the top. Dust the top of the bread with a thin layer of bread flour. Use a sharp bread lame or sharp paring knife to cut a design on top.
• Using heavy-duty oven mitts, carefully remove the pot from the oven and uncover. Use the parchment paper to carefully transfer the bread (along with the paper) to the hot pot. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes until deep golden brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 208°F.
• Remove the pot from the oven and carefully lift the bread out of the pot, using the parchment paper to grab it. Place on a wire rack and allow to rest for 1 hour before cutting and enjoying.
• Useful Tools:.
• Plastic dough scraper.
• Bread proving basket.
• 5 qt Dutch oven.
• Bread lame.

Steps:

• To make a sourdough starter: whisk 50g of the strong white flour and 50g of the strong wholemeal flour with 100ml slightly warm water until smooth. Transfer to a large jar or plastic container. Leave the lid ajar for 1 hr or so in a warm place, then seal and set aside for 24 hours. For the next six days, you will need to 'feed' it. Each day, tip away half the original starter, add an extra 25g of each flour and 50ml slightly warm water, and stir well. After a few days you should start to see bubbles on the surface, and it will smell yeasty. On day seven, the starter should be bubbly and smell much sweeter. It is now ready to be used.
• To make the sourdough bread: tip both the flours, 325ml warm water, the salt and the starter into a bowl, or a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir with a wooden spoon, or on a slow setting in the mixer until combined - add extra flour if it's too sticky or a little warm water if it's dry. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins until soft and elastic - you should be able to stretch it without it tearing. If you're using a mixer, turn up the speed a little and mix for 5 mins.
• Place the dough in a floured bowl and cover with cling film. Leave in a warm place to rise for 3 hrs. You may not see much movement, as sourdough takes much longer to rise.
• Line a medium bowl with a clean tea towel and flour it really well or flour a proving basket. Tip the dough back onto your work surface and knead briefly to knock out any air bubbles. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and dust it with flour.
• Place the dough, seam-side up, in the bowl or proving basket, and leave at room temperature for 3 hrs, or in the fridge overnight, until risen by about a quarter.
• Place a large baking tray in the oven and heat to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Fill a small roasting tin with water and place in the bottom of the oven to create steam. Remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle with flour, then tip the dough onto it.
• Slash the top a few times with a sharp knife to make a pattern, then bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown. It should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Leave to cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Steps:

• ABM:.
• Place all ingredients (in order listed) in your bread machine, and set to dough cycle. When complete, form into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. Allow to rise to doubled. Bake in 375 oven for 40 minutes, until it is golden and passes the knock test. For a more rustic loaf, you can form onto a greased cookie sheet and allow to rise, or better yet, use a baking stone if you have one! You could also allow your bread machine to follow a complete cycle, allowing it to bake in the machine.
• KA or Stand Mixer:.
• Place all ingredients in order listed, in bowl. Mix using dough hook until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Dough shoud be smooth, slightly damp. Oil a large bowl, and place dough in, swishing it around to coat.
• Allow to rest for 30 minutes. Fold dough (like you would a letter), turn 90 degrees, and repeat foldings. Allow to rest 30 minutes more. Repeat foldings.
• Form into loaf and place in greased loaf pan, or onto a greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise until doubled (2-3 hours.) Bake in a 375 degree oven for approximately 40 minutes, until it is golden and passes the knock test.
• Note #1: To proof your starter, feed it with 1 cup flour (preferably multigrain in this case) and 1 cup water, then let it sit overnight or up to 12 hours, covered. This is what develops the characteristic sour flavor and the longer the proof, the sourer it will be.
• If you start with 1/2 cup of starter and feed it 1 cup each of water and flour, you should have enough to make your bread and save the rest to start your next batch.
• Note #2: To use a baking stone, allow your loaf to rise on parchment paper, placed on a board. Place the stone in the oven when preheating it, allowing it 30 minutes to heat the stone. Move the loaf onto the stone using the parchment paper (you can bake it right on the paper, on the stone.).

