24 Hour 100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

In general, when you're talking about whole grain sourdough, the longer the soak, the easier it is to digest, and the more of the whole grain's nutrition you will get out of it. I finally figured out a recipe that combines nutrition-packed whole wheat with only natural sourdough leavening, for a full 24 hours. It has quickly become our family's "daily bread" - we use it for everything from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to grilled cheese, garlic bread, and turkey melts (and if there's any leftovers, Pumpkin Pie French Toast Bake like we had this morning!)

24 Hour Sourdough Bread
Mix together for your sponge:
.6 oz starter (I have a rye starter)
5 oz water
8 oz flour (I use fresh-ground whole wheat)

In a separate bowl, mix together:
12.2 oz water
12.7 oz flour (again, wheat flour I grind myself, but store-bought probably works fine, too)
.4 oz salt
Let sit on the counter, covered, for 16 hours.

After they've rested, mix the contents of the two bowls together and place into a bread pan. Let rise, covered, another 6-8 more hours (depending on your room temperature; it might rise more quickly in the summer when the room is warmer). Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Let cool at least half an hour before slicing.

I'd like to thank the folks over at The Fresh Loaf, where I found great information when I was working on this recipe!

Rye/Wheat vs. Rye/White Bread Bake-off

After learning how much more phytase (which of course neutralizes the mineral-binding phytate) rye flour has than wheat, and reading how the healthy remote Swiss studied by Weston Price lived on mainly rye bread and dairy products, I've been trying to use more rye flour in my bread making. Unfortunately, using 100% rye flour makes for a very dense loaf (especially with my sourdough recipe), so I've been mixing rye flour and white all-purpose flour in my bread lately, thinking whole wheat would still be too heavy. On a whim, I decided to try a side-by-side comparison of a half whole wheat/half rye loaf of pumpkin sourdough bread, and another using the same recipe, but with half white flour and half rye. Here were the results:

The loaf on the left is the one with white flour, and as you can see it did rise a little bit more (which caused it to crack around the bottom). I had flattened it a bit more when I put it on the pan, so it's a bit wider, but pretty much as tall, as the whole wheat loaf on the right. All in all, though, the difference is too small to convince me the loss of nutrition is worth it, so I think I'll be using the whole wheat rather than the white flour.

Sourdough Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls with Pumpkin Spice Honey Butter Filling and Cream Cheese Honey Frosting

Wow, that's a long title! These are a little putzy to make, but so worth it. We made these for breakfast Christmas morning (with homemade raw eggnog on the side - yum!)

Sourdough Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls
with Pumpkin Spice Honey Butter Filling
and Cream Cheese Honey Frosting 
(makes 12)

Sponge (must rise overnight):

1/2 cup starter, at room temperature

3/4 cup warm water

2 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour

1/2 cup plain mashed potatoes (or pureed pumpkin works great, too!)

Mix these together in a large glass bowl, cover with cheesecloth, and let rise overnight, or until light and bubbly.

In the morning, stir down the sponge and add:

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil, lard, melted butter, or coconut oil

2 Tbsp honey

2 cups whole wheat flour

Mix all well (I start with a spoon and finish with my hands as it gets thick), and add more flour as needed to prevent stickiness. Dough should be soft and smooth yet pliable. Place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover and let rise until double in a warm place (about 2 hours). Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, about 21x16 inches and ¼ inch thick. 

Spread with filling:

1/3 cup butter, melted

½ cup honey

2 Tbsp cinnamon

Working carefully, roll the dough into a long tube (so that it stays 21 inches long). Cut the dough into 12 slices (dental floss works great for this – wrap it around the roll, then pull ends apart, and it will slice right through without squashing the dough). Place in a 9x13 glass pan, loosely covered, and let rise until double. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. 

While rolls bake, prepare icing:

8 oz softened cream cheese

1-2 Tbsp honey (more or less to taste)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix well and drizzle over rolls.

Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

Now that the garden is done (phew! is anyone else completely exhausted for the entire month of September?) I've had more time to play around in the kitchen. We are blissfully overrun with pumpkins from our garden this year, so I was browsing the internet for a sourdough pumpkin sweet bread. I didn't have any luck (if you know of a good one, please let me know!) but it did get me thinking, and just for kicks I decided to try swapping out pumpkin for the potato in my potato sourdough bread recipe.

It worked beautifully - it's not anything like the pumpkin bread you see at bake sales; it's really more like a slightly orange sandwich loaf. You can barely taste the pumpkin. But it rises beautifully and tastes delicious (as you can see, more than half of it was gone before I got a chance to take a picture!)

I am going to continue trying to find a sourdough pumpkin sweet bread, but for now we're really enjoying this recipe (especially smothered with pumpkin spice honey butter. Mmmm . . .)

