Bread cooked without yeast fermentation is the familiar Armenian thin lavash, Jewish unleavened matzo or crispy bread slices. Home-made sourdough for yeast-free bread implies a fermentation reaction, so acid bacteria cannot be avoided even when baking the healthiest bread. How, then, is the difference between the bread bought in the store and the traditional loaf with homemade sourdough?
Sourdough options
There are as many classic, original versions of sourdough as there are varieties of breads, everyday and festive. And in any of the recipes, you still have to come to terms with the presence of sour, natural yeast, since this is the only prerequisite for the rise and splendor of the dough.
The benefits of homemade sourdough bread
A great consolation for those who believe that yeast is harmful is the fact that you can control the process of activating grown bacteria at home on your own. Technologies for industrial production of dry and compressed yeast cannot provide attention to every unit of manufactured products. It would be strange to demand from the employees of the bakery shops that they decontaminate the working premises to destroy pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, the ability to protect yourself from random human and industrial factors is a sufficient reason to try yourself in the role of a village mistress from the recent past.
The harm of homemade sourdough bread
The benefits of homemade sourdough for yeast-free bread and such breads are understandable in themselves, but are they potentially harmful? As it turned out, yes, but this negative point applies only to people with serious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The same starter culture formed during intensive fermentation, which does not allow pathogenic microorganisms to take root in the product, has a detrimental effect on the weakened digestive system, causing bloating and heartburn.
You can partially neutralize the increased acidity without prejudice to the development of a beneficial bacterial environment by putting 1-2 teaspoons of baking soda when kneading the dough.
Wheat-rye sourdough preparation
Otherwise, rye sourdough on yeast-free bread is called "eternal", since with timely feeding, a jar with fragrant contents covered with a napkin can last more than one year. With the option of mixing rye flour and wheat flour, the life of the sourdough is reduced, but if the long-term procurement is not planned, this option will result in a rich and complex taste.
Pour 1 tbsp into a half-liter jar. a spoonful of peeled rye and wheat flour of the first or second grade. Pouring water in a thin stream, mix the gruel, similar in consistency to liquid sour cream. Now it remains only to cover the jar with a cotton napkin in one layer and you can wait.
You should not confuse the sourdough with the sourdough - ready-made yeast is put into the sourdough when the components are diluted, and they provoke enhanced fermentation with sugar or honey, and then flour. In sourdough for yeast-free bread, rye or any other, only a suitable nutrient medium is formed, and living bacteria, which are in the flour or come from the air, complete the process on their own.
The next day, a characteristic sour smell will appear from the jar, and its contents will be saturated with oxygen bubbles and rise almost one and a half times. As soon as this happened, again you need to mix two types of flour into the composition, this time 3 tbsp each. spoons each. The new stage of fermentation will reach peak activity within 2-3 hours, and this will mean that the sourdough for yeast-free bread is ready.
Preparation of rye sourdough
The rye sourdough recipe for yeast-free bread is the one used to make monastery breads, famous for their long shelf life and softness. Real bread, according to local bakers, should be cooked with a five-day sourdough, but after the finished loaf is taken out of the oven, it is not cut on the table, but wrapped in a towel and put away for another day. When you tap on the crust of such bread, a sonorous sound is heard, and when a slice is cut off, the table is not dotted with crumbs - only then, if these conditions are met, the bread can be considered real.
How do you make a yeast-free bread starter that meets all these needs? Firstly, using not purified or boiled water, but settled water, in which you need to dilute 100 g to a density of medium-fat sour cream. A napkin to cover a jar of sourdough is pre-moistened, and then the container is covered and placed in a warm place.
On the second day, the appearance of bubbles is normal - there may not be very many of them, but in any case, the sourdough is replenished with another 100 g of rye flour and a small amount of water to maintain the same consistency.
On the third day, the sourdough on yeast-free bread is formed by the last addition of flour (100 g) and is removed for the last time for a day. On the morning of the fifth day, the base can already be used. To do this, the entire amount of foamy liquid must be divided in two, and the part that remained in the jar, cover with three-fold gauze and put in the refrigerator, and use the set aside for the test.
Preparation of raisin starter culture
Half a glass of soft white raisins should be kneaded in a mortar or rolled out in a bag with a rolling pin to break its integrity. Put the raisins in a deep plate, pour in half a glass of water, cover with the same amount of rye flour and stir everything well with 1 teaspoon of natural honey. The mixture will turn out to be thick, you do not need to dilute it on purpose.
