Sourdough Whole Wheat Bread Food

WHOLE-WHEAT SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• To prepare levain: Combine starter, 1/2 cup water, 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour in a medium bowl. Cover loosely and let stand in a warm spot until bubbly and doubled in size, 4 to 6 hours.
• To prepare dough: Combine 3 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and 2 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Set to the lowest speed and slowly add 2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons warm water. Mix on low speed until the flour is moist, about 20 to 30 seconds, being careful not to overmix. Cover the mixing bowl and let stand for 20 minutes to allow the water to completely hydrate the flour before mixing the final dough.
• Remove the mixing bowl cover and turn the mixer on low. Add salt, then spoon in the levain (from Step 1) and mix until combined, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a 10- to-12-quart plastic food-storage container. Reach under one end of the dough, pull up a handful until there is resistance, then stretch it back over the top of the dough mass and drop. Turn the container a quarter turn and repeat the fold. Repeat two more times for a total of 4 folds. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Repeat the folding procedure 4 more times, every 20 minutes, to build the gluten and strengthen the dough. Cover and let stand until doubled in size, 6 to 12 hours.
• Liberally flour the inside of two medium bowls or proofing baskets.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, sprinkle flour on top and split it in half. With floured hands, roll each half into a ball. Place the dough balls into the prepared bowls or baskets. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until the dough is puffy, 2 to 4 hours. To test, press gently with a floured finger. If the depression springs back to the original shape in a few seconds, allow the dough to proof longer. If it doesn't spring back, it is ready to bake.
• Meanwhile, place a large cast-iron pot with lid in the oven and preheat to 475 degrees F. After reaching 475 degrees F, wait at least 20 minutes for the pot to heat up before baking.
• Carefully remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid. With floured hands, pick up the dough and carefully place the loaf inside the pot. (It is OK to gently drop it in from a height of 3 to 4 inches to avoid burning yourself.) Replace the lid and transfer to the oven. (Place the second loaf in the refrigerator while the first one bakes.) Bake for 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue baking until browned, about 15 minutes.
• Remove the loaf from the oven and carefully transfer the bread to a wire rack. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
• Repeat Steps 7-9 for the second loaf.

SOURDOUGH WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Add ingredients in order suggested by your manufacturer. Select whole wheat setting.

SOURDOUGH WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Measure the culture into bread machine pan.
• Add remaining ingredients, with flour being last.
• Set machine for dough cycle and start.
• At end of cycle, remove dough from machine and shape into desired loaf.
• Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled--this can take as little as 1 hour or several hours, depending on what type of starter you use and how active it is.
• Top of loaf can be slashed at this stage, if desired.
• Uncover and bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until done.
• Remove from baking pan and cool on wire rack.
• NOTE: I don't let my dough rise in the dough cycle; I just remove it after the kneading is completed and shape my loaf, then let loaf rise.

SOURDOUGH BREAD

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.

TOP 10 SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPES, PLUS RYE SOURDOUGH

Steps:

