Whole Wheat Mixed Bread with Sourdough

THE EMERGENCY

1. In the morning of the day before the baking day, take the sourdough mixture (50-100 grams) out of the refrigerator. Allow to warm to room temperature and then give the sourdough a small “breakfast” consisting of 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup type 550 wheat flour. Mix the flour and water well with the sourdough so that a sticky dough is formed again. Cover and leave in a warm place until evening.

THE SOURDOUGH

1. To bake this bread we want to acidify 50% of the total amount of flour of 500 grams; i.e. I acidify a total of 250 grams of wheat flour type 550. And this is how it is done:
2. On the eve of the baking day, we give the sourdough, which was fed in the morning and hopefully active again, an ample “evening meal” consisting of 250 grams of wheat flour type 550 and 250 grams of water, which we stir into the existing sourdough. The resulting dough is now relatively thin.
3. Cover and leave to mature in a warm place for about 15 hours.

THE MAIN Dough

1. On the baking day, weigh out 250 grams of whole wheat flour and stir in a bowl together with 500 grams of sourdough. Add salt and baking malt. Please only add the water in sips as the dough is already quite thin and the flour may need less water. In my case it was about 30 grams, but unfortunately it is not possible to give a precise indication because it varies from bread to bread and flour to flour.
2. Then place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead until it is supple and elastic (approx. 10 to 15 minutes). Then cover the lump of dough formed in this way and let it rest for about 20 minutes so that it can relax.
3. After the resting time, work the dough round or long and let rise in a warm place until it has visibly doubled. I made my dough round and placed it on a floured baking sheet. [And at some point I’ll also add a small round proofing basket so that the dough doesn’t always spread, * promised *!]
4. ATTENTION: Good things take time and a pure sourdough bread does not rise as quickly as one pimped with yeast!
5. After about 3 to 4 hours, the dough should have risen well.
6. Now preheat the oven to 250 degrees top-bottom heat, slide in the baking sheet, place a bowl of hot water in the oven and bake the bread with steam for 15 minutes.
7. After 15 minutes, remove the bowl, reduce the temperature to approx. 190 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.
8. Let cool on a wire rack and only then cut.
9. [TIP: The bread has a crunchy crust and a slightly sour taste; you do not need to add flavor enhancers, bread spices or sugar]
10. Put the leftover amount of sourdough in a small pot, close it tightly and keep it in the fridge until your next baking adventure.