Transfer the mass to a glass jar, cover with two-layer gauze and leave warm for a day. On the second day, the fermented sourdough is filtered, squeezing out all the liquid from the raisin gruel, and 4 tbsp is poured into the sweet water. tablespoons of rye flour and add lukewarm water to the consistency of drinking yogurt.
On the third day, the leaven can be used. In that half of the base, which will be stored in the refrigerator, add 4 more tbsp. tablespoons of flour, then covered with gauze and removed, and the other half is used for dough.
Cooking raw sourdough on grain
Sourdough on grain is prepared in two versions - raw and custard. Raw sourdough is rich in live bacteria, and the value is preserved in it in full, but the sourdough made according to the second method is stored longer.
How to make a sourdough starter for unleavened grain bread using the raw method? First you need to decide what kind of bread you plan to bake - dark or white. For dark bread, you need to take rye grains, for white bread - wheat. You can cook both options in different dishes, and then use them alternately or even mixing with each other.
Pour 1 glass of sorted and well-washed grains into a glass jar and shake several times so that the wet grains do not stick together. For better germination, you need to arrange condensate in a jar, for which the container is placed in a bag, tied and removed to heat for a day.
The next day, the bag is removed and the grain is washed again under running water. If all the grains are swollen and sprout, you can start preparing the sourdough, if not, repeat the steps with the bag and leave the jar warm for another 6-8 hours. After that, the swollen grain is placed in a container for a blender and crushed at medium speed to a gruel - it is not necessary to achieve uniformity.
In a deep plate, combine the resulting gruel with 2 tbsp. tablespoons of peeled rye flour and 1 teaspoon of natural honey, transfer the mass to a jar, cover with a napkin and remove for another day. In the future, they act with the mixture in the same way as the previous recipes - some are removed in the cold, some are used immediately.
Preparation of brewed starter culture on grain
The brewed recipe for yeast-free sourdough for grain bread partially repeats the one described above - the grain is germinated, crushed, mixed with flour and honey, but then they are still diluted with a small amount of water until sour cream is thick and put on low heat for 25 minutes. Cool the mixture by wrapping the saucepan in a towel, and then divide it in half.
Rice starter preparation
Rice can be used whole (not steamed) or chopped. Rinse 100 g of grain under running water and put in a jar. Pour 150 ml of slightly warmed water there, add 1 teaspoon (with a slide) of sugar and remove the jar covered with a napkin in a dark cool place for three days.
In the evening of the third day, add 1.5 tbsp. tablespoons of wheat white flour and 0.5 tbsp. tablespoons of sugar. On the fourth day, stir the foaming mass and dilute it with 100 ml of heated water, at the end add 1 tbsp. l. flour.
On the fifth day, filter the sourdough, squeezing thoroughly through cheesecloth, add 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar and half a glass of flour. After 4 hours, the starter can be used. It is with this rice sourdough that practically non-stale buns, the most lush pancakes and sweet pies are obtained.
Making a starter culture on hop cones
Contrary to popular belief that the sourdough on hop cones turns out to be "drunk", this basis is no different from the previously described recipes for yeast-free sourdough for bread. Some part of ethyl alcohol is actually released during fermentation, but during heat treatment, the substance evaporates without leaving traces.
In the evening, pour 1 tbsp into a thermos. a spoonful of hop cones, brew them with a glass of boiling water and leave the infusion in a closed thermos until morning. The next day, strain the liquid into a glass 2-liter jar, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of natural honey, stir everything intensively and, gradually pouring in rye flour, bring the preparation to a thick sour cream of medium fat content. Cover the jar with gauze and put in a warm place.
The next morning you can notice the allocated foam on the leaven and an unpleasant smell from the can - this is normal. It is necessary to add another 2-3 tbsp into the mass. tablespoons of flour and leave again for a day. On the fourth day, the procedure is complicated by the addition of lukewarm water - it must be poured in at least half of the volume of the entire mixture, and then thickened with flour, returning the mass to its previous consistency. The fifth day is a repetition of all the actions of the 4th day.
Finally, on the sixth day, the longest leaven is considered ready and can be used.
Making dough with homemade sourdough
Dough helps acidic bacteria to enter into full force, to activate, so making real homemade bread without dough is impossible. If you are used to focusing on the weight of raw pressed yeast, then a piece of 40 g replaces 1 glass of ready-made sourdough. The same amount of sourdough is similar to 3 teaspoons of dry instant yeast.
To prepare the dough, a full glass of sourdough is poured into a wide bowl, a mass of 400 ml of heated water is diluted and flour is sown in small portions, trying not to miss the moment when the dough begins to resemble village sour cream. Then the bowl is covered and placed in a warm place for 8-10 hours.
