SOURDOUGH BREAD

How to make basic sourdough bread

Use a 23 cm (9 inch) loaf pan

INGREDIENTS

4 cups wholemeal rye, spelt, kamut or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup filtered or spring water

RECIPE

The sourdough starter should be at room temperature, and have virtually completed the bubbling frothy stage.

Sieve the flour into a bowl, add the salt, optional oil/butter and a little of the water. As you add more water it will become very stiff and is easier to mix with your hands or a powerful electric mixer. Knead it for 10-15 minutes, with a pushing and folding over action.

Put the dough in an oiled baking pan, cover with a damp cloth and leave it for 12-24 hours at a temperature of 20-25 Celsius (ie in a warm spot or near a sunny window). It should more than double in size.

Bake at 180 Centigrade (350 Fahrenheit) for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it has a characteristic knock that lets you know it is ready.

Traditional Sourdough Cake and Pastry

Oil is not required for sourdough breads. You can make delicious, moist, soft sourdough breads that will last for days or weeks without going mouldy, without oil.

How to make beautiful cakes and pastries like they were made a century ago:

Cake. Add 100 grams warmed butter OR 1/4 cup olive oil and one or two free-range eggs to the basic sourdough recipe above to turn the sourdough bread into a traditional sourdough cake.

Pastry. Add 200 grams warmed butter OR 1/2 cup olive oil to the basic sourdough recipe above to turn the sourdough bread into a traditional sourdough pastry.