• Before beginning, it will be helpful to watch these SHORT VIDEOS to see me make this bread so you see that the dough will be stickier than normal, but it will come together - you just have to trust!
• Add starter, water, and honey to a bowl. Whisk thoroughly until combined, with a fork. Add flours, and mix together first with the fork to start to incorporate, then with your hands until a shaggy dough is formed, and the bits of flour left just disappear. Sprinkle the salt on top and do not mix in, just leave it on top. Cover with a damp cloth.
• Autolyse: let dough sit for one hour, covered and undisturbed.
• Bulk ferment: Now you will knead the salt that is sitting on top, into the dough for about 1 min 15 seconds. There is no precise way to do this, just think of working the dough through your hands and up against the bowl, push and pull. You will start to feel the dough relax a bit around 1 minute. Continue for about 15 or 30 seconds more. Then leave the dough alone, covered, for 30 minutes. This counts as what would be your first set of stretch and folds.
• After those 30 minutes pass, perform a set of stretch and folds. Repeat 2 more times.
• Now you will let sit, undisturbed and covered with a damp cloth, for about 7ish hours at 70 degrees F. If the temperature in your home is above 70, this will take less time, vice versa. You will know it is finished with its bulk ferment when the dough has risen about double, is smooth and puffy on top, with a few bubbles. It will not be as jiggly as some sourdough you've made before.
• At this point, lightly dust your work surface with flour. Put dough onto the work surface, and pre-shape. This video will show you what that means. Let sit for 15 minutes on your work surface.
• Then shape your dough, using this method as a guide.
• Place dough into your flour dusted banneton, (or flour dusted linen lined banneton) seam side up. (Optional, you can wait 15 minutes after placing it in banneton, and pinch the perimeters of the dough into the center to hold the shape even more, called stitching.) The dough will now go through its final rise. You can do this on the counter, which will take about 2 hours at 70 degrees F for the dough to puff up and be jiggly. It will not quite double. OR you can do the final rise overnight in the refrigerator, with the banneton covered in a plastic bag or with a very damp cloth. You need this for holding moisture in.
• Time to bake. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F, with your dutch oven preheating inside the oven. When the oven is preheated, flip your dough out gently onto parchment paper and score your dough. If you did the final rise in the refrigerator, take it straight from fridge to scoring. You should score it cold, and DO NOT need to let it come to room temp.
• Then put dough into the dutch oven on the parchment, and put cover on. Turn oven down to 450 degrees F and slide dutch oven in. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove cover.
• Turn heat down to 430 degrees F, and bake for 25 more minutes, until crust is golden brown and crackly. Remove from oven, and remove bread from dutch oven and place onto a cooling rack.
• Wait AT LEAST one hour to cool otherwise, the interior will be gummy.

WHOLE WHEAT SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve the levain in water. Add both flours, salt, and mix the ingredients together. Cover and let rest for 30 minutees to an hour.
• Perform the first set of stretching and folding.
• Perform an additional set of stretches and folds. Cover and let rest.
• Perform the final set of stretches and folds. Cover and let rest.
• Depending on your ambient temperature, the dough should double in size by this time. If not let it ferment until it does. If the room is too cold, place the bowl in the oven with the light on. When it does, divide the dough into two equal pieces. Shape into balls and place, seam side down, in proofing baskets. Cover and keep in a cool room (about 55F-60F) overnight. You may also refrigerate the dough but make sure the fridge does not run too cold.
• If the dough was refrigerated, take it out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours or even longer, until you see some increase in the volume from the last night and the dough passes the 'finger poke' test. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500F.
• When ready to bake, prepare two pieces of parchment paper, turn the dough over on the parchment sheets, score and load in the oven.
• Drop the temperature to 485F and bake with steam for 20 minutes. If baking in a cloche or a cast iron combo cooker, there is no need to worry about the steam. Next, bake without steam at 450F for 30 minutes.
• Remove bread from the oven. Cool on a cooling rack for an hour before slicing.