Homemade sourdough bread
During the night, the dough rises and falls several times - gaining strength. When kneading the dough, it should be borne in mind that bread made from rye flour, of course, is healthier, but much "heavier" and sometimes may not be completely baked. Therefore, 20-30% of rye flour, before adding it to the dough, it is advisable to replace it with the same amount of wheat, first or second grade.
Separately, in a cup, you need to combine 100 ml of warm water with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar or honey. When the granulated sugar dissolves, the mixture is poured into a dough and kneaded well with a wooden spoon. Now the turn of fantasies has come - in the future dough, you can add any spices to taste, nuts, sesame seeds, bran, oatmeal, seeds, sprouted grains. The benefit of yeast-free sourdough bread is that it retains its properties in almost any culinary experiment. Be sure to pour 3-5 tbsp of dough into the future. tablespoons of vegetable oil. The main thing is to stir everything well and sift the prepared flour directly into a bowl.
Roll out the dough
They don't talk about dough with live yeast - they knead it, they roll it out. They generously sprinkle the table with flour, spread the whole sticky heterogeneous mass on it and in a clockwise direction they begin to roll it over with both hands, then flipping it, then again forming it into a ball. You should not oversaturate the dough with flour - it should stop sticking to your hands, but nothing more.
The formation of simple bread is as follows - we take the ball in our hands and press the dough into the inside of the ball around the entire circumference - you get such a hemisphere that you need to put in a greased frying pan. Now the future bread should stand warm for about two hours.
After the oven has warmed up a little, put a bowl of water on the lower rack, closer to the back wall. Then close the door and wait until the oven warms up to 230 0 С.
When the bread is in the oven, it takes 40 minutes, after which you can try to evaluate the readiness with a wooden skewer.
Cooking yeast-free sourdough bread in a bread maker will save you from the long procedure of rolling out the dough and the need to wash a lot of unnecessary dishes, and you can try a great variety of recipes for your favorite bread thanks to a smart device.
Real homemade bread is unthinkable without sourdough. After all, only natural sourdough in baked goods retains all the benefits of cereals, which are partially lost in yeast bread. If you care about the health of your family, there should always be a homemade sourdough bread in the refrigerator.
This starter culture is very simple to prepare and is ready in 5 days. It is versatile and suitable for preparing any yeast-free baked goods.
A set of products:
- Wheat flour;
- Rye flour;
- chilled boiled water.
The leaven is prepared in stages. First, mix 80 g of water with 60 g of rye flour.
When adding flour, it must be sieved every time.
We place the mass in a sterile container, cover it loosely with a lid, and leave it at room temperature for 24 hours.
The next day, take half the dough and add the same proportions of flour and water again. Mix everything thoroughly and re-leave for a day.
We take half the mass, mix with 60 g of wheat flour and 60 g of water. Stir, leave the mass to ferment for another 24 hours.
On the 4th day, we measure out half of the mass, combine with the same portions of wheat flour and water.
On the fifth day we repeat the operation and the next day we check our leaven. It should double in size and have a pleasant fruity aroma.
The sourdough is ready to bake.
Rye sourdough recipe
Rye flour is much healthier, so rye bread must be present in the human diet. Delicious rye bread can be baked at home if you know the rye sourdough recipe.
A set of products:
- rye flour - 250 g;
- lukewarm water - 250 g.
In equal proportions (50 g each) mix water with flour. We mix everything, put it in a jar or plastic tray. Cover with a clean towel, leave warm for a day.
On the second day, we need to feed the starter culture with a fresh portion of flour and water (only 50 g each). And we also leave it warm for a day.
On the third day, the leaven will begin to smell better. We will feed her again with the same proportions of water and flour.
The sourdough is almost ready on the fourth day. It has a sour, bready smell and increases in volume, acquiring a porous structure. To continue fermentation, feed the natural yeast again with the same amount of flour and water.
The next day, the starter culture can be used for its intended purpose, and the leftovers are sent for storage in the refrigerator.
Sourdough is a living culture, so it needs to be fed every day.
Cooking with wheat flour
Such a sourdough is made in advance, so that later there will be an opportunity to bake homemade yeast-free bread. The baked goods turn out to be much more magnificent and tastier than the purchased ones.
A set of products:
- water - 2.5 tbsp.;
- white flour - 2.5 tbsp.
Pour half a glass of flour into a clean (preferably sterile) glass jar, pour half a glass with lukewarm water and mix. Cover the container loosely, leave it at room temperature for two days.
