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Whole Wheat Sourdough Slice

100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread Recipe

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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Fermentation Time (including preferment) 1 day 4 hours
Total Time 1 day 5 hours 30 minutes
Course Bread
Cuisine European

Equipment

  • 1 glass jar with lid ( should hold minimum of 2 cups )
  • 1 small mixing spoon
  • 1 medium sized mixing bowl
  • 1 Danish dough whisk ( alternate: kitchen fork or wooden spoon )
  • 1 bowl scraper ( alternate: wooden spoon )
  • 1 unscented plastic bag ( damp tea towel or mixing bowl cover )
  • 2 bread loaf pans ( 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches )
  • 2 1 inch binder clips ( alternate: aluminum foil )
  • 2 long oven mitts
  • 1 trivet
  • 1 food thermometer ( to test for doneness, alternative listed in main recipe )

Ingredients
  

Preferment Ingredients

  • 5 grams old starter
  • 60 grams hard whole winter wheat flour ( preferably home milled )
  • 60 grams water ( filtered or spring )

Bread Dough Ingredients

  • 450 grams hard whole winter wheat flour ( preferably home milled )
  • 325 grams water ( filtered or spring )
  • 7 grams sea salt ( DO NOT use iodized salt )
  • 100 grams refreshed starter ( add any remaining amount to old starter, mix and refrigerate for next time )
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds ( optional but highly recommended )

Pan Prep Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil ( alternate: parchment paper )
  • 1 tbsp rice flour

Instructions
 

Prepare Preferment ( 12 hours )

  • Measure out starter, flour and water into glass jar.
    Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter Ingredients
  • Mix together until no flour is visible.
  • Place rubber band at level of mix to measure progress.
  • Cover jar loosely with lid - air should be able to escape.
    Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter
  • Let sit at room temperature for 12 hours. Preferment should double in volume.
    Whole Wheat Starter Doubled in Size
  • If not using immediately, refrigerate and use in next step within 3 days.

Mix Bread Dough ( 5 minutes )

  • Combine 450 grams of flour with 8 grams of salt in mixing bowl.
    Whole Wheat Flour and Salt
  • Pour out 100 grams of preferment over flour.
  • Rub preferment into flour with your hands or mix with whisk until preferment is broken down into small, well distributed pieces.
    Mixing Whole Wheat Flour with Starter
  • Measure out 325 grams of water and pour over the flour mix.
  • Incorporate water with flour by using a Danish dough whisk. Dough will be very sticky and shaggy - not to worry.
    Shaggy Whole Wheat Dough
  • Cover mixing bowl with unscented plastic bag.

Bulk Ferment Bread Using Stretch and Fold Method ( 4 hours total )

  • Let dough rest for one hour.
  • Stretch and Fold - 1
  • Take one quarter side of dough, lift with hand or dough scraper. Fold over to center of dough.
    Fold Whole Wheat Dough
  • Turn bowl a quarter turn and repeat previous step with next quarter side of dough.
  • Repeat two more times until you have folded the dough on all 4 sides.
  • Repeat stretch and fold rotation two more times so that each side has been folded 3 times.
  • Turn dough over so that folded sides touch bottom of bowl.
    Folded Whole Wheat Dough
  • Notice how dough is more pliable.
  • Let dough rest for one hour.
  • Stretch and Fold - 2
  • Do 3 rotations of stretch and fold.
  • Turn dough over so that folded sides touch bottom of bowl.
  • Let dough rest for one hour.
  • Stretch and Fold - 3
  • Do 3 rotations of stretch and fold.
  • Turn dough over so that folded sides touch bottom of bowl.
  • Let dough rest for one hour.
  • Stretch and Fold - 4
  • Do 3 rotations of stretch and fold.
  • Oil loaf pan with olive oil and sprinkle bottom and all four sides with rice flour.
    Floured Loaf Pan
  • Place dough in oiled loaf pan with folded sides facing bottom of loaf pan.
    Whole Wheat Dough Transfered to Loaf Pan
  • Press dough down slightly with back of a spoon if the dough is very uneven. Otherwise leave as is because dough will spread out more during the long cold ferment.
  • Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of dough if using.
    Sesame Seeds on Whole Wheat Dough
  • Press sesame seeds down slightly into dough with back of a spoon.
  • Cover with unscented plastic bag.

Cold Ferment ( 12 hours minimum )

  • Place covered dough in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.

Bring to Room Temperature ( 2 hours )

  • Retrieve from refrigerator and keep covered on counter for 2 hours.
    Fermented Whole Wheat Dough
  • Slash center of dough with sharp knife. Incision should be ΒΌ inch thick and go down center of dough length wise.
  • Cover loaf pan with same size loaf pan and use binder clips to seal rims tightly.
    Poor Man's Dutch Oven

Bake ( 1 hour )

  • Place loaf in bottom third rack of cold oven.
  • Set conventional oven to 475 Fahrenheit.
  • Set timer to 45 minutes.
  • After 45 minutes, keep face away from oven door as you open it to avoid hot steam. Retrieve pans carefully with oven mitts and place on trivet.
  • Carefully remove binder clips with oven mitts.
  • Carefully remove loaf pan cover with oven mitts.
  • Return loaf pan to oven and bake bread for another 15 minutes.
  • Carefully remove loaf pan from oven using oven mitts.

Cool Down ( 1 hour )

  • Turn loaf over to retrieve bread using oven mitts. If sticky, pry with a spatula.
  • Internal temperature should be at least 190 Fahrenheit. Alternate test: bottom of loaf should sound hollow when tapped.
  • Let bread cool and aerate sideways on sides of loaf pan for at least one hour before slicing - bread is continuing to bake internally during that time.
    Final Whole Wheat Sourdough Loaf

Eat : )

  • Slice off a piece and enjoy.
    Whole Wheat Sourdough Slice

Bread Storage

  • Even though the bread will keep in a bread box for 4 to 5 days without molding, whatever is not eaten in 24 hours is best sliced and frozen. This keeps the bread moist. Simply pop in toaster to bring to room temperature and enjoy.
Keyword Lean dough, Sourdough, Vegan, Whole Wheat
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