WHOLE WHEAT EINKORN SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large, non-metal bowl (I have this set of pyrex glass bowls and I use the largest bowl), combine the starter with the water and honey. Make sure your water is between 105F and 110F and no warmer.
• Add 6 cups of whole wheat einkorn flour and the salt. Stir the dough using big, gentle strokes that scrape the outside of the bowl and come inward towards the center of the bowl. DON'T stir vigorously making tiny circles in the center of the bowl. Stir until the dough looks mostly wet and slightly shaggy. The dough will not be super firm and spring back to the touch like a traditional yeast dough.
• Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then sprinkle a little bit of flour over the top of the dough and around the edge of the bowl. Fold the dough by reaching in on the outside of the dough (along the sides of the bowl). Gently scoop the dough and fold it over towards the top, center of the dough. Turn the bowl ¼ of a turn and repeat the gentle scoop and fold over process until you've worked your way around the entire bowl.
• Move a rack in your oven to the lowest setting. Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and place the bowl on the rack. Turn the oven light on and close the oven door. Let the dough rest undisturbed for 8-12 hours.
• Prepare your banneton basket. Flour it VERY WELL. If you don't want to bake a boule, you can use a loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
• Lightly flour your working surface and scoop out the dough. Do not turn the bowl over and dump the dough out. As best as possible, you want whatever part of the dough was at the bottom of the bowl to be resting on your floured surface, and the portion of the dough that was facing upward in the bowl, still be facing upward.
• Pull the corners, or the outside of the dough up and over towards the center of the dough. Do this scoop and fold motion around the entire loaf until it's a round-ish shape and firm enough to handle. Flour your hands and flip the entire round of dough over.
• Create a "turn and tuck" motion by placing your hands on the outside of the dough and turning the dough counter-clockwise while tucking the dough underneath itself. Continue this "turn and tuck" motion for about 2-4 minutes. This will create a seal underneath and the top will become smooth.
• When the top is smooth and you have a mostly round shape, flour the top of the dough well and turn it upside down into the prepared, well-floured banneton. The seam of the dough should be visible.
• Move a rack in your oven to the lowest setting. Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and place the banneton on the rack. Turn the oven light on and close the oven door. Set a timer and let the dough rest undisturbed for 1 hour.
• When the timer is done, remove the dough from the oven and place in a warm location.
• Preheat the oven to 500F and place a 6-quart dutch oven with the lid on, in the oven. Let the Dutch oven preheat for 30-60 minutes while your dough finishes its second rise.
• When you're ready to bake, reduce the oven temperature to 450F and pull out the Dutch oven using oven mitts.
• With your oven mitts on, flip the banneton over so that the dough dumps directly into the Dutch oven, seam down. If the dough doesn't come out centered into the pot, wait 20 seconds or so, then grab the handles and shake the dough so it's centered.
• Place the lid on the Dutch oven and bake for 20 minutes. When the timer is done, remove the lid and continue to bake for another 20 minutes.
• When the timer is done again, remove the pot from the oven, and with your oven mitts on, reach in and remove the loaf of sourdough bread. Place the bread on a cooling rack to cool for two hours.

WHOLE WHEAT SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• Make the levain:Take out about 1-2 tablespoon of your starter from the fridge place it in a bowl. Mix with 50 grams of room temperature water and 50 grams of flour (sifted bread flour, whole grain, spelt, or a combo - whatever you prefer as long as the flour to water ratio is 1:1).
• Cover the bowl with a plate and leave it on the counter to ferment overnight for approximately 8-12 hours. For more information, see this post on how to make levain.
• Once your levain is ready, combine all of it with 350 grams of the water. Add the flour to the water mixture and, and using your hands, mix to combine.
• Once the dough is mixed, cover with a tea towel and let it sit at room temperature for 40 minutes to rest.
• After the elapsed 40 minute of resting time is up, add the salt and remaining 25 grams water. Mix well until combined then cover with the tea towel and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, it is time for the first fold.
• Do the first fold:To do this get your hands damp and reach under the dough on the opposite side of the bowl from you. Pull the dough up and over towards you. Repeat this so the side closest to you folds over to the side away from you and the side on your left folds towards you right, and your right folds towards your left. Think of it as wrapping a package. Then, scoop your hands under the ball of dough and flip it over completely. This completes one "fold".
• Complete 6 more folds (one fold every 30 minutes) for 3 hours total.
• Shaping the dough: Begin by taking the dough out of the bowl and letting it rest on the counter for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare your banneton by dusting it with flour, or layer a clean tea towel in a medium mixing bowl and dust liberally with flour (50-50 wheat flour and rice flour is a great dusting combo).
• Shape your dough making sure you get as much surface tension as possible without tearing the outside of the loaf. Once shaped, turn the loaf into the lined and floured bowl or banneton (top-down, seam side up). Gently flour the top (previously the bottom) of the dough before covering with the edges of the tea towel. Set in the fridge overnight.
• The next day place your dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 260°C (500°F) or as hot as your oven can go, but no higher than 500°F. After the oven has come to temperature, let the dutch oven continue to preheat for another 30 minutes.
• Once the dutch oven has been preheated, take your bread out of the fridge. Gently invert the dough onto a piece of parchment paper that will be large enough to lift your bread into and out of the dutch oven. Gently score the bread with a sharp knife or bread lame.
• Using oven mitts, carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, take off the lid and then carefully lift the dough into the pot using the parchment paper.
• Using oven mitts, carefully place the lid back on the dutch oven and put the entire dutch oven back into the heated oven. Reduce the heat to 230°C (450°F) and bake for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the lid (be careful of steam) and bake for another 20 minutes with the lid off.
• Remove the pot from the oven and carefully lift out the loaf using the edges of the parchment paper and let cool completely on a wire rack.

