Roots Recipes
Make a dry sourdough starter that is easy to use & easy to save!
Our recipe is adapted from The Elliott Homestead Everyday Einkorn Bread recipe. I have found that I am not fond of sourdough bread when we use much einkorn flour, the dough was much harder to work with & my family wasn't as fond of the flavor & texture. Rather than using einkorn, we use any brand of organic all purpose flour. Look for organic, unbleached & unbromated all purpose or bread flour. We have had great results with both! We have also used Bob's Red Mill conventional flours when we could not find organic. We made delicious breads from Bob's Red Mill Unbleached White & Unbleached Artisan Flours. We do love feeding our sourdough starter with Jovial Foods All Purpose Einkorn Flour & sometimes we do use this flour in our sourdough bread recipe. I will publish our einkorn recipe in the near future as well.
From our research, we've found that Bob's Red Mill is non GMO, unbleached & unbromated. Here's what Bob's Red Mill has to say about bleaching & bromating, "Bleaching agents and bromate are sometimes added to flours, but not ours! The bleaching process makes flour whiter, but we use a sifting process to achieve the same result. Bromate can be added to flour to enhance the rise of the dough when baking, but we opt for adding malted barley, which has the same effect naturally. For more information and a deeper dive into the topics of unbleached and unbromated flour, check out our blog post."
“What does "bromated" mean? Bromated, by far the less common of the two terms, is a process in which potassium bromate (bromate) is added to flour to improve baked goods. Why would bromate be added to flour? It is added to improve rise and elasticity of dough. In many countries around the world, bromate is a banned food additive. It is not banned in the United States. Why you ask? In theory, because bromate is an oxidizing agent, it should be fully consumed in the bread baking process and there should be no bromate in the finished good. However, if the conditions are off (think not baked long enough), some bromate will still be present in the baked good and that, in our opinion, is not good. You see, bromate has been linked to cancer in some lab studies and, while it is not a banned food additive, the FDA discourages its use by bakers."
Our recipe is adapted from The Elliott Homestead Everyday Einkorn Bread recipe. I have found that I am not fond of sourdough bread when we use much einkorn flour, the dough was much harder to work with & my family wasn't as fond of the flavor & texture. Rather than using einkorn, we use any brand of organic all purpose flour. Look for organic, unbleached & unbromated all purpose or bread flour. We have had great results with both! We have also used Bob's Red Mill conventional flours when we could not find organic. We made delicious breads from Bob's Red Mill Unbleached White & Unbleached Artisan Flours. We do love feeding our sourdough starter with Jovial Foods All Purpose Einkorn Flour & sometimes we do use this flour in our sourdough bread recipe. I will publish our einkorn recipe in the near future as well.
From our research, we've found that Bob's Red Mill is non GMO, unbleached & unbromated. Here's what Bob's Red Mill has to say about bleaching & bromating, "Bleaching agents and bromate are sometimes added to flours, but not ours! The bleaching process makes flour whiter, but we use a sifting process to achieve the same result. Bromate can be added to flour to enhance the rise of the dough when baking, but we opt for adding malted barley, which has the same effect naturally. For more information and a deeper dive into the topics of unbleached and unbromated flour, check out our blog post."
“What does "bromated" mean? Bromated, by far the less common of the two terms, is a process in which potassium bromate (bromate) is added to flour to improve baked goods. Why would bromate be added to flour? It is added to improve rise and elasticity of dough. In many countries around the world, bromate is a banned food additive. It is not banned in the United States. Why you ask? In theory, because bromate is an oxidizing agent, it should be fully consumed in the bread baking process and there should be no bromate in the finished good. However, if the conditions are off (think not baked long enough), some bromate will still be present in the baked good and that, in our opinion, is not good. You see, bromate has been linked to cancer in some lab studies and, while it is not a banned food additive, the FDA discourages its use by bakers."
