Recipe: Everyday Multigrain Sourdough Sandwich Bread
This no-knead sourdough bread is perfect for beginners.
Words and recipe: Nicola Galloway
This seeded multigrain bread is good for beginners as it doesn’t require kneading. Although sourdough bread takes longer to rise than bread used with fast-acting commercial yeast, the actual preparation time is minimal. I’ve been making this for years for my family — it’s perfect for toast and sandwiches.
Makes 1 x 800g loaf
INGREDIENTS
1 cup white wheat or spelt flour
1 cup wholemeal wheat or spelt flour
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup seeds (flaxseeds, sunflower, pumpkin)
¼ cup ground flaxseeds
1½ teaspoons sea salt
about 1½ cups warm water
¾ cup active sourdough starter, fed 6 to 8 hours prior
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
METHOD
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and use a balloon whisk to mix well and aerate. Make a well and pour in 1¼ cups water, the sourdough starter and olive oil.
Use a spatula to mix well for one minute resulting in a thick cake-like batter (add extra water as needed to achieve this). Set aside the dough for several minutes and replenish the sourdough starter.
Pour the mixture into a greased bread tin or bread-maker tin. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Cover the tin with a plastic bag to create a humid environment (make sure the bag doesn’t touch the dough) and set aside in a warm place for 6 to 10 hours until risen by about a third with a “domed” surface.
Preheat oven to 220°C. Put the bread in the oven and immediately turn down the heat to 200°C. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove the bread from the tin; check it has a golden crust. If not, place bread back into the oven without the tin for an extra 10 minutes.
Alternatively, use a bread-maker on the “bake only” setting for 1 hour.
SOURDOUGH RECIPES
This is an extract from our special edition In Your Backyard: Living Lightly. The next edition In Your Backyard: Sustainability Through the Seasons is filled with practical advice on self sufficiency making small steps to a lighter footprint. Order online here.