EASY SOURDOUGH BREAD (WHOLE WHEAT-ISH)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the water, starter, and salt. Stir with a rubber spatula to loosely combine. Add the flour, and stir with a spatula to combine - it will be a wet, sticky dough ball. Transfer to a straight-sided vessel and cover with a tea towel or bowl cover for 30 minutes.
• . After 30 minutes, grab a corner of the dough and pull it up and into the center. Repeat until you've performed this series of folds 4 to 5 times with the dough. Let dough rest for another 30 minutes and repeat the stretching and folding action. If you have the time: do this twice more for a total of 4 times in 2 hours. [Video guidance here.] Note: Even if you can only perform one series of stretches and folds, your dough will benefit. So don't worry if you have to run off shortly after you mix the dough.
• Cover the vessel with a tea towel or bowl cover and let rise at room temperature (70ºF/21ºC) for 4 to 18 hours (times will vary based on the time of year, the humidity, and the temperature of your kitchen). The bulk fermentation will end when the dough has nearly doubled in volume and you can see bubbles throughout the dough and on the surface. (Note: Do not use your oven with the light on for the bulk fermentation - it is too warm for the dough. To determine when the bulk fermentation is done, it is best to rely on visual cues (doubling in volume) as opposed to time. A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.)
• Gently transfer the dough to clean work surface. I prefer to use no flour and a bench scraper at this step, but if you find an un-floured work surface to be difficult, feel free to lightly flour it. [Video guidance is especially helpful for this step.] Fold the dough, envelope style: top third over to the center; bottom third up and over to the center. Then repeat from right to left. Turn the dough over and use your bench scraper to push the dough up, then back towards you to create a tight ball. Repeat this pushing and pulling till you feel you have some tension in your ball. Place the dough ball top side down and let rest 30 to 40 minutes. (FYI: This is called the bench rest.)
• Line a shallow 2-qt bowl (or something similar) with a tea towel or flour sack towel. Flour sack towels are amazing because the dough doesn't stick to them, and therefore you need very little rice flour, but if you only have a tea towel, you will be fine. If you are using a tea towel, sprinkle it generously with rice flour. If you are using a flour sack towel, you can use a lighter hand with the rice flour. After the 30-to 40-minute bench rest, repeat the envelope-style folding and the bench scraper pushing and pulling till you have a tight ball. [Video guidance here.] Place the ball top side down in your prepared towel-lined bowl. Cover bowl with overhanging towel. Transfer bowl to the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. (Note: When you remove your dough from the fridge, visually it will likely look unchanged. This is OK. You do not need to let it then proof at room temperature before baking.)
• Heat oven to 500ºF. Remove your sourdough from the fridge. Open the towel. Place a sheet of parchment over the bowl. Place a plate over the parchment. With a hand firmly on the plate and one on the bowl, turn the dough out onto the parchment-paper lined plate. [Video guidance here.] Carefully remove the bowl and towel. Carefully remove the plate. Brush off any excess rice flour. Use a razor blade to score the dough as you wish. I always do a simple X. Grab the ends of the parchment paper and transfer to the Dutch oven. [Video guidance here.] Cover it. Lower oven temperature to 450ºF, bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover. Lower temperature to 400ºF. Bake for 10 minutes more or until the loaf has darkened to your liking. Transfer loaf to a cooling rack.
• Let loaf cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting.