Steps:

• Day 1: To begin your starter, mix 50g of the flour with 50g tepid water in a jar or, better still, a plastic container. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, covered with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Days 2, 3, 4 & 5 : Mix 25g flour with 25g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, covered with a tea towel, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Day 6: The mix should be really bubbly and giving off a strong smell of alcohol. A teaspoonful of the starter should float in warm water if ready. If not, continue adding 25g flour and 25g tepid water into the mixture daily until it becomes active.If your jar is becoming full, spoon half the mix out of the jar and continue. You now have rye starter, which is a malty flavoured base to sourdough bread. Keep it in the fridge (it will stay dormant) and 12 hrs before you want to use it, spoon half of it off and feed it with 100g flour and 100g water. Leave, covered, at room temperature.
• Tip 100g of the starter into a bowl and add 400g of tepid water. Whisk or rub the two together with your hands, don't worry if there are a few lumps. Add the flour and bring together (with a spatula or your hand) into a thick, sticky dough, making sure all the flour is mixed in, including any dry bits on the sides of the bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave at room temperature for 2 hrs.
• Work the salt into the dough then leave, covered, for another 2 hrs.
• Heavily butter a 900g loaf tin. Dust the work surface with more rye flour, then scrape all the dough out. Mould the dough into a block roughly the same size as the tin and sit it in the tin. Press the dough down so it fills it completely and scatter the top generously with more flour. Leave the loaf out, uncovered, for 2 hrs until it's risen by about a quarter and gone craggy on the top, or leave it in the fridge, uncovered, overnight. This will give it an even deeper flavour.
• Heat the oven to 230/210C fan/gas 8 with a shelf in the middle of the oven and a shelf below with a roasting tray on it. Put the loaf on the middle tray and carefully pour a small glass of water into the roasting tray. Cook for 50-55 mins until hollow sounding when tapped. (The middle of the loaf will read 98C on a digital thermometer when ready.) Remove the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 4 hrs. Will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
• In a smaller bowl, mix together the molasses, milk, and sourdough starter
• Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir to mix well.
• Grease the inside of 4 wide-mouth pint canning jars with butter.
• Divide the dough among the jars.
• Cover each jar with aluminum foil.
• Place jars in a canning basket. Lower basket into a water bath canner with boiling water. The water should be about ⅔ of the way up the jars.
• Reduce heat and steam bread for 1 - 1½ hours or until done. Check occasionally to make sure the canner doesn't boil dry.
• Remove from canner. Let cool slightly. Remove bread from the jars. You may need to run a butter knife down the side of the jar to gently dislodge the bread.
• Cool on a cooling rack.
• Sliced bread can be steamed to re-heat.
• Optional Steaming Directions:
• Use a large pot instead of the water bath steamer. Place something on the bottom of the pot to keep the jars off of the bottom, canning lids or crinkled aluminum foil or a steamer basket would work. Instead of canning jars use 4 clean, 15 oz cans.
• Optional Baking Directions:
• Spoon batter into a greased bread loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour.

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl combine the sourdough starter with 1/2 a cup water and 1/2 cup flour. Cover and let stand overnight or for 12 hours at room temperature.
• Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add the remaining water to the bowl, dissolving the previous days mix before gradually adding the remaining flour. Mix until smooth and well combined. Transfer to a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with a clean towel and let the dough rest for 30 minutes to 4 hours.
• Once the dough has risen, sprinkle in salt and then start to kneed. Grab the dough from one end, lift it up and fold it over on top of itself. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the action for another 4 minutes. Place dough back in the bowl, allow to rest for 30 minutes and repeat process 4 more times.
• The dough should now be light and fluffy, spin the dough on itself tucking the edges overlapping underneath creating a lovely circular strong dough.
• Place a tea towel inside a bowl, dust with flour and transfer to a fridge and leave for overnight.
• In the morning turn your oven to the highest temperature and place a medium dutch oven inside to heat for 20 minutes. Remove your dough from the fridge, bring to room temperature before turning into hot dutch oven. Slice two parallel lines 1 1/2 inches from each other.
• Cover pot with lid and bake for 20 minutes before lowering temperature to 450 F, removing lid and cooking for another 25-30 minutes or until crust is deeply browned. Allow to cool at least 15-20 minutes before serving.