Let's make some bread!

Now that we have finished our fermented sourdough starter, we are ready to make some bread!
Take 1 cup of the starter, 3/4 cup purified water, and 1 cup of unbleached organic flour and mix into a bowl.
But like before... we need to let this mixture ferment.
So let it sit for at least 2-4 hours...


After we let that ferment for a bit, we can add the rest of the ingredients.

Add 2 cups of whole wheat and rye blend (I chose to use just wheat), 3 cups of unbleached organic flour, 2 tablespoons raw honey, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/3 cups of water.

Mix all of the ingredients together.
And guess what... we let that ferment again!
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and let it ferment for at least 6-8 hours preferably in a warm spot.




 

Next, get your muscles warmed up because it's time to knead the bread!

Add only a small amount of flour to your counter, and knead the dough for roughly 5 minutes.
Let it rest for 10 minutes, and then knead once more for about 5 minutes.







This recipe will make 2 decent size loafs, probably 25 ounces each. So you can split the dough into 2 halves.
Shape them into tight balls and put them in a proofing basket to rise (or any kind of bowl with a linen cloth will also work fine.)
Give the bread about 2-4 hours to rise.



After all of this tough waiting, its time to actually bake the bread!
Preheat the oven for 400 degrees and place the formed dough onto a baking stone (or on a cast iron skillet will work great too.)

Putting down some oats or a light flour dusting on the bottom of the pan will help prevent the dough from sticking.
If you like your bread to have a little bit more of a crunchy crust like I do, you can steam your oven by misting or adding in about a cup of water into the oven once its fully heated.

And then here's the best part....
actually enjoying your deliciously warm fermented sourdough bread! 

Serve with soup, fondue, for sandwiches, or just dig into it right out of the oven!