Sourdough Country Bread

In a deep bowl, place the sourdough starter (measure exactly 260g). Remove the starter from the fridge in the evening and add flour, just like I showed you in a previous recipe.

If you are using the starter for the first time, you can add a little bit of yeast, just like in the first sourdough bread recipe.

A good starter should be bubbly and after feeding it overnight, it will become active again and you'll be able to see it growing.

Add water and salt, mix well with a whisk to combine.

Then add the rye flour and the white flour (and/or whole wheat).

Stir together with a spoon or a spatula until flour is incorporated.

Notice the dough will be quite shaggy, no need for more flour now. It will be gluey anyway because of the rye flour, which is gluten-free.

Turn dough out onto the floured table and start to bring it together - bring the sides towards the middle, keep doing this until you shape into a ball.

You'll see it gets smoother and easier to work.

Now you can simply let the ball rest for 20-30 minutes, then knead again.

Or you can use the STRECH AND FOLD technique (stretch and fold, rest for 10 minutes, do this procedure 3 times) just like I showed in the sourdough white loaf recipe - steps 10-14. I noticed that, worked like this, the bread has bigger pores and rises better.

After dough has rested and you have kneaded some more, place it in a bowl, seam side up, smooth side down. Use a deep bowl, place a towel inside it and dust with plenty of flour, then put the dough in it.

After 2-3 hours, depending on how strong the starter is, the bread should have doubled its size.

Carefully tip the bread out on parchment paper, rounded side up and slash the top 2 times with a very sharp knife. Notice dough will flatten slightly, it is supposed to.

Preheat the oven 15 minutes before, to 250 degrees C.

You can see I bake the bread on a tile, placed in the oven and heated. At the bottom of the oven, place an empty baking sheet.

Carefully transfer the bread on the heated tile by pulling the corners of the parchment. Pour a glassful water in the baking sheet at the bottom of the oven to create steam. Close the oven door and bake for 10 minutes at 250 degrees C.

After 10 minutes, turn heat to 200 degrees C. 

Overall, I bake the bread for 45 minutes - and  I brush the crust twice with water while cooking to make it crunchy and shiny.

After that, remove bread from the oven, brush with water and wrap a tea towel closely about it. Let cool completely.

I'm showing here the quick method, this is how I do when I don't use the Stretch and Fold technique and I also add whole wheat flour.

So, I knead the bread with whole wheat flour - 100g white flour + 200g whole wheat flour, I bring the dough together, then let rest for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, I knead the dough again for 2-3 minutes, then I place it to rest into a rectangular glass or ceramic loaf pan (lined with baking paper). After it has doubled in size, I slash the top 2-3 times and bake in the oven at 200 degrees C for 45 minutes - with no tile and no water in the oven.

After baking, I brush the bread with water and I wrap it in a tea towel - simple and quick.

Here is the difference between the 2 loaves: 

- On the right, you can see the quick bread, with whole wheat flour + white flour + rye flour

- On the left, the exemplary bread - rye flour + white flour

Of course, the bread containing more white flour is bigger and with larger pores, but there is no difference in taste.

Tasty, healthy and special, I recommend this bread!

Enjoy!