Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (can be omitted)
- 3 Tablespoons sourdough starter
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together all ingredients. Cover and let rest at room temperature.
- After 1 – 4 hours, fold the dough by taking a fork on one edge, grab a bit of dough and pull it up and over the rest of the dough. Rotate and repeat until you’ve gone all the way around the bowl. Cover again and let rest for longer for a total rise time of 5 – 12 hours or until the dough is nice and bubbly.
- Preheat the oven to 450 F. Generously oil a flat surface with olive oil, then slowly and gently dump the dough out onto the oiled surface. When it falls out, it will be sort of oblong shaped. Use a dough cutter to cut the dough in half lengthwise.
- Oil your hands and with two hands, gently, carefully lift each piece of the dough into a French bread pan. Don’t worry about shaping it … let it be rustic. You want a minimum of handling to get a nice crumb. If you like, you can slash the tops with an oiled bread lam or serrated knife. Brush the tops of the loaves with olive oil.
- Bake at 450 F. for about 20 minutes or until a nice golden brown on top and the loaves are firm when tapped with your finger.
Notes
If you want an extra chewy crust, you can spritz the bread with water about half-way through baking. Use a spray bottle with a fine mist.
Is it sourdough if you add yeast? I would contend that it IS sourdough because it contains sourdough starter, but if you’re concerned about adding yeast, then leave it out. Rise times will be longer without the yeast and your bread will taste more “sour”.
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Keywords: Yeast, Bread, Sourdough