50/50 sourdough

Get your hands on a good sourdough starter and the world of authentic, fresh, homemade sourdough bread is at your feet (or rather, in your belly!) This is an easy recipe, but it does require patience as the rise is a slow, overnight one. It’s definitely worth the wait!

Serves: 12

Time to make: 1 hr 10 mins , plus 5 hours 30 minutes rising time

Hands-on time: 30 mins

Ingredients

More weights & measures

1½ cups lukewarm filtered water
200g sourdough starter (see tips)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
350g good-quality white flour
350g good-quality wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon salt
spray oil

Instructions

Stay Awake

1 Into a large bowl, place water and whisk in sourdough starter, honey and oil. Add the flours and salt and mix together by hand or using a dough hook. Cover the bowl with a clean, damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.

2 Lightly spray a large bowl with oil. Knead the dough until it feels elastic and not too sticky (about 10 minutes). Dust your working surface with flour and shape the dough into a ball. Place in the oiled bowl, cover again with the damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 4 hours to rise. You could also place the dough in a just-warm oven with a bowl of water so it doesn’t dry out.

3 Knock the dough back, by punching or prodding it once or twice to deflate it, and shape it into a smooth ball. Set on a sheet of baking paper in a clean bowl, cover, and leave in a warm place for another hour.

4 Preheat oven to 240°C. When there is 20 minutes left for the dough to rise, place a cast iron pot with a lid into the oven to preheat.

5 Slash the top of the dough with a sharp knife. Carefully lift the dough on the paper into the preheated pot, cover with the lid and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes, or until there is a beautiful golden-brown crust on the loaf. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

HFG tip

Appeal to your social media community for some starter – you’re sure to know someone on the sourdough buzz! Or you can make your own by simply mixing flour and water and feeding it every day with more flour and water, but this requires a few months of patience as the starter matures and gets bubbly enough to make bread.

If you don’t have a cast iron pot you can cook the bread on a preheated oven tray or pizza stone.

NOTE: If you have a nut allergy and are using packaged goods in recipes, please check the allergen warning on the packet regarding nuts.

Nutrition Info (per serve)

Calories 217 cal

Kilojoules 910 kJ

Protein 6 g

Total fat 2 g

Saturated fat 0 g

Carbohydrates 40 g

Sugar 2 g

Dietary fibre 4 g

Sodium 180 mg

Calcium 20 mg

Iron 2 mg

Note: This nutrition analysis is a guide only. Nutrition composition will vary depending on the exact ingredients used. See our guides on your optimal daily nutrition intake, and supermarket shopping.