technical equipment, and once you begin to wrap your head around the process, anyone can bake loaves at home, and really enjoy the journey of discovering what works for you.
The gist of it is that you create a leaven by mixing together good-quality flour and water. The yeasts and bacteria already present in the flour thrive and multiply in this wet environment, feasting on the sugars in the flour and creating carbon dioxide (the bubbles that will eventually raise your bread), and lactic acid, which give the bread its signature sour flavour. You have to feed the starter initially to help the network of yeasts and lactobacilli become strong, and once this starter is a happy and lively culture, you introduce it to more flour and water and allow it to continue its work, creating a fermented and flavourful dough that is then baked into delicious bread.
This is a simple, entry level recipe and it’s relatively hands off. The trick is to let the bread work around your schedule, rather than keeping you prisoner. This method consistently delivers loaves of good bread that I base many meals around, and I hope you will too. You will need a few things to get started, but none of them are outrageously expensive or unattainable: an ovenproof ceramic or cast-iron pot to bake your bread in, good-quality organic wholegrain rye flour, some digital scales and a sharp knife or razor blade for slashing the dough before baking. I use a casserole pot I found in a charity shop to bake mine, but you could use a small Le Creuset, a Pyrex dish with a lid or a stewing pot. Please use this as a jumping off point for your sourdough experiments. I’m convinced, when you see what a natural, simple and satisfying process it is, you too will be hooked.
My simple rye flour starter
The first step is to create a happy starter to levain your bread. All you need in order to make your own is some really good-quality wholegrain flour, some filtered water and a sterilised jar.
You need to make the starter about a week before you want to make your bread and you will have to tend to it– for literally a couple of minutes – every day to start with. You should only have to do this once, and then you can keep your starter dormant in the fridge, refreshing it a day before you want to make bread. A good-quality, organic wholegrain rye flour starter creates beautifully leavened and tasty, wholesome bread, but as you get more confident with sourdough you can start to play around with different starters such as wheat and spelt. Wholegrain flours are better for making starters as the bran of the wheat grain is rich in bacterias and yeasts and organic flour is always a better option as there are no yeast and bacteria-killing chemical pesticides and fungicides involved in its production.
1 In a jar, mix 2 heaped teaspoons (about 20g) of rye flour with 40ml lukewarm filtered or spring water to make a thin, pourable mixture. I use a butter knife to mix the flour and water together, incorporating as much air as possible. Scrape down the sides of the jar, rest the lid on top of the jar so that it’s sealed but not tightly closed, and leave in a warm place. In the summer you should be fine to leave your jar anywhere, but in colder months you’ll want to seek out a warm spot on a shelf above a radiator or in an airing cupboard as the starter needs a certain level of warmth to get going. Just don’t forget about it! I set a reminder on my phone to feed mine as I’m a bit forgetful.
2 The next day, add the same amount of water and flour again, mixing and repeating the cycle. Repeat again on the third and fourth day, but this time using 40g flour and 40ml water each day. By the fourth day, you should be seeing some promising signs of life in the form of small bubbles.
3 On the fifth day, tip off 100g of the starter (to use in the Sour Cream Sourdough Crumpets (see here)) and replace what you’ve lost with with 50g each of flour and water. Leave this to ferment for 12 hours, or until it’s looking really nice and bubbly and smelling good and yeasty. By the sixth day you should be good to get baking – see recipe overleaf. Once you’ve used your starter for the recipe overleaf, keep the rest (there should be about 150g) in the fridge, refreshing as per the recipe below each time you want to bake.
TIP: Always scrape down the sides of your jar before you put the starter back in the fridge to make it less likely to go mouldy.
REFRESHING YOUR STARTER FOR BAKING
Every time you want to bake a loaf of sourdough, you now have the wherewithal, but you will need to refresh and replenish your starter a couple of days ahead to do this as it will get sluggish in the fridge. Just tip your starter into a bowl, add 100g each of wholegrain rye flour and lukewarm filtered or spring water and allow it to ferment overnight at room temperature. Set aside about 100g of this mix in a jar to put back in the fridge for next time, and use the rest to bake your bread and make the crumpets (see here). If you have any spare, give it to a friend and spread the sourdough love.
Sourdough loaf
Makes one small loaf
If you want to make and bake your sourdough loaf on the same day, you need to start in the morning and bear in mind that the dough will need at least 6 hours to ferment before you bake. I prefer how the flavour develops with an overnight fermentation in the fridge, but sometimes we don’t think that far ahead. How long you’ll need for the fermentation will depend on how warm your kitchen is and the time of year etc., so you’ll have to play some of this by ear, but I’ve found the only way to crack it is to keep baking until you get a feel for it.
300ml lukewarm water
130g rye starter
390g flour (310g plain/20g rye/60g spelt)
10g sea salt
Optional additions
20g each of linseed, buckwheat, white sesame seeds, walnuts, flax or pumpkin seeds – or a mixture of all of the above. Basically, whatever you fancy or have in your cupboard that needs using
1 Measure your water into a bowl, spoon in the starter and whisk with a fork until dispersed and no lumps remain. Mix the flours, salt and any seeds or nuts in another bowl. Make a shallow well in the flour and pour in the starter mixture. Using a blunt knife, whisk the liquid into the dough, rotating the bowl and cutting through until you have a well combined, sticky ball. Add a little more water if the dough is not coming together. Leave to rest for 30–40 minutes. This process is known as autolyse – while the dough rests, the flour fully absorbs the water, hydrating and kick-starting enzymes that will stimulate gluten development. Don’t skip this step!
2 Still working in the bowl (the dough will be very sticky and wet) use wet fingers or a silicone spatula to dig under the edge of the dough and bring that edge up over the ball. Turn the bowl clockwise and repeat the lifting, stretching and pulling motion a good 10–15 times round the bowl. Cover and leave for 30 minutes, then repeat the lifting, stretching and pulling motion another 15–20 times. This is to develop the gluten structure of the bread. If you are baking the bread the same day, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it somewhere warm, like on a shelf above a radiator, for at least 5 hours. Otherwise (and preferably) leave it overnight in the fridge, covering the bowl with cling film – this will give the bread a fantastic depth of flavour.
3 If it’s been in the fridge, take it out and allow it to warm up for about 20 minutes. Use wet fingers or a clean spatula to repeat the lifting, stretching and pulling motion 12–14 times around the bowl, scraping any dough that sticks to the side of the bowl back into the dough – the aim here is to create air inside the bread so don’t push down too hard. If it’s too tense to stretch and pull this many times then don’t overwork it.
4 Leave the dough for 40 minutes somewhere warm, covered. Repeat the lift and pull motion 10 more times – you should feel now that the dough has some real tension in it.
5 Brush a large sheet of baking parchment with a little olive oil, followed by a little water, and dust with a thin layer of flour. Using a spatula or dough scraper, and without pushing too much air out, gently scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the parchment. Wet your hands slightly and tuck any stray