LIGHT WHOLE WHEAT SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• Whole whether doughs tend to rise faster than white doughs, especially in warm weather. To avoid over proofed dough, I like to start mixing in the afternoon (usually between 2-3 PM) when I know I'll be home to stretch and fold the dough. Please adjust your rise times based on temperature.
• Combine the sourdough starter and water in a large bowl. Add the flour and salt. Mix with a fork and then finish by hand to fully incorporate the flour. It will feel very wet and sticky. Cover with a damp towel or wrap and let rest for 1 hour on your countertop, returning to the bowl after the first 30 minutes to work the dough into a rough ball.
• After the dough has rested for 1 hour, do your first fold.
• Gather a portion of the dough, stretch it upward, and fold it over toward the center of the bowl. Give the bowl a 1/4 turn and repeat 3 more times, stretch and folding the dough to come full circle around the bowl (4 folds = 1 set). If the dough still feels slack after the 1st set, do an additional 4 folds around the bowl to tighten the dough.
• For best results, do 4 sets total spaced 30 minutes apart resting the covered dough in a warm spot in between each set (see tip below). Notice how the dough will tighten after the 4th set. See video for technique.
• When finished with the folds, cover the bowl and continue the bulk rise (untouched) at 75-78 F for about for 2-3 hours. The dough is ready when it has almost doubled in size. Wrap and chill the whole bowl overnight; the dough will continue to rise only slightly in the fridge when the dough is warm.
• Preheat your home oven to the lowest setting for 30- 45 seconds and then shut it off. Place the covered bowl of dough inside to bulk up. The temperature should be 75-78 F and no higher than 80 F. Use an oven thermometer (and common sense) to keep track of the temperature. Dough that is too warm will become wet, sticky, and a tricky to work with. Alternatively, use a proofing box.
• The following morning, make sure the dough has doubled in size. If not, give it more time to bulk up, if needed. This is important to build strength.
• Line a small bowl with a cotton or linen cloth. Sprinkle with flour. You're going to shape the dough twice to build extra strength.
• Remove the cold dough onto a floured surface. Let rest for 10-15 minutes to take some of the chill off. Shape the dough into a loose ball using the envelope technique. Starting at the top of the dough, stretch and fold it over toward the center. Then stretch and fold the bottom of the dough toward the center. Repeat on the left side...and then the right side. Using a bench knife, scoop up the dough and flip it over so the smooth side is facing up. Cover and rest for 20-30 minutes.
• After the dough has rested, flip it over again (the smooth side should be facing down now). Shape it again following the steps above. Flip it back over. With floured hands, gently cup the dough and pull it toward you in a circular motion to tighten its shape. Place the dough into the lined bowl, seam side up. Cover with the cloth overhang.
• Rest in the warm spot you used earlier for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The dough is ready when it looks puffy and has risen slightly, but has not yet doubled in size. The dough should not be very cold prior to baking.
• Preheat your oven to 450 towards the tail end of the second rise.
• Cut a sheet of non-stick parchment paper to fit the size of your baking pot, leaving enough excess around the sides to remove the bread.
• Place the parchment over the dough and invert the bowl to release. Sprinkle the dough with flour and gently rub the surface with your hands. Using the tip of a bread lame, small, serrated knife or a razor blade, make four shallow 4-inch long cuts at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock around the dough. Use the parchment paper to transfer the dough to the baking pot.
• Bake the dough on the center rack for 20 minutes, covered. Remove the lid, and continue to bake for 40 minutes and golden brown.
• When finished, transfer to a wire rack. Cool for 1 hour before slicing, for best texture.

