Sourdough Sandwich Bread with Hard Red Wheat Berries
My kids love to eat peanut butter jellies as much as any other modern child. The problem I had was the store bought bread was loaded with chemicals and the typical sourdough wasn't the right texture my kids were looking for. Unfortunately, I had given them the store bought bread for years before I found out about the health benefits of sourdough and freshly milled flour. So I set myself on a mission to make the perfect sourdough sandwich bread. Using my sourdough french bread recipe with a little more honey and oil worked amazingly. The loaf comes out soft and fluffy with that chewy texture the kids wanted. This sourdough sandwich bread with hard red wheat berries is healthier and may actually help getting a "full" feeling with just one slice.
Sourdough is a type of bread that takes time to make. It does not have to be tiresome, I actually like it because it is something I can walk away from and come back to. To make sourdough starter, jump over to my sourdough starter recipe.
What makes sourdough different from other bread is the sourdough starter. It is used as the rising agent instead of instant or active yeast from the store. Sourdough starter is made by combining flour and water together for a period of time and allowing it to make good bacteria that feeds off the flour and allowing the dough to rise. For anyone who has digestion troubles, sourdough can help because it is easier to digest due to the long rising time and probiotics inside the starter. Sourdough rises much slower than other yeast breads and will have a tang like taste. In the winter I let my dough rise all night long and in the morning I can finish shaping and baking the bread.
Why I mill my own flour
I have been milling my own wheat for awhile now. When I found out about the chemicals and toxins in the store bought flour, I knew I had to make a big change. Thankfully the processes of milling flour is easy. Only one more step was added to my baking steps. Freshly milled flour has more nutrients and minerals than the flour from the store. This is because, when milling flour, the flour looses its nutrients from oxidization. Oxidization is a normal process food goes through. Think about a banana turning brown or an apple turning brown after being cut, the same thing happens for grain when being cut or milled. After about 3 days the flour has lost nearly all of its nutrients and can even become rancid.
A long time ago, people wanted to make flour available to everyone easily at a store. These people knew the flour would spoil after three days. So they invented a steal rolling mill to separate out the bran and germ, which contains natural oil that spoils the flour, from the endosperm. This was a miracle at the time as the flour was now able to store for a long time. Many years go by and we now know that the endosperm contains mostly starch and lacks almost all of nutrients wheat was to contain. By digesting the store flour, people now have gluten intolerance, cancers and diseases that were never around 130 years ago. Thankfully when you freshly mill flour and bake it, most nutrients will stay intact.
For more information on the history of flour, visit the deception of flour page.
How to make sourdough sandwich bread with hard red wheat berries
Start by feeding sourdough starter in the morning or at least 2- 12 hours before making this bread. Starter needs to be active and bubbly.
Once starter is ready, measure out 540 grams of hard red wheat berries. Mill into flour and set aside.
To see what grain mill I use and how to mill wheat berries, visit Milling Wheat Berries.
In a large mixing bowl, combine starter, water, honey, oil, and salt mixing well.
Add the freshly milled flour slowly until dough is combined but not kneaded. Dough will be shaggy.
Cover the bowl with wet towel, plastic wrap or anything air-tight and let rest for 30 minutes.
Start stretch and fold method by stretching the dough up 6 to 12 inches and folding it over the dough ball. Press dough into itself and turn a quarter to repeat 4 times all the way around the dough. All the way around is equal to one round. After about 3 hours dough will be ready to rest and rise.
I do 3 rounds of folding 15 minutes apart and then 3 rounds of folding 30 minutes apart. It is ok to miss some rounds, sourdough is not picky. Just make sure the dough passes the window pane test. Grab a small piece of dough and hold it up while pulling it apart. If you can "see through" without it breaking, it passed the test.
Cover bowl and allow dough to rise until doubled. In the winter, mine takes all night. In the summer, this might take only 4-6 hours. If the dough has risen faster but you are not ready to bake it yet, just place it in the fridge. The cold temperature will slow the rising significantly.
Second Day
Take dough out of bowl and shape into a loaf. Then place dough into well greased or parchment lined loaf pan.
Cover dough loaf and let rise until doubled again. Dough should be rising above the pan.
Check dough for readiness by poking bread dough with finger. When the bread slowly shapes back into place, it is ready to bake. If dough springs back quickly, it needs more rise time. If dough does not come back into shape at all, it is over proofed.
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake loaf uncovered for around 30 minutes. Top will be dark in color but not burnt. Take bread out of oven, rub butter on top of loaf for a softer bread.
Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Store in an air-tight container or freeze for later use.
Print Recipe
Sourdough Sandwich Bread with Hard Red Wheat Berries
Perfect sandwich bread with sourdough and fresh flour benefits.
Ingredients
- 540 grams of hard red wheat berries
- 226 grams of active sourdough starter
- 285 grams of filter water
- 44 grams of honey
- 60 grams of olive oil
- 10 grams (2 teaspoons) of salt
- 1/2- 1 tablespoon of butter to rub on top of loaf optional
Instructions
1. Measure out 540 grams of hard red wheat berries and mill into flour.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine starter, water, honey, oil, and salt.
3. Mix well and add flour slowly until dough is combined but not kneaded.
4. Cover bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.
5. Start stretch and fold method. After about 3 hours dough will be ready to rest and rise.
6. Cover bowl and allow dough to rise until doubled.
7. Take dough out of bowl and shape into a loaf.
8. Place dough into well greased or parchment lined loaf pan.
9. Cover dough loaf and let rise until doubled again. Dough should be rising above the pan.
10. Check dough for readiness by poking bread dough with finger. If the bread slowly shapes back into place, it is ready to bake. If dough springs back quickly, it needs more rise time. If dough does not come back into shape at all, it is over proofed.
11. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
12. Bake loaf uncovered for around 30 minutes. Top will be dark in color but not burnt.
13. Take bread out of oven, rub butter on top of loaf for a softer bread.
14. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
15. Store in an air-tight container or freeze for later use.
