Whole Wheat Sourdough Discard Bread

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You read that title right; I finally cracked and started exploring the wonderful world of sourdough bread. I had heard a while ago that sourdough can be healthier than commercial yeast (I don't remember exactly why), but the factors that really made my decision were that sourdough yeast is self sustaining (no need to pay money to buy yeast) and that bread made with sourdough starter can rise at lower temperatures compared to commercial yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or baker's/brewer's yeast). Sourdough cultures adapt to live and grow comfortably at the ambient temperature they are exposed to, so this feature can be a great asset if your kitchen is relatively cold. Commercial baking yeast, on the other hand, is much more prolific and selected for its ability to grow best at a very specific temperature range, between 100 - 110 °F (38 - 43 °C). Both sourdough yeast and commercial yeast do better in slightly acidic environments, which is why I've been adding a small amount of sour citrus juice to most of my breads made with commercial yeast. Sourdough yeast benefits from symbiotic lactic acid bacteria that naturally create the ideal acidic environment for the wild yeast, so no need to add anything extra means an easier time baking and making recipes.

Making the starter was not as difficult as I had expected and starters are surprisingly resilient when established. A lot of websites make it seem more complicated than it really is while also selling their own mass produced starter for convenience, so I think there may be a conflict of interest. I may write a separate post about making a sourdough starter later on. Let me know if you would like me to do this sooner!

In the process of making and maintaining a starter, excess starter needs to be discarded to keep the starter culture balanced. This discard starter can be a weaker, less established culture or just an unfed twin of a regular starter. Either way, it's something on a spectrum of more or less yeast and lactic acid bacteria, but always contains some ratio of flour and water. Discard is not usually reliable enough to serve as the only leavening agent in bread-making, so it falls to commercial yeast to do that job. If the discard comes from an established starter, it can even impart some of that signature sourdough flavor to your bread. Try it out with this recipe and find out what happens!

 

Equipment:

·      Mixing bowls

·      Big spoon

·      Optionally, stand mixer with dough hook attachment

     Loaf pan

·      Oven-safe container for water

 

Ingredients:

    ¾ cup sourdough starter discard

·      3 ¾ cups whole wheat flour

·     1 ⅛ cup warm water

·      2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast

    1 ¾ tsp salt

    1/4 cup vegetable oil 

    1 egg, optional

·     

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve active dry yeast in warm water.
   
2. To that large bowl, add all the other ingredients: sourdough starter discard, flour, salt, vegetable oil, and the optional but recommended egg. Mix well until just the past the point where the dough looks like a crumbly mess.
   
3. Knead for around 10 minutes using a stand mixer, or 15-20 minutes by hand. If your stand mixer is like mine and can't handle a stiff dough, continue kneading by hand for about 5 minutes after the stand mixer starts giving up. After kneading, coat that same large bowl with a thin layer of oil, place the kneaded dough in the bowl, and cover with cloth or plastic wrap. Let dough rise, covered, in a warm place for 1 hour.
4. After the rise, uncover the dough, take out a bit of the air by flattening it slightly with your hands, and transfer it to a lightly oiled loaf pan. Let dough rise again, covered, in a warm place for 1 hour.
   
• I use a warm turned-off oven so that I don’t have to worry about dust or things sticking to the loaves. If the oven is on, even at low temperatures, the heating element may dry out the dough before it’s ready to bake. Make sure to take out the loaves before preheating the oven, though! 
   
  Check out the volume on these loaves before baking!
  
  
  
5. Preheat oven to 350°F. While the oven is preheating, bring some water to a boil in an oven-safe container, like a simple saucepan. Once the oven is heated, place the container of boiling water on the bottom of the oven to create steam. Then, put the baking tray with the loaves in the oven, middle rack, and bake for 40-45 minutes. 
   
   
   
6. Let bread cool before slicing. Enjoy!
   
   Soft, stretchy, and so simple.