for bread lovers

Remember that new adventure I told you about a couple of posts back? Well here is the fruits of that adventure or rather the bread of that adventure.

Sourdough bread is not like yeast leavened bread which you can make all in one day. With sourdough you have to be planning ahead in order to make it because you have to make the starter if you don't have any sourdough starter. Then you have to make the sponge and then the final step is the actual bread. So like I said you have to be planning ahead in order to make this.

To make the starter you combine 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of water in a glass or ceramic bowl and stir it up. Then allow it to sit uncovered in a warm place for 2 to 5 days, stirring it occasionally. When the starter is ready it will have a clean, yeasty smell, small bubbles and will have a slightly thicker texture than it had to begin with.

The night before you want to make the bread you need to make the sponge. To make the sponge add 2 cups flour and 2 cups warm water to the starter then cover it and allow it to sit in a warm place overnight. The next step is very important! Before you start making the bread in the morning make sure you take out 1 cup of starter so that you have it to use the next time. If you forget (like I have) you have to start all over making the starter again (which I need to do. . .oops!).

This is the starter.

Now you are ready to make the bread. To the sponge add 6 cups flour (depending on what type of bread you want you can use different flour. I used a combination of unbleached all purpose flour and whole wheat.), 2 cups warm water, 2 tsp. salt, and 2 Tbsp. honey. Combine into a smooth dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough with floured hands for 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary to prevent sticking.


Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl and brush the top with oil. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for about 3 hours or until doubled in size.

Reknead briefly and then split the dough in half and place in greased loaf pans. Brush the tops with a little more oil and allow to rise for 2ish hours. Slice the tops of the loaves and bake for about 40 minutes to an hour (depending on how hot your oven runs) in a 350* oven. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes and remove from the loaf pans. Enjoy warm with butter and strawberry jam or however else you enjoy your bread.