Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter Food

WHOLE-WHEAT SOURDOUGH STARTER

Steps:

• Day 1: Combine 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour and 1/2 cup of water in a 2-quart plastic or glass container. Do not use a metal container. Stir until the flour and water are well mixed. No dry flour should remain. Cover the container with plastic wrap or a loose-fitting lid. If you are using a glass jar, do not tighten the lid. Expanding gasses can break the glass. Let the mixture sit for 24 hours in a warm place, 75-90 degrees F. If the temperature is lower, the starter may take a few days longer to fully develop.
• Day 2: Discard half the starter, leaving 4 ounces in the container. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour and 1/2 cup of water. Stir well and cover loosely. Let the starter sit for 24 hours. Near the end of day 2, the mixture should have expanded a little and some small bubbles should have appeared.
• Day 3: Repeat the feeding process from Step 2, discarding half the starter and adding 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour and 1/2 cup of water.
• Day 4: The starter should have expanded and should have a distinct, sour odor. More bubbles should be visible on top. Begin a 12-hour feeding schedule: In the morning, repeat the feeding process from Step 2, discarding half the starter and adding 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour and 1/2 cup of water. Repeat the feeding process again 12 hours later.
• Day 5: The starter should have a ripe, sour odor. Small bubbles should be abundant throughout the mixture. Discard half the starter, leaving 4 ounces in the container. This time, feed with 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup water. Continue the 12-hour feeding schedule, discarding half the starter and using 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup water for each feed until you are ready to bake. Or, store the starter in the refrigerator and feed once per week.

SOURDOUGH WHOLE WHEAT BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
• Mix all dry ingredients in a medium size bowl.
• Cut in the butter and work in starter until well blended.
• Turn out onto floured surface and knead gently for 2 minutes.
• Roll dough to 1 inch thickness.
• Cut into 2-inch rounds with biscuit butter and place on prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake for 10 minutes and serve hot from the oven.

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:

• Combine the wheat flour and water. Cover and leave overnight on the countertop.
• In the morning, mix in the salt and starter. Cover and ferment the dough for 10-12 hours on the countertop (slap and fold the dough an hour before shaping it into loaves.)
• On a well-floured surface, divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Bring the edges to the center to form a ball of dough. Repeat until the loaf is structured-well.
• Place each loaf onto lightly floured parchment paper, and seam down. Transfer into 2-quart pots. Score and rest the loaves while the oven pre-heats.
• Bake loaves at 500°F covered for 25 minutes. Then bake for 15-20 minutes more, uncovered.

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.