Sourdough Bread With Fresh Milled Flour
Sourdough bread has incredible health benefits, but when made with fresh milled flour it is even more nutrient dense! Learn how to make delicious bread in the true traditional way of bread making, with whole grains and natural fermentation with this easy to follow recipe.
Equipment
- 1 Glass Bowl
- 1 Grain mill optional, or you can purchase fresh milled flour
- Plastic Wrap
- 1 Dutch Oven
- 1 Bench scraper
- 1 Razor blade or bread lame
Ingredients
- 2 cups wheat berries to make 3 cups of flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt my favorite is redmonds real salt
- 1/4 cup active sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 -2 cups filtered water
Instructions
Feed Your Sourdough Starter
- Roughly 4-12 hours before you plan to mix bread dough, feed your starter. I usually aim for a 1-1-1 ratio (sourdough starter-flour-water).
Mill Your Wheat Berries (If Using)
- Mill your wheat berries on the finest flour setting.
Mix Your Bread Dough
- Combine the fresh flour and salt in a large glass bowl. Mix together
- Add the active sourdough starter and mix until just combined.
- Add the water, starting with 1 1/2 cup. If your dough is too dry, continue adding up to 1/2 cup more. The amount of water you need depends on how dry it is where you live, and the type of wheat berries you are using.
Cover & Ferment the Dough
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel, and put it somewhere warm in your kitchen.
- Optional: One Set of Stretch & Folds. 30 minutes into the bulk fermentation, you can do an optional set of stretch an folds.
- Recover the dough, and allow it to bulk ferment for anywhere from 6-12 hours until it has roughly doubled in size. One trick you can use if your dough doesn't seem to be rising, is to put it in the oven and turn the light on.
Preheat the Oven
- Once your dough has doubled in size, preheat the oven to 450. Put the dutch oven you plan to bake with inside the oven while you preheat it!
Shape & Final Proof
- While your oven is preheating, you are going to shape your loaf and allow it to have a second rise.
- Sprinkle your work surface with flour. Spread the dough out on the counter or cutting board in a rectangular shape. You may need to sprinkle more on top of the dough to avoid sticking while you work.
- Fold the dough in 3rds (the long way), and then fold the other half back on top of the first half. If you find the dough is sticking, use a bench scraper to help fold.
- Rotate the dough and roll it up the opposite direction.
- Tuck the ends underneath, spinning it gently as you go until the entire surface is round and flat.
- Now you want to protect the shape you just created for the final proof. Sprinkle a piece of parchment paper with flour. Move the dough onto the parchment paper, and place the parchment paper into a bowl. Cover it with a tea towel.
- Let the dough rest 30 minutes – 1 hour, or until it is puffy. It does not need to double in size. I have found that often 30 minutes is enough for my bread.
Score & Bake
- Dust the bread dough with a little more flour, and smooth it out with your hands.
- Using a sharp knife, razor blade or a bread lame, make a large slash down the center (or slightly off center) of the dough. You want at least one large score (2-3 inches long) to allow the bread to expand, and you can add smaller “aesthetic” scores if you want.
- Remove the hot dutch oven from the heated oven. Carefully place the parchment paper and bread dough into the dutch oven, and cover with the lid.
- Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on, then carefully remove the lid and bake for 22 more minutes.
Cool & Enjoy!
- Remove the dutch oven, and take the bread out of the dutch oven right away. It should be crispy on the top and have a nice round shape.
- Allow the bread to cool on a wire rack for at least an hour (it really helps with the final texture if you can be patient!).
- Enjoy your fresh bread with some grass-fed butter, or dip it into some homemade soup.