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17 mai 2018
This spelt & rye sourdough bread is indeed relatively basic, yet remains my go-to recipe on which I rely quite often when it comes to making my own sourdough bread. If my memory doesn’t mess with me, it’s the first one I tried when I started my sourdough journey and I’ve kept trying to improve the recipe overtime.
Under its boorish airs and its thick crust, this spelt & rye sourdough hides a very soft crumb that’ll turn all your toasts into an addiction. My all-time favorites: smashed avocado & fried egg for a salty and filling breakfast; mozzarella, slow roasted tomatoes & fresh basil for a lunch on-the-go or a snack; sautéed ceps or chanterelles with “persillade”, goat cheese & walnuts for a comforting dinner. You’re damn right, if someone would let me on an island with sourdough to eat for the rest of my life, I would probably be the happiest to eat it in all the ways possible.
For people who want to spare the hassle of to make their own sourdough starter from scratch, it’s nowadays possible to find some in special shops or even bakeries who are selling their own, usually dry. The sourdough maturation is already done, sometimes even over years or decades, so you just have to feed it again to bring it back to life and let magic happens. As I’m the kind of girl who’s always up to bring back more food including mother sourdough from my travels – nope, this is not a legend -, I met Jukka during my last stay in Helsinki and bought him one small bag of dried Finnish rye mother sourdough that I had to “refeed”. I indeed tried my recipe with this starter, and the result didn’t disappoint me.
For more originality, feel free to add nuts, seeds or even pieces of dried fruits while stirring all the ingredients. Even if its size is usually quite imposing, a good sourdough bread will stay fresh for at least a few days to one week, making it quite easier to eat. What I’m usually doing: I cut a few slices when the sourdough loaf is still still very fresh and put them into the freezer, so that I always have some good bread around in case of emergency toasts.
More recipes with sourdough:
Super soft sourdough milk bread
Ingredients
- 300g organic spelt flour
- 300g lukewarm water
- 1/2tbsp honey
- 350g lukewarm water
- 300g organic spelt flour + some for kneading
- 200g organic whole rye flour
- 60g active sourdough starter
- 9g salt
- A pinch of yeast (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Prepare the sourdough starter: Day 1 = in a jar, pour 100g flour, 100g lukewarm water and honey. Stir well, cover with a plastic film et put next to a heater. Day 2 = add 50g flour and 50g lukewarm water. Stir well, cover with plastic film, put back near a heater. Days 3,4 and 5 = repeat the process everyday around the same hour if possible. To check if your starter if ready, pour a spoon of it in a glass of water. If the starter is floating, then it's ready to be used. The starter is considered active when it's very bubbly.
- 2. Prepare the spelt & rye sourdough bread: in a salad bowl, mix 60g active sourdough starter with lukewarm water and yeast (optional). Stir with a fork and let foam for a few minutes. Add flours and salt, stir with a wooden spoon to bind all ingredients together.
- 3. Cover the bowl with a damp towel, put near a heater and let rest overnight - approximately 8 to 10h.
- 4. The next day, flip the salad bowl over a floured surface, then briefly knead the dough. Add some flour if necessary. Preheat oven to 50C. Shape a ball and put it in a floured bread pan. Cover with the lid and let raise in oven for 1h.
- 5. Take the ball of dough from oven, then preheat to 230C. Dust the dough surface with flour or seeds if you want, then with a blade, make one or two incisions on the top of it. Cover with the lid then put in oven for about 30 minutes.
- 6. After 30 minutes,remove the lid, then bake for 20 more minutes, until your spelt and rye sourdough bread gets a nice brown color. Remove the bread completely from the bread pan, then bake for 10 last minutes directly on the grid. Cool down completely on a cooling rack.
Tania
Hello
This bread looks absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to make it. I’ve been growing my own starter per your instructions and am on day 7. I’ve kept it in a heated room so it’s very bubbly and twice has overflowed its jar …but I just tested it in a glass of water and some floated while the rest sank to the bottom. I’ve never made a starter before so I’m not sure if this is normal and it’s ready or if I have to wait longer. Please help!
Also, could you please describe your bread pan? Is it ceramic? Cast iron? Do you need to preheat it before putting the bread in?
Thanks very much.
Solène Roussel
Hi Tania, thank you! To be honest mine is quite often not floating properly either, but is still very active/efficient when used. What I’d suggest is to use it when it’s at its active state/very bubbly/overflowing :) If you’re unsure at the beginning you can always give a little boost to the bread preparation with a pinch of yeast to help it being airy, but if your starter is bubbling correctly you shouldn’t have any problem.
Regarding the bread pan, I don’t have a cast iron one yet unfortunately, but I’m using a Pyrex one (in glass) and so far I’ve always been happy with it :)
Izabell
Hey, could I use just a regular bread pan for this ?? & are you using light spelt flour or whole grain ?? Will it work Well still if I use absolutely no yeast at all?? my boyfriend is an alkaline vegan and yeast is not permitted Thanks so much