Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread Recipe
Here’s one of the simplest whole wheat bread recipes that makes a spectacular 100%
whole-wheat loaf from sourdough starter. I originally found the recipe through a Mother
Jones article using a formula developed by Jonathan McDowell from Washington State
University’s Bread Lab. I’ve adapted their recipe with techniques from the San Francisco
Baking Institute. If, as a home baker your question is, “can I do this?” the answer is, yes,
absolutely! Bread baking requires practice and it might take a while to get your technique
and rhythm down but the reward is worth it. You’re not only producing one of life’s most
elemental and ancient foods, but the practice of baking bread is inherently satisfying.
Please read the whole recipe before you get started.
Note: the entire process requires a few days.
Equipment
This recipe requires a Dutch oven—a heavyduty pot with a tight-fitting lid—because
these pots capture the steam from the dough
to create the thick, blistered crusts one
typically can only get from commercial
baking ovens. Dutch ovens can be quite
expensive, but for bread-making purposes,
there are relatively affordable cast iron types.
A digital kitchen scale will make the work go
a lot more smoothly. You will also need an
instant read thermometer. A regular meat
thermometer does the job but takes time to get an accurate read. This means you’ll be
taking the bread out of the oven for longer periods of time. An instant read thermometer,
like Thermapen, reads accurately in three seconds.
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Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread Recipe
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Recipe
Ingredients for one loaf
290 grams Sonora whole wheat flour
290 grams Red Fife whole wheat flour
506 grams water, at room temperature
120 grams Sourdough Starter
12 grams salt
Ingredients for two loaves
580 grams Sonora whole wheat flour
580 grams Red Fife whole wheat flour
1012 grams water, at room temperature
240 grams Sourdough Starter
24 grams salt
Process
Step 1: This is known as the autolyse step. Mix the mature sourdough starter and water
together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the flour, and mix on 1st speed for 3 minutes
making sure all the flour is incorporated. Now test for tackiness and extensibility (how
easily the dough can be stretched). The way to do this is to wet your hands and gently
pull a good pinch of dough between your fingers and see how sticky it is and how easily
you can stretch the dough. This first mixing provides a baseline for tackiness and
extensibility. After this initial 3 minutes of mixing it will be fairly sticky and very easy to
stretch. Next, mix on 2nd speed for 3 minutes and test again. It should be less sticky and a
little less stretchy. Finally, mix on 3rd speed for 30 seconds and retest. This time it should
be much less sticky and resist being stretched compared to the first time it was mixed.
Bread is both an art and a science. You may want to mix a fourth time for another 30
seconds to achieve the desired consistency. Over time your ability to read the dough will
improve. Let the dough rest 20 to 40 minutes in the bowl of the stand mixer covered with
a clean dishtowel.
Step 2: Transfer the dough to an oiled (I use olive oil) large bowl, 13x9 glass pyrex
baking dish, or food storage bin. With wet hands, fold in the salt, stretching and folding
the dough to develop gluten. My friends call this, “bread yoga: stretch and fold.” Try not
to tear the dough when you are stretching and folding.
Stretch and fold technique
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Step 3: Let it rest. Over the next three hours, one needs to stretch and fold as above every
30 minutes, approximately 6-7 stretch and folds in total. The dough does not need to be
kneaded. The stretch and fold technique replaces kneading.
Step 4: Prepare a workspace on your counter with a heavy dusting of fresh flour and a
slight wet area on the side. Scrape the dough onto the floured surface of the counter.
Flour your hands and shape the dough into a round by gently folding it over on itself,
leaving a smooth, round top and a seamed bottom. This is known as a boule.
Step 5: For the final step in shaping one wants to create surface tension. Pull the dough
across the slightly wet side of the counter to create surface tension on the top of the
dough.
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Step 6: Prepare your proofing basket by generously rubbing rice flour all over the basket.
If you do not have a proofing basket, you can use a linen (or fine mesh cotton, but linen is
best) cloth. Line your mixing bowl with the cloth and rub in plenty of rice flour. Make
sure there is ample rice flour covering all surfaces, and also be sure that the bowl is deep
enough to really shore up the sides of the boule. (I used a bowl-shaped metal colander as
my proofing bowl, lined with a well-floured cloth.)
Step 7: Proofing. Very gently place the boule, seam side
up, into a floured proofing basket. Cover with a clean
kitchen towel and let the dough rest for two hours.
Step 8: Baking or Retarding. The dough can be baked
at this point or it can be retarded. If you’d like to bake the
dough straight away skip to step 10. If you prefer to
retard the dough continue to step 9.
Step 9. Retarding. I prefer to retard the dough in the
refrigerator. Retard means to delay or hold back the
progress. I retard the dough for two reasons: it provides flexibility as to when you wish to
bake the bread and it enhances the flavor profile of the finished loaf. To retard the dough,
take the basket of dough and cover it lightly with a linen cloth. Next, gently wrap a thick
towel around the basket, making sure that the towel doesn’t rest on the dough surface.
The towel insulates the dough as home refrigerators are a little colder than what is ideal.
Once the dough is wrapped in the towel, place it in the refrigerator. When I first began
baking bread I let it retard over night and baked the next morning. Now I retard the dough
for as long as four days and many experts say you can even extend the time further. I
notice that the additional days in the fridge add more dimensions to the flavor.
Step 10: One hour before you want to bake, preheat the oven to 500 degrees and put the
empty Dutch oven with lid, into the oven, so that it will become blazing hot.
Step 11: After an hour, carefully drop the boule in the Dutch oven, seam side down.
Step 12: Make an incision along the top membrane about ¼ inch into the dough's surface,
to help with the loaf expansion. One can use a straight razor or a sharp serrated (bread)
knife. Cover with the lid and place in the oven.
Step 13: Bake 30 minutes, then remove the lid of the Dutch oven and bake until the boule
is a deep brown—10 to 15 minutes more. Insert an instant-read thermometer into the
loaf—when done, it will be within a few degrees of 210 degrees F.
Step 14: Let cool on a metal cooling rack for at least one hour. 4-6 hours is optimal to let
the loaf develop flavor. Store in a heavy paper bag, rather than plastic on your kitchen
counter. You’ll be surprised how long the whole wheat loaf stays fresh because of the
gorgeous healthy fats which are naturally part of fresh milled whole wheat flour.
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