When the first bubbles appear on the surface of the mass, we supplement the leaven with half a glass of lukewarm water and the same amount of flour. Stir everything thoroughly, let it brew for another day.
For the next three days, we feed the culture in the same way, without changing the proportions.
On the eighth day, the leaven can be added to the dough.
On hop cones for homemade bread
You can quickly make bread sourdough from hop cones. They can be harvested in August-September and stocked up with this raw material for a whole year. You can also buy this ingredient at any pharmacy.
A set of products:
- water - 1 tbsp.;
- dried hop cones - 0.5 tbsp.;
- granulated sugar - 0.5 tbsp.
Pour the cones with hot water, boil until the volume of liquid is halved.
Strain the broth, return the liquid to the pan. Add sugar and flour. Mix everything thoroughly, cover the dishes with a towel and leave to ferment for two days.
On the third day, the leaven is ready for making bread.
Rice Sourdough Recipe
Rice can be used to make the so-called gluten-free sourdough, which is used to make special gluten-free breads.
A set of products:
- water - 3/4 st.;
- sugar - 1 tablespoon;
- pitted raisins - 1 tsp;
- rice flour - 300 g;
- corn flour - 300 g.
3 days before baking the bread, we begin to prepare the rice sourdough. Fill ¾ glass with slightly warmed water. Add washed raisins, granulated sugar and a couple of tablespoons of rice flour to this. Mix the mass thoroughly, send it to heat for a day.
The next day, add another spoonful of wholemeal rice flour, stir the leaven only with a wooden spoon or stick. Cover with a napkin and warm for a day.
On the third day, pour the starter culture into an enamel bowl, add 300 g of corn flour, add a little warm water. Stir and leave until evening. Then it remains to knead the dough and bake a delicious dietary bread.
Sourdough for bread without yeast
Sourdough for bread without yeast is prepared from two types of flour (wheat and rye) and ordinary water.
Ingredients:
- whole grain wheat flour - 300 g;
- whole grain rye flour - 300 g;
- warm water.
We take a glass jar of large volume. Pour all the flour there, mix. Dilute dry ingredients with 120 ml of warm water. Mix the dough, close the lid tightly, put in a cool place for two days.
Then we throw away half of the mass, and add 30 g of wheat and rye flour to the rest of the sourdough, diluting all 60 g of warm water. Stir, cover and return to the same place.
On the fourth day, we repeat the operation and wait another 3 days. During this time, the bacteria are activated, the mass will grow and become covered with bubbles. At this stage, the product can be used to knead the dough.
From potatoes
Boiled potatoes also make an excellent natural sourdough for homemade bread. It is being prepared as follows.
Ingredients:
- potatoes - 1 small tuber;
- honey - 1 tablespoon without top;
- wheat flour - 6.5 tablespoons;
- warm water.
Wash the potatoes thoroughly, cut them into medium pieces and put them in a small saucepan or stewpan.
Fill everything with water so that the liquid slightly covers the contents, and cook until tender without adding salt.
It is very important not to boil the potatoes.
Drain the potato broth, and mashed the potatoes. If necessary, dilute the puree to the consistency of liquid sour cream.
We transfer the mass to a clean jar, add honey, mix and cover with a cloth so that oxygen is available.
Every other day, we feed the culture with two tablespoons of wheat flour and 50 g of warm water. Knead everything until smooth, leave to ferment for a day.
The next day, put another 1 spoonful of flour and add a little warm water. Cover the container, leave it until the next morning.
Gently take 3 tablespoons of sourdough on top (discard the rest), add 2 more tablespoons of flour and 1 tablespoon of water.
On the sixth day, add a spoonful of water and flour to the sour leaven. And after 4 hours the sourdough is ready for use.
Raisins
Such a leaven can be prepared by anyone, even a person who is very far from cooking. The result is delicious and very healthy yeast-free baked goods.
Ingredients:
- raisins - 0.5 tbsp.;
- granulated sugar - 1.5 tsp;
- flour - 200 g;
- warm water - 1 tbsp.
We wash the raisins and soak them for half an hour in ordinary warm water.
For the sourdough, we need an infusion, and the raisins themselves can be eaten or added to any dish. Add flour and sugar to a warm liquid, mix until smooth.
Leave the future sourdough warm for 48 hours. During this time, it will grow, filling with bubbles.
Already on the third day, you can bake bread or pies from this leaven.
From the presented list of homemade bread starter cultures, you can choose one or several recipes. But in any case, you will always get a fragrant living bread without the addition of yeast, which will give strength and health to your family and friends. Bon appetit, everyone!