🥖 Sourdough Bread {photos coming!}
30 grams sourdough starter
120 grams warm water
130 grams all-purpose flour
315 grams warm water
600 grams all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1. In a large non-metallic bowl, combine 30g sourdough starter & 120g of warm water, mix with a fork until the starter fully incorporates. Add in 130g of all-purpose flour & combine until smooth. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 3-6 hours or until small bubbles begin to appear on the surface. The temperature of your kitchen will determine how long this takes. Start checking at the 3 hour mark.
2. Add 315 grams of warm water to your bubbly sourdough & stir to combine. In a separate bowl, weigh 600 grams of all-purpose flour & combine with 2 tsp salt. Pour half of this mixture into your bubbly sourdough & use a wooden spoon to gently mix it in. Add the rest of your flour/salt mixture & mix with your wooden spoon to fully incorporate. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap again & set aside for just fifteen minutes.
3. Wet your fingertips & loosen the dough from the sides of the bowl & stretch & fold the dough in on itself from each side, working all the way around (so you will stretch & fold about 4-5 times total). Let rest for fifteen minutes.
Repeat the dough stretching & folding process two more times, letting the dough rest 15 minutes between. Set aside for 4-6 hours to proof. Once again, timing will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. Your dough should increase by about 30% during this time.
4. Use a bowl scraper (or mason jar lid) to scrape the proofed dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently shape the dough by grabbing the edges of the dough and pressing them back into the center with your fingertips & from dough into a round ball. Transfer to a floured proofing basket or bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let proof at room temperature for 1 hour.
PREHEAT a Dutch oven with it's lid in a 475-degree oven while your dough is proofing. I usually do this about 30 minutes into the proofing time to ensure the Dutch oven is nice & hot at that 475 degree temp.
5. When you’re ready to bake the bread, remove the Dutch oven from the hot oven. Remove the lid, then carefully flip the dough from the proofing basket/bowl into the Dutch oven. Slice the top of the dough with a razor blade or sharp knife. Replace the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove the lid and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the bread is deeply golden and sounds hollow when tapped.
6. Carefully turn out your bread from the Dutch oven onto a wire cooling rack. Let cool for at least an hour before slicing. (Cutting the bread too soon will result in a gummy texture, so be patient!)
30 grams sourdough starter
120 grams warm water
130 grams all-purpose flour
315 grams warm water
600 grams all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1. In a large non-metallic bowl, combine 30g sourdough starter & 120g of warm water, mix with a fork until the starter fully incorporates. Add in 130g of all-purpose flour & combine until smooth. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 3-6 hours or until small bubbles begin to appear on the surface. The temperature of your kitchen will determine how long this takes. Start checking at the 3 hour mark.
2. Add 315 grams of warm water to your bubbly sourdough & stir to combine. In a separate bowl, weigh 600 grams of all-purpose flour & combine with 2 tsp salt. Pour half of this mixture into your bubbly sourdough & use a wooden spoon to gently mix it in. Add the rest of your flour/salt mixture & mix with your wooden spoon to fully incorporate. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap again & set aside for just fifteen minutes.
3. Wet your fingertips & loosen the dough from the sides of the bowl & stretch & fold the dough in on itself from each side, working all the way around (so you will stretch & fold about 4-5 times total). Let rest for fifteen minutes.
Repeat the dough stretching & folding process two more times, letting the dough rest 15 minutes between. Set aside for 4-6 hours to proof. Once again, timing will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. Your dough should increase by about 30% during this time.
4. Use a bowl scraper (or mason jar lid) to scrape the proofed dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently shape the dough by grabbing the edges of the dough and pressing them back into the center with your fingertips & from dough into a round ball. Transfer to a floured proofing basket or bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let proof at room temperature for 1 hour.
PREHEAT a Dutch oven with it's lid in a 475-degree oven while your dough is proofing. I usually do this about 30 minutes into the proofing time to ensure the Dutch oven is nice & hot at that 475 degree temp.
5. When you’re ready to bake the bread, remove the Dutch oven from the hot oven. Remove the lid, then carefully flip the dough from the proofing basket/bowl into the Dutch oven. Slice the top of the dough with a razor blade or sharp knife. Replace the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove the lid and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the bread is deeply golden and sounds hollow when tapped.