LANDBROT - WHEAT SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Usually, we keep our sourdough starter at 100 percent or higher hydration. That means when we feed it we add flour and water to make a pancake batter thick batter. To start this bread, take a half a cup or so of sourdough culture and add flour until the batter is very stiff.
• Add the flour to an active culture, that is, one that has been recently fed and did not just come out of the refrigerator. Make a stiff dough.
• Cover (we like to cover with plastic wrap) and leave out on the counter for 4 to 6 hours.
• Use 3 tablespoons of the freshened, sourdough culture and add the 1/2 cup water and 1 1/2 cups (total) flours in a bowl and stir until smooth. Cover this dough and keep it on the counter for about 12 hours.
• The next day, add 2 3/4 cups water, 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour and 2 1/2 cups minus 2 tablespoons white flour to a large mixing bowl and stir until all of the flour is wet. Cover and let this dough "autolyse" for 20 minutes to 1 hour.
• Sprinkle the salt over the dough and add the "levain" in several pieces. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes in a mixer or 5 minutes by hand. The dough is very loose. Cover.
• Bulk fermentation is about 2 1/2 hours at room temperature. During this time, you will fold the dough 2 times.
• To fold, turn the dough out on a well-floured board. Fold in thirds (like a letter) horizontally, then stretch the dough and fold in thirds vertically ( folding step by step here ).
• The bread dough now weighs about 3 1/2 pounds. You may make smaller loaves out of it, but we made 1 large loaf for the photos.
• Form the dough into a loose, round shape. Place, seam-side down, into a well-floured proofing basket or an oiled and floured bowl. Our bowl was well-floured but not oiled, and the dough stuck and deflated a bit more than I wanted.
• Cover the bread loosely, without the cover touching the dough. A cardboard box would work well.
• Let this dough rise 2 to 2 1/2 hours at room temperature.
• About an hour before baking, preheat your oven to 440 F with a baking stone if you have it and prepare the oven for steam. ( This bread can also bake without steam, when necessary.)
• Sprinkle parchment paper , which is placed on the back of a cookie sheet or on a baker's peel, with flour or cornmeal or semolina. Unmold the dough from the proofing basket onto the parchment. The dough is still very wet and sticky so try your best not to deflate it.
• Quickly shove the baking sheet into the oven or, using the parchment paper, move the dough onto the baking stone. Use steam for baking, as described here.
• Bake for fifteen minutes, then lower the temperature to 420 F and bake until done, about 60 to 75 minutes more. Test the bread with an instant-read thermometer and make sure that it has an internal temperature of at least 195 F.
• Let the bread cool for several hours on a rack. The longer the bread sits, the more intense its flavor will be. You may freeze this bread.
• Enjoy!

WHOLE WHEAT SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• Combine all of the ingredients, mixing until a shaggy dough forms.
• Let the dough rest, covered, for 20 minutes, then knead until fairly smooth and slightly sticky.
• Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise until almost doubled, about 60 to 90 minutes.
• Gently fold the dough over a few times on a lightly floured work surface.
• FOR SANDWICH STYLE LOAF:.
• Shape it into an 8" log, and place it in a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
• Cover the loaf and let it rise until it's crowned 1" over the rim of the pan, about 60 to 90 minutes.
• Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and a digital thermometer inserted into the center registers 205°F to 210°F.
• Remove the bread from the oven, let it sit in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack to cool.
• FOR ARTISAN STYLE LOAF:.
• Shape the dough into a rough oval and gently wrap it in a clean, floured dishtowel. Allow to rise about 60-90 minutes.
• After about 60 minutes place a flat aluminum baking tray, baking stone or large seasoned cast iron skillet in the oven. Pre-heat the oven to 450F and continue preheating the baking surface for 20 minutes or so.
• Dust the hot baking sheet/stone with cornmeal. Then carefully roll the risen dough out of the towel and onto the baking sheet/stone.
• Bake at 450 for ~15 minutes, then lower temp to 400 and bake another 15 minutes or until temperature inside the loaf measures ~ 200 degrees F.
• 16. Enjoy.