Paul's sourdough bread

 

Paul is our upstairs neighbor. He seems like a very nice fella. That would not exactly be special, if it wasn’t the case that he has something that I wanted for ages. My dear neighbor Paul has sourdough. Real and matured sourdough. The kind that makes all the difference to a normal all yeast bread. And after lending him kitchen equipment, Paul was nice enough to present me with a small jar of his sourdough and a recipe. And what a deal that was! Our morning sandwiches have increased from good homemade bread to you-could-not-get-a-better-loaf-in-your-bakery bread! Score! Thanks for granting me such rewarding neighbors! Great start into an exciting full of travels week!

Ingredients

250g whole-wheat flour (spelt, rye etc.)
2 tbsp. sourdough
225ml warm water
250g all-purpose or bread flour (type 550)
1 package active dry yeast or 15g fresh yeast
1 tbsp. treacle
½ tbsp. brown sugar or malt
1tsp. salt
200ml warm water
First of all, you can probably buy some sourdough in a bakery. Or make it, that is, but it will take some time to have mature and flavorful sourdough. Start by mixing the flour of your choice with the water and the sourdough, to make a rather gooey dough. Let raise for 6 (yes, that long) hours, preferably packed not to tightly in a plastic bag. This ensures a warm surrounding with less air. I left it packed in plastic in the off-oven.

This is how you have sourdough for ever and ever. If you don’t forget it. Which never happened to me. Obviously. Now mix in the leftover ingredients, stir thoroughly. Leave for another hour.

Grease a large loaf cake tin and sprinkle with oat flakes or some seeds (I used poppy seeds, although the oat worked better). 

Fill in the dough. Preheat the oven to 250°C, put the bread in and immediately lower the oven to a 200°C. Bake for about 45-50 minutes. Be proud of your homemade super-loaf and enjoy with salted butter.