Bread leaven
Sourdough bread is homemade homemade yeast made from rye flour (there are other options, but it's the easiest one).
In appearance, the leaven for bread is a creamy paste, similar to the leaven for kvass (both in appearance and in meaning). It is cooked for 4-7 days (depending on the temperature conditions in the house, the hotter, the faster it ferments), during the preparation, the starter must be fed daily, replacing half of the starter with a similar amount of fresh rye flour and warm water.
At first, as soon as the flour fermented, the smell is monstrous, it seems that something has deteriorated at home. And then it even seems that EVERYTHING has deteriorated.
But, after a while, the smell improves and the leaven smells of fresh kvass. And by the time it is ready, a pungent sour smell appears. After that, the leaven can be used for various yeast doughs - for baking gray, gray-white or black bread, pancakes, sour pancakes, donuts. But keep in mind that the dough will be sour, not suitable for every baking.
Store the finished bread leaven in a sealed jar in the refrigerator, so that pungent odors will no longer bother you.
What is needed for the starter culture - composition and proportions
- Rye flour - let it be 0.6-1 kg in stock;
- Warm water;
- Glass jar with a capacity of 0.8 to 2 liters (that is, a larger one, so that the leaven has room to grow).
Initially you need 50 g rye flour to 100 g warm water... Proportion 1: 2 based on weight.
If you count in glasses (proportions by volume), then you need 1/3 cup rye flour and 2/5 cup warm water... However, you can simplify the calculations and just take 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. The flour will turn sour, do not hesitate.
Rye flour, water - sourdough composition. You will need another jar with a leaky lid.
How to make sourdough
1. First day
- Combine rye flour and warm water in a jar (temperature 36-40 degrees, medium warm, not hot). Mix well.
- Cover with a lid with holes or tighten with a cotton cloth or film (in which to make holes). That is, there must be access to air, from which the bacteria necessary for fermentation will enter the leaven.
- Leave in a warm, windless place for a day (or 1.5 days). During this period, it is necessary to mix the future sourdough a couple of times (it is better fermented in the light, and not in a dark place).
2. Subsequent days (until ready)
Every day you need to feed (renew) the leaven with a fresh portion of flour and warm water. For this:
- Remove half of the leaven (discard). Instead, add fresh flour and add warm water (take half of the original flour and water. For example: 25 + 50 g or 1/4 cup + 1/4 cup).
- Stir 2 times during the next day of fermentation.
The leaven will grow (2 times). As soon as her smell becomes more pleasant and sour, she is ready. The leaven can then be used to prepare the dough.
Ready sourdough for bread
Storing starter culture in a jar
The finished starter culture can be put into a jar (so that it takes no more than half of the jar, because it will ferment and grow in the refrigerator, only more slowly). Cover with a lid (already normal, without holes) and place in the refrigerator.
The sourdough should be fed 1-2 times a week. If you cook from cold sourdough, it must be removed from the refrigerator in advance (5-7 hours or at night if you will cook during the day). And either separate the desired portion and revitalize it, or revive the entire leaven, and then take the desired portion, removing the remainder for storage in the refrigerator. How to animate:
- When separating the amount required for the recipe: combine with 1/3 cup of warm water and 3 tablespoons of rye flour (you can add more sugar or honey), leave warm to revive (5-7 hours or longer). And feed the rest of the sourdough in the jar: add 1-2 tablespoons of flour and the same amount of spoons of water and put it back in the cold.
- When revitalizing the entire leaven: combine the entire leaven with 3-4 tablespoons of rye flour and 1/3 or half a glass of warm water. And let the leaven warm and grow (5-7 hours, overnight or even a whole day). And then you need to separate the amount of starter you need, and send the remainder back to the refrigerator.
Bread leaven
Storage of dry starter culture
The sourdough can be dried. To do this, you need to take tracing paper or baking paper. Spread the sourdough on it with a thin layer (with a knife or flat spatula). And let it dry. As it dries, break off the pieces and put in a jar. Jars with dried starter culture are stored either in the refrigerator or at room temperature (under a tightly closed lid).
You will get homemade dry yeast, which for revitalization must be diluted with flour or sugar in warm water (as usual, with purchased yeast).
Consumption of bread sourdough for dough
For 500-650 g flour (3-4 cups) for pancakes 3-4 tablespoons of sourdough is required. The pancakes are great! Lumpy without the first pancake, immediately baked well, pleasantly sour, suitable for stuffing. Yes, and beautiful. Recipe .
