The first thing I pack with me on vacation is either my sourdough starter or my baked sourdough bread. 10 years ago I stopped buying storebought bread, and I must have it with me everywhere. I fell in love with sourdough bread after my Polish friend’s mum taught me how to make it. Back in 2014, sourdough bread was not as hyped as it is today, especially among the younger generations. But this recipe was within her family for generations, which makes it even more special. She taught me the health benefits of using sourdough yeast instead of normal yeast.
The health benefits of sourdough bread
Did you know that sourdough bread helps fight digestive issues, it breaks down gluten more effectively than baker yeast. Which makes it easier for most people to digest for people sensitive to gluten. It also enhances nutritional value, the fermentation process in sourdough can help increase the availability of important nutrients such as zinc, magnesium, antioxidants, folic acid and other B vitamins. The lactic acid bacteria that occur in the fermentation process help break down phytates, which can help inhibit the absorption of these minerals in your body. Because sourdough bread contains a lower glycemic index compared to store-bought bread with regular yeast it causes a lower rise in blood sugar. Although the baking process kills the live bacteria in the sourdough, the lactic pH of the dough encourages the growth of more beneficial bacteria in the gut when you consume it.
No exaggeration it has transformed my gut health, and I became obsessed and slightly addicted. Soon all my friends were hooked. Today you will see a lot of influencers making sourdough bread, but this recipe is truly special. It’s packed with nutrients, fibre, nuts and seeds that keep you full all day long. I’m sure I have altered the recipe throughout the years as my cravings for a heavy wholegrain bread have appealed to me, but you can make a lighter variant as well. I must admit, I’ve been making this bread for over 10 years, and I have never before sat down to write a recipe. Every Eastern European mother who has taught me to cook has never given me an exact recipe to follow. You simply learn how to cook with intuition.
Did you know that sourdough bread also contains natural preservatives, meaning the bread naturally stays fresh for longer? Fun fact, you can place the bread under some running water if it goes dry and bake it for 10 more minutes and it’s back to its freshly baked form. The best part, only 3 ingredients are needed: water, salt, and flour.
The recipe
– 50-100g sourdough starter: make your own
– 2-3 cups rye flour
– 2-3 cups spelt flour (one of the flours should be wholegrain, and one should be fine)
– salt
– 1l water
– 1-2dl chia seeds
– 1dl flax seeds
– 1dl pumpkin seeds
– 0.5 dl sesame seeds
– 0.5 dl sunflower seeds
– handfulof cashew nuts and a handful of walnuts
How to make it
First, you boil a few dl of water and mix it with cold water to reach a lukewarm temperature (too hot water will kill the yeast). In a big bowl pour the sourdough starter and mix in with 5 dl water. Gradually you add the rye and spelt flour and mix well. You repeat the process with the flour and water until you have a nice runny texture (like pancake batter). Add a dash of salt. Now you will place 50-100g of the dough mix back into the sourdough container, if you don’t remember this step you will not have the starter for the next time you wish to make your sourdough bread.
Mix in the seeds and nuts (I prefer to keep the nuts whole, but you can roughly chop them up to your liking).
Place the batter into a bread tin, I normally use a 30cm long tin pan. You add a plastic bread bag over the tin and close it so no air is exposed. It is now time for the fermentation process, leave it at a dark warm place (normally I add it to my bathroom and turn on the heat). It should rise over 4-7 hours, until almost double the size. After this, you pop the bread in the oven for 50 minutes at 200 degrees. Now you can enjoy your freshly baked sourdough fibre bread.
