SOURDOUGH STARTER & BREAD RECIPE BY A CANUCK CHEF (WHOLE WHEAT) 2021

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Today I bring you a famous recipe, for homemade, Whole Wheat SourDough Bread. It includes the SourDough Starter, as well as the bread recipe. It was given to me , in strict confidence by a wily bread chef, MK and her assistant TK. To keep their recipe secret, they move around a lot, from here, to Northern Ontario, and places in-between. They have also left, “little batches of starter” in Saskatchewan and on a lake in Ontario. I followed the recipes (as much as my personality would allow me to), and after a couple of minor hiccups, and some loaned starter from MK, I floundered my way thru, and was rewarded, with the most delicious Sourdough bread, that I have ever eaten. The starter, once made can be kept and reproduced for a long time, MK’s is now going for about one year. Enjoy!

SOURDOUGH STARTER
Day 1- Combine 1 cup WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR (113 grams- I usually weigh everything) with 1/2 cup (113grams) room temperature water in a quart glass jar or non- reactive container. Stir everything together thoroughly. Make sure there is no dry flour anywhere. Cover loosely ( I usually perch the lid on the jar.) let sit at room temperature of 24 hours.

NOTE: I often put it in the microwave (I leave the microwave light on, by covering the starter, with a towel, and leaving a piece sticking out the door, which keeps the light on. It stays a bit warmer that way.)

Day2- stir starter well. Discard about 1/2 cup of starter. (You can save the discard in a separate container to use for other things like waffles). Add 113 grams unbleached all purpose flour and 113 grams lukewarm water to the remainder and mix well. Cover loosely again and let sit at room temp or in microwave for 24 hours.

Day 3 You should start seeing some bubbling by now. Now you should do the discard and feed twice a day approximately 12 hours apart so morning and night work well. You can throw the discard or save for other things. Be sure to mix well before you discard and mix again after feeding.

Days 4 and 5- Repeat the discard and feed. By the end of of this day, the starter should have doubled in volume. If not, continue with the 12 hour discards and feeding for 1 or 2 more days.

Once the starter is ready, give it one last feeding ( always discard before a feeding). Let it sit at room temp for 6-8 hours, then it is ready to use. Now that your starter is ready you can store it in the frig and feed once a week. One has been going strong since April of last year.

When I am going to use it in a recipe, I pour the discard into a clean jar and feed both jars with 113 grams each of unbleached flour and lukewarm water. I let them sit on the counter until they have almost doubled then make the bread making sure I have saved at least a half a cup of the starter to feed and store in frig. I find I sometimes need 2 cups of starter and I find dividing it in half and feeding both halves instead of discarding helps me do this.

Bread recipe to follow! Good luck!

CANUCK – WHOLE WHEAT SOURDOUGH BREAD (Note: In the recipe “T” means TABLESPOON, “t” means teaspoon.

1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup + 2 T. Lukewarm water
2 T. Canola or vegetable oil

3 cups 100% whole-wheat flour
2 T. gluten (optional)
1 t. Salt ( I use kosher salt)
1 t. Instant yeast

Whisk dry ingredients together. Add starter, water and oil and mix until flour well combined and shaggy dough forms. Cover with a clean towel and let rest 20 minutes.

Knead until fairly smooth. It will be a little sticky. Place in greased bowl , cover and let rise in warm spot for 90 minutes. I put it in microwave or oven with the light on for warmth. Punch dough down and shape into a loaf. Place in a greased 8X5 loaf pan. Let rise for 90 minutes. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes then remove and cool on wire rack.