For homemade bread from 4 glasses of flour (wheat, wheat + rye, wheat + rye + oatmeal, etc.) take, on average, 1 glass of sourdough (or a little more, you can add another 1/4 cup to this glass to get looser bread).
Variant of sourdough bread composition
- Warm water - 300 g (1 glass + 2 tablespoons);
- Sourdough - 1 glass;
- Rye flour - 100 g (approximately 2/3 cup);
- Wheat flour (regular) - 375 g (2 cups + 1/3 cup) + also for sprinkling the table and baking dish (have a margin);
- Salt - 1 teaspoon;
- Sugar - 1 tablespoon;
- Odorless vegetable oil - 30 g (1.5 tablespoons);
- Possible additives: seeds (sunflower), walnuts or other nuts, flax seeds - 2 tablespoons of each (flax can be replaced with 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds).
Butter, fat or margarine for greasing a baking dish.
Making sourdough bread
- Combine all ingredients. Knead the dough. It will be quite viscous. Start kneading first in the saucepan or bowl in which you kneaded the dough. And then, when it becomes more convenient to use (less liquid), transfer it to a table sprinkled with flour. Kneading such a bread dough is long, about 30 minutes. Baking homemade bread and making sourdough is generally not a quick process.
- Grease a baking dish with butter (fat or margarine). Sprinkle flour on top. Put the dough into the mold. Smooth the upper part with a wet hand. Cover with a towel and leave to grow (stand) for 3 hours (or longer, if the dough does not rise well, wait for at least a 2-fold increase. You can even put it overnight and bake in the morning).
- Heat the oven to 220 degrees C. At the bottom, put a cast-iron frying pan, dish or baking sheet with water. Place a baking sheet with bread in a hot oven. Bake, gradually lowering the temperature.
The temperature and time for baking bread with it
- At 220 degrees C - 10 minutes.
- At 200 degrees C - 20 minutes;
- At 180 degrees - until tender.
The readiness of homemade bread is determined in the same way as for a biscuit - with a wooden stick. If their dough came out dry, then you're done. The total time is 40-50 minutes (approximately, be guided by the sign of readiness - a dry stick).
- Wrap the finished bread in a clean, damp towel. Put in a plastic bag. Close and keep in a bag for 5-10 minutes (after that, the crust will be easily cut without breaking). Then take out and wrap the bread in a dry towel, in which it is left to cool completely. Some housewives wait another day (it becomes tastier), and only after that they serve bread to the table.
Another recipe for proportions for homemade bread
- Sourdough bread - 1 cup (or 1 + 1/4 cup - this bread will be looser);
- Wheat flour - 4 cups (or wheat flour 3 cups + rye 1 cup);
- Warm water - 1 glass;
- Sunflower oil (refined) - 2 tablespoons;
- Salt - 1 teaspoon;
- Sugar - 1 tablespoon.
The preparation is the same.
The basis of the foundations, a faithful assistant to the baker, a friend - this is how you can call Mother a natural sourdough. In ancient times, it was passed down from generation to generation, from mother to daughter. They took care of it like the apple of an eye, because natural sourdough is alive and the bread that we bake on it is alive. And like any pet, leaven requires love for itself. Love her and you will receive a wonderful product in return - yeast-free bread!
The more you learn about natural leaven, the more and more questions appear than answers. It seems that the baker must be a chemist to understand the whole process taking place in a bowl of flour and water. But the daily experience of baking and a little intuition tells me that baking bread and feeding sourdough, she lives a long time, and pleases me with her a little sour - fruity aroma.
There are two phases in the life of a natural starter culture: wiring cycle lasting 6 to 10 days, and a maintenance cycle. The drawdown cycle starts the extraction process wild yeast contained in flour, and lactic acid bacteria, which then create an unforgettable taste of Lithuanian bread.
After adding water to the flour, after 24 hours the water-flour mixture begins to grow. This indicates that gas appears in the bowl and the metabolic process begins. With daily feeding, the starter culture gradually begins to dominate in it. favorable bacteria species... And the baker's task at regular intervals feed your brainchild like any living being. And the result will make itself felt. The leaven is gaining strength so that the baker can bake real yeast-free bread with it.
Bread made with natural sourdough in different regions will be different as wild yeast and bacteria from the environment different regions are very different... Therefore, having received a sourdough from Germany, after what time you will receive your regional one, thanks to the presence of different water and a different composition of grain in the flour. And this is what will give your bread its unforgettable aroma and taste. I repeat, typical for your region!
1. Do not use bleached flour(premium grade) neither for breeding nor for maintaining the natural sourdough culture. Since it has already destroyed important nutrients contained in flour.
