Easy Sourdough Loaf

What is better than Fresh Bread right out of the oven!?! Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. 

This recipe is not only easy, but uses minimal ingredients. It also utilizes the benefit of our very own Home Made Natural Starter in place of store bought yeast. 

The benefits of using our own natural starter is that we can ferment the bread longer helping reduce phytic acid, increase mineral absorption, break down gluten, and  increase pre-biotics.

I try to keep things as simple as possible here, so while there are entire websites written on bread making,  I’m going to give you the simplest way to make this bread!

Ingredients:

1 cup fed and bubbly starter
2 1/4 cup filtered water
5 1/2 cups organic flour (I use 2 cups whole wheat and 3 1/2 cups all purpose)
1 TB good mineral salt

See…simple, healthy ingredients!

1) Mix the starter with the water until combined in your mixer with a dough hook or by hand using a dough whisk.

2) Add in 2 cups flour and let sit for 15 minutes. This helps the flour absorb the water properly.

3) Slowly add the rest of the flour about 1/2 cup at a time allowing to incorporate. 

4) When all of the flour is combined into the mixture, add the salt.

5) Allow it all to mix for about 2 minutes until it comes together. This mixture will still be pretty wet after 2 minutes.

6) Grease a glass bowl and transfer the mixture to the bowl using wet hands. Cover and let sit 15 minutes.

7) (This step is optional, but really helps create a great rise in the bread) After 15 minutes, use a wet hand to fold the dough in onto itself from 4 sides.

8) Repeat this folding again every 15 minutes for a total of 4 times. 

9) Cover the dough and let sit for about 8 hours until doubled in size.

10) After the dough has doubled in size, remove the dough from the bowl onto a floured surface. Fold the dough in on itself like an envelope, continuing to fold onto the bottom until a round ball forms.

11) Place the ball back in the glass bowl and cover. Let sit on the counter for another 6 hours or you can put in the fridge for up to 2 days to allow a longer cold fermentation. 

12) When ready to cook, place dutch oven into the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

13) Carefully remove hot dutch oven pan and place parchment paper into the dutch oven.

14) Carefully place dough ball into the parchment lined dutch oven and quickly score an X over the top than place the lid on.

15) Allow to cook for 40 minutes. 

16) Remove cover and cook another 10 minutes. 

17) Remove from oven and place bread on cooling rack. Allow to cool for at least an hour before cutting. (waiting will be the hardest part!)