Italian Wheat Sourdough Bread

What are the benefits of sourdough bread? Besides the taste?
Humans have been eating sourdough bread since they developed the ability to grind grains into flour. You could not go to the store to buy yeast. The only way to use yeast was to scoop some off of any brewing beer vats or other fermented drinks.
So none the less, the sourdough starter was created in order to help leaven bread and take it from its pasty dense water and flour beginning, closer to its today airy and light invention.

Not only is there is a taste benefit to sourdough but there is the dietary benefit of the grains fermenting and allowing for a breakdown of carbohydrates and sugars during the fermenting phase.
However, this is only valid on dough that is left to ferment for over 12 hours. The grains become partially digested and thus easier for your body to digest and break down the grains. Also making that bread lower glycemic and more beneficial to you.
Not sure those Egyptians knew about the nutritional change, when they created and used sourdough.
In order to make this bread you will need to already have an activated sourdough starter ready to use. This typically happens around day 5-7 with routine feedings or rehydrating if you are using our Italian sourdough starter.
Download the instructions and follow the steps for rehydration and use until day 7.
At this point your starter should be very active and bubbly and ready to leaven some bread.
If you failed getting your bread to leaven and it is day 7 or later, continue feeding your starter every 24 hours for a couple more days and then try again. OR add 1/4 tsp of instant yeast in order to help boost the rise. You will still benefit from the sour taste that incurs through fermentation. As a sourdough starter not powerful enough to offer a rise is still beneficial.
Follow the recipe as stated but use the yeast as well. If you complete the rise step and then notice your bread has not risen, it could either be the proofing temperature is too low, or your sourdough starter wasn't strong enough.
In the case of temperature, make sure your bread is around at least 18 degrees Celsius. If it is below this, increase the temperature and continue with rising until at least doubled in size. If the sourdough starter itself is a factor, after the first rise you can punch the dough down, add 1/2 tsp instant yeast, kneed the dough until combined, and then allow to rise again until double in size.
Since the first rise is so long, I love to proof my bread over night, all the magic happens while I am sleeping and then I am not waiting around for dough to be ready to bake.
Remember the magic happens when you allow the bread to ferment for over 12 hours so that is tricky to fit into one day unless you like to bake bread at midnight. Which, in the summer time I do!

Comments

  1. Is the amount of starter correct? 1 tbsp seems so little compared to other recipes.

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  2. I also think that 1 TBSP of starter is incorrect! I looked at the gluten free sourdough bread recipe and it calls for 1 Cup of the rice sourdough starter. Please advise if 1 TBSP is correct or should it be 1 cup? I think 1 cup is more correct! Thank you.

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