2. Never use tap water as chlorinated water interferes with the fermentation process.
3. At the initial stage (even if you are breeding wheat sourdough) it is better to use rye flour, as it has the maximum amount of nutrients and fermentable sugars, which provides a good starting condition for the starter culture.
4. It is advisable to keep the starter at a constant temperature. not lower than 8 degrees, otherwise part of the microflora of the starter culture will die.
Breeding rye sourdough
Ingredients: whole grain rye flour- 490 grams, well water- 490 grams.
Cooking method:
1 day: 140 grams of whole grain rye flour + 140 grams of well water mix well, cover with foil and leave in a warm place (24-27 °) for 24 hours.
2 day one feeding: ¼ part of the previous mixture 70 grams + 70 grams of whole grain rye flour + 70 grams of water, mix thoroughly, cover with foil and leave in a warm place (24-27 degrees) for 24 hours.
Baking bread in any national cuisine is always a sacred, mysterious act, almost witchcraft. The secret of making bread was carefully kept in every family and passed down from generation to generation. Sourdough bread baked in a Russian oven was tasty and aromatic, one can say that there is no such bread and cannot be anywhere else in the world. The ancient science of baking is not forgotten today.
Russian bread leavens were made from rye flour, straw, barley, wheat, hops ... In remote villages far from the "enlightened" civilization, you can still find recipes for making bread without purchased yeast. Yeast-free starter cultures and bread cooked on them enrich the body with organic acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fiber, pectins, biostimulants - in general, all those useful substances that are present in whole grains. One experiment in favor of sourdough bread is conducted by journalists from one of our television channels. They bought a regular loaf of bread and compared it to bread baked at home. The camera recorded changes in bread throughout the week. The store bread was moldy on the second day. Three days later he was covered in black and green fluff. And the homemade bread just got stale. It's just that sourdough bread, in principle, cannot grow moldy - the acidic environment kills all harmful bacteria and at the same time does not touch the beneficial ones.
So, if you are ripe for baking homemade bread, the first thing to do is prepare the sourdough. There is nothing terrible and complicated about it. You do not need to tremble over it, as over a crystal vase, just mix the necessary products and wait, and the result will be sure. First, let's decide what kind of sourdough we will cook. Starter cultures are different: rye, wheat, malt, hop, potato, raisin, even rice - they are all good (each in its own way) for baking bread. I must say that rye flour is best suited for the preparation of sourdough, since it contains all the useful substances that are not present in refined wheat. That is why the sourdough on wheat flour often strays towards the pathogenic flora, turns sour and becomes unusable. It is better to cook wheat sourdough one or two times, but rye can be successfully used for more than one year, the main thing is to store and “feed” it correctly.
1 day: Mix 100 g of rye flour with clean water until the consistency of thick sour cream, cover with a damp cloth and put in a warm place without drafts.
2nd day: bubbles should appear on the leaven. If there are few of them, that's okay. Now the leaven needs to be fed. Add 100 g of flour and add water to get the consistency of thick sour cream again. Leave it in a warm place again.
Day 3: the leaven has grown in size and has a foamy structure. Add 100 g flour and water again and leave in a warm place.
After a day, the starter culture is ready for use. We divide it in half, put one part in a jar and cover with a cloth or a lid with holes to breathe, and put it in the refrigerator. We use the other part for baking bread.
1 day: mash a handful of raisins with a crush, mix with ½ cup water and ½ cup rye flour, add 1 tsp. sugar or honey, put everything in a jar, cover with a cloth or a leaky lid and put in a warm place.
2nd day: Strain the sourdough, add 4 tbsp. flour and warm water until thick sour cream and put back in a warm place.
Day 3: the leaven is ready. Divide it in half, as in the previous recipe, add 4 tablespoons to one part. flour, water (until sour cream is thick) and refrigerate. Use the other part for baking bread.
1 day: Soak 1 glass of grain (wheat for wheat bread or rye for "black") soak for germination, wrap the dishes with a towel, put in a warm place.
2nd day: if not all of the grain has sprouted, then rinse it, wrap it up and leave it in a warm place until evening. In the evening, grind the grain in a blender or combine (be careful, do not burn the engine!), Mix with 2 tablespoons. rye flour, 1 tsp. sugar or honey, put in a warm place under a lid or towel.
Day 3: the leaven can be divided (as in the previous recipes), part of it can be left in the refrigerator, and the other part can be used to make the dough.
Alternatively, you can cook boiled starter culture. Mix the ground grain with flour, sugar and water (if dry) and put in a saucepan over low heat. Cook for about 20 minutes, remove from heat, wrap and put in a warm place. Then proceed as usual - feed, divide, etc.