Whole Wheat Sourdough Potato Bread

As you've probably noticed, I like playing around with sourdough bread recipes. While I love my Super Simple Sourdough Bread, it tends to be a little too sour for my kids' taste, and a little dense for my husband's. So I've reverted back to an old favorite, sourdough potato bread. It's not quite as simple, and a little less healthy, but it doesn't taste so sour and rises beautifully (sometimes too much! I just had a loaf overflow onto the bottom of the oven because I left the dough a little too wet). It's a great sandwich loaf for the whole family.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Potato Bread
Sponge:
1/2 cup sourdough starter
3/4 cup water
1 cup freshly ground whole wheat flour (NOT sprouted!)
1/2 cup plain mashed potatoes (no butter or salt)

Mix these ingredients together in a large bowl, cover loosely, and let rise overnight. This will rise a LOT so make sure your bowl is at least twice as big as your sponge.

In the morning, stir down the sponge and add:
1/3 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil, lard, melted butter, or liquid coconut oil
2 Tbsp honey
3 cups whole wheat flour (NOT sprouted!)

Mix all well (I do this in my Kitchen Aid mixer). Add more flour if needed to prevent stickiness. Dough should be soft and firm yet pliable. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

Punch down and place into loaf pan; cover loosely and let rise again.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. If you prefer a softer crust, cover until completely cooled.

Well, What Do You Know?

Just for comparison, I made two batches of bread dough yesterday - one with my normal whole wheat sourdough recipe, the other substituting unbleached white flour (but still using the whole wheat sourdough starter). I wanted to see just how much higher the white flour loaf would rise, in the interest of finding out if it would be worthwhile switching to white flour for my sourdough loaves (they can be pretty dense).

But lo and behold, four hours after I mixed both batches of dough and set them out to rise, here's what I found:

As you can see, the darker loaf, on the right, rose better than the loaf with white flour on the left! What a pleasant surprise! I guess I'll stick with the whole wheat after all!

Whole Wheat Sourdough Raisin (or Craisin) Bread

For a special treat, I'll serve this with breakfast (to rave reviews from the kiddos). Toasted and spread with some fresh butter, it sets a sweet tone for the rest of the day.

For the record, I always make this with dried cranberries (craisins) instead of raisins; I just like them better!

Whole Wheat Sourdough Raisin (Craisin) Bread
2 cups whole wheat flour (not sprouted! Read why not here)
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup melted butter or lard
1/4 cup honey
2 cups sourdough starter
Mix until dough forms a ball (I use my trusty Kitchen Aid stand mixer). Add about a half cup of raisins and/or dried cranberries and mix until well incorporated. Place in your greased bread pan and let rise until doubled (about 4 hours). Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

I don't use cinnamon in this recipe because cinnamon is slightly anti-biotic, and inhibits the natural yeasts from making it rise properly.

This post is part of Fight Back Friday and Make Your Own! Monday.

Nutty Whole Wheat Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes (Or Waffles)

I know I said I'd be posting about books, but I just had to throw in this recipe. We made these this morning, and they were so yummy!

Pumpkin Sourdough Pancakes (or Waffles)
Overnight Sponge:
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup sourdough starter
Mix all together, cover loosely, and let rest at room temperature overnight.

The next morning, add:
1/4 cup melted butter or lard
1 cup pureed pumpkin
2 eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup ground walnuts or pecans (optional)

Fry like pancakes, or you can also prepare these in a waffle iron.

Storing Starter Cultures

With holiday travel looming closer, I'm finding "sitters" for the cat and the chickens (we're taking the dog along), and realized I should make a note of how I take care of my microscopic "pets" while I'm gone.

Starter cultures don't usually need a babysitter if you go on vacation, but here are a few tips for keeping them healthy and happy while you're gone:

Sourdough: I generally just feed my starter and put it in the fridge, tightly covered. (I try to use up all but about a cup of the starter before I store it, just to conserve space.) When I get back, I pull it out, feed it, and give it at least four hours to get back up to room temperature and "wake up" again before I use it for baking.
You can also freeze a portion of your sourdough starter; again, just bring it back up to room temperature before you feed it. It may take a couple of days to get back up to full strength again.
Yogurt: Unless you're planning to be gone for more than a week, yogurt doesn't usually need any special treatment. It will easily last a few weeks in the fridge (although it's best if you make a new batch right before you leave, so it will be as strong as possible when you return).

Buttermilk: This is pretty much the same as yogurt; it should last just fine in the fridge.

Both yogurt and buttermilk can be dried for longer storage if necessary.



My sourdough and yogurt, all ready for their nap in the fridge while we're gone!

Sourdough Stollen

Being of nearly 100% German descent, this recipe is a must-make for Christmas. I tweaked the original recipe to make it sourdough, but it tastes basically the same. We like to have it for breakfast (smothered in butter, of course!) as often as we can during the Christmas season.

Sourdough Stollen
3/4 cup dried fruit (candied lemon peel, raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, etc.)
1/2 cup brandy or water
Soak together at least 15 minutes.
In a separate bowl, mix together:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
2 cups sourdough starter
Add fruit and mix well. Shape into loaves,* then let rise at least 4 hours. Brush with egg wash (1 egg, beaten, mixed with 1 tsp water) and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

*For braided stollen, cut into two loaves. Cut each loaf into three equal sections. Roll each section into a short rope about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and about 9 inches long. Lay these three side by side, pinch together at one end, and gently braid, loosely, just a few crossings. Pinch together the end pieces and shape with hands to make a nice oval shape.