Sourdough Bread

I love bread.  I mean, I LOVE bread!  Especially Sourdough bread.

So I have toyed with the idea of making my own sourdough starter over the years.  I even received a starter from a friend a few years ago, but I just wasn't able to do the care and feeding with everything else in life.

So now with staying at home due to COVID-19 and not travelling due to being laid off due to COVID-19, I've been thinking about it more.

I've been doing very well with my home-grown Kombucha and we're in a good routine now.  So I feel I have space in my mind for another fermented pet.  ;-)

I'm using the instructions from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, but starting with a 1/2 recipe.  Since there are only two of us, and Hubba doesn't eat much gluten, I don't need a huge starter.

This is a 100% rye flour starter per the book's suggestion.

Day 1 - July 4:

Day 2 - July 5:

The start looks interesting.  There are small air bubbles forming already and it's growing in volume.

Per the recipe instructions, I moved the Day 1 start to a second jar.

As mentioned above I'm making a smaller start and I want to keep the entire starter in this 1/2 gallon jar size, so I added only 1/4 cup each of rye flour and cold water.

The move was quite messy, so I think I will keep the remainder in the same jar.


Day 3 - July 6:

It's very interesting to watch this culture grow and shrink each day.  It is very much like having a pet.

You can see from the markings on the jar that it had grown to a point above the label in the last 24 hours.

Using the same jar as yesterday, I added 1/3 cup each of rye flour and water.

Day 4 - July 7:

I remembered that I have a wide-mouth funnel with my canning equipment, so I used it to transfer the culture to a new, clean jar today.

I added a 1/2 cup of rye flour and a little more water today.  The mixture is soupy, which the instructions say it should be.


Day 5 - July 8:

We're starting to have a good amount and I think the frothing period is starting to wind down now.

Day 6 - July 9:

I forgot to take an after-feeding photo.


Day 7 - July 10:

Day 8 - July 11, First Bake:

I have about 3 cups of finished starter.

So I took 2 cups for a loaf and added 1/4 cup of rye flour and water to the remaining starter.

I forgot to photograph the start of this loaf, but I greatly enjoyed kneading this dough.  It's been a long time since I made a loaf of bread.

I have made quick biscuits and pizza dough, but this was a different, wonderful, almost contemplative experience... slowly kneading a dough for 15 minutes.

After doing the math to reduce the recipe to 25%, I added somewhere between 3.5 and 4 cups of all-purpose wheat flour, salt, and water to my 2 cups of rye sourdough starter.

Ready for proofing...

First check at 4 hours...

Second check at 6 hours...

It could probably rise a bit more, but I'm anxious to eat this bread... I baked it for 47 minutes at 350F.

It's definitely bread.  It's definitely sourdough and the rye flavor is coming through.  I will make a point to slash it deeper and ensure there are no creases when set to rise next time.

The crust was a little tough so I think I need to make a more humid environment for proofing next time... and maybe consider two rounds, even though the recipe only called for one.

I'm really happy with this first loaf.  It was delicious with dinner last night and will go well with the meals I have planned for the next few days.

The next round of starter is already in progress.