1 day: Pour 100 g of rice with 150 ml of warm water, add 1 tsp. sugar and leave in a cool place for three days.
Day 3: add 3 tbsp. with a slide of wheat flour and 1 tsp. Sahara.
Day 4: mix the starter culture and add 100 ml of warm water and 1 tbsp with a heap of flour.
Day 5: strain the leaven, add 1 tsp. sugar and 4 tablespoons. with a heap of flour.
After a few hours, you can prepare the dough. Set aside part of the leaven for making the dough, put the rest of the leaven in the refrigerator. This starter is ideal for cakes, rolls and pancakes.
1 day: in the evening, pour 1 tbsp in a thermos. dry hop cones 1 cup boiling water, close the thermos and leave until morning.
2nd day: strain the resulting infusion into a two-liter jar, add 1 tbsp. sugar or honey, stir well, add rye flour until the consistency of thick sour cream. Put in a warm place, covering the jar with a cloth.
Day 3: the leaven will become liquid and foamy, the smell is still unpleasant. Add flour until thick sour cream, cover and put in a warm place.
Day 4: mix the leaven, add warm water (1/2 or 1/3 of the leaven volume), mix and add flour until sour cream is thick.
Day 5: add water and flour again.
Day 6: Use part of the sourdough to make the dough, put the remaining sourdough in the refrigerator, adding water and flour until sour cream is thick.
As you can see, nothing incredible, the leaven grows with our minimal intervention. But for making dough and for baking bread, you need some skill. But the most important thing is that sourdough bread must be cooked in a good mood, otherwise nothing will work out. Checked.
Dough
Homemade bread is made with dough - this allows the live yeast in the sourdough to gain strength. One glass of starter culture is approximately equal to 40 g of pressed yeast (or 1.5 tablespoons dry). Pour a glass of sourdough into a wide bowl, add 350-500 ml of warm water, stir and add so much sifted flour to make a batter with the consistency of thick sour cream. Cover with a towel and put in a warm place overnight.
Dough
In the morning, knead the dough. Dough for the night should "walk" well, rise 2 times and have time to go down. Stir 1 tbsp in ½ cup of warm water. honey and 1 tsp. salt (approximate proportions, they can be changed), add to the dough, stir well. Then add all kinds of fillers and spices to taste: bran (about half a glass or more), ½ tsp. ground cloves, ground coriander on the tip of a knife, 1 tsp each. ground ginger and nutmeg, 2-3 tablespoons of unrefined sunflower oil. You can add raisins, seeds, nuts, flax seeds, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, quinoa seeds, pumpkin seeds - in general, for every taste. Mix everything thoroughly and pour in the sifted rye flour - so much so that there is a spoon in the dough, that is, a sufficiently thick dough should turn out. Then we pour wheat flour on the table, dump the dough, sprinkle it with flour on top and begin to knead and fold it. Do not knead, but knead, sprinkle with flour so that your hands do not stick, and fold in an envelope. Then knead again and fold again. Sprinkle with flour so that the dough does not stick to your hands, but you do not need to add too much flour, otherwise the bread will turn out to be dense, unbaked.
Ideally, the dough should be dry on the top and sticky on the inside. Rye dough will always be sticky, so you need to focus on its outer side. As soon as you can hold the dough in your hands, knead it, fold the corners, forming a ball. Then we take the dough in our hands and iron the dough ball, shaking off excess flour and tucking the dough inside the ball. Put the prepared dough in a skillet or cast-iron pan, greased with oil, seam down, and leave in a warm place. The surface of the loaf can be drizzled with water and sprinkled with sesame or flax seeds. Or you can make cuts or decorate with thin strips of dough. The dough is suitable for 1-3 hours.
Baking bread
We bake bread in the oven at a temperature of 220-230 ° C, "with steam" - that is, put a bowl of water on the bottom of the oven. Do not open the door for the first 20 minutes! The bread is baked for 40-60 minutes, depending on the size. Wrap the finished bread in a towel and leave it for a day - this is a must. Correctly baked bread, when tapped on the crust, emits a ringing sound, and the crumb, when squeezed, completely straightens out.
There are many options for homemade bread recipes: you can bake pure rye bread similar to Borodinsky, you can add pea flour or boiled potatoes, grind presoaked grain or add sprouts, increase the amount of wheat flour or even bake white bread - it all depends on your imagination. In any case, sourdough bread, prepared with your own hands, with love, will only benefit your household. Bon Appetit!
Larisa Shuftaykina