6. Carefully turn out your bread from the Dutch oven onto a wire cooling rack. Let cool for at least an hour before slicing. (Cutting the bread too soon will result in a gummy texture, so be patient!)
FEED YOUR "DRY" SOURDOUGH STARTER
Remember to feed your starter so you don't use it all up! You only need 10 grams of starter to keep it going, but I like to feed mine before it gets that low. Here's how!
10 grams sourdough starter
30 grams warm water
60 grams all purpose flour
Mix 30g warm water into 10g sourdough starter until starter mostly dissolves. Add in 60g all purpose flour & mix until well incorporated. You can work with it in your hands a bit to help catch some of the wild yeast in your atmosphere. Place in a pint size mason jar or glass container with a loose lid. Leave at room temperature for 6-10 hours until you see bubbles forming. I usually do this overnight & by morning, I have a refreshed starter!
If you do not see bubbles forming by 10 hours, go ahead and add 10 more grams of starter, 30 grams water & 60 grams flour. Wait 6-10 hours again & you should see those bubbles! Your starter should smell really good, like a good sourdough bread yeast.
Why a "DRY" starter?
One of my good friends gave me this "dry" sourdough starter and said it was the easiest starter she'd ever used... I was for sure intrigued and I began researching how & why it was different than what I was used to... no feeding my starter regularly? no discarding? no waste?
This "dry" starter isn't REALLY dry, but I'd say much drier than the traditional starter. I've also heard it called a "stiff starter". Rather than feeding this starter with equal parts of flour & water, we're using half the amount of water to flour, resulting in a more dry and potent starter! I love it! It's consistent & since it's more potent, you need much less for your baked goods! Fantastic results & it's not fussy either! You keep this dry starter in your refrigerator & just grab a glop when you want to bake! Going on a vacation or just not into making anything for a while? No worries! This baby will be so happy in the back of your fridge until you're ready for it! To warm it up and make it active when I bake, I like to make sure my warm water is about 100-110 degrees if my starter is coming straight from the fridge. Warms it right up & its happily bubbling in that 3-6 hour initial first step of baking. I've also found I can start a sourdough recipe before I head to bed & finish up in the morning... so easy!
Remember to feed your starter so you don't use it all up! You only need 10 grams of starter to keep it going, but I like to feed mine before it gets that low. Here's how!
10 grams sourdough starter
30 grams warm water
60 grams all purpose flour
Mix 30g warm water into 10g sourdough starter until starter mostly dissolves. Add in 60g all purpose flour & mix until well incorporated. You can work with it in your hands a bit to help catch some of the wild yeast in your atmosphere. Place in a pint size mason jar or glass container with a loose lid. Leave at room temperature for 6-10 hours until you see bubbles forming. I usually do this overnight & by morning, I have a refreshed starter!
If you do not see bubbles forming by 10 hours, go ahead and add 10 more grams of starter, 30 grams water & 60 grams flour. Wait 6-10 hours again & you should see those bubbles! Your starter should smell really good, like a good sourdough bread yeast.
Why a "DRY" starter?
One of my good friends gave me this "dry" sourdough starter and said it was the easiest starter she'd ever used... I was for sure intrigued and I began researching how & why it was different than what I was used to... no feeding my starter regularly? no discarding? no waste?
This "dry" starter isn't REALLY dry, but I'd say much drier than the traditional starter. I've also heard it called a "stiff starter". Rather than feeding this starter with equal parts of flour & water, we're using half the amount of water to flour, resulting in a more dry and potent starter! I love it! It's consistent & since it's more potent, you need much less for your baked goods! Fantastic results & it's not fussy either! You keep this dry starter in your refrigerator & just grab a glop when you want to bake! Going on a vacation or just not into making anything for a while? No worries! This baby will be so happy in the back of your fridge until you're ready for it! To warm it up and make it active when I bake, I like to make sure my warm water is about 100-110 degrees if my starter is coming straight from the fridge. Warms it right up & its happily bubbling in that 3-6 hour initial first step of baking. I've also found I can start a sourdough recipe before I head to bed & finish up in the morning... so easy!