How to Make Healthy, Delicious Sourdough Bread – Recipe

Bread is a common food throughout the world, despite its negative reputation when it comes to health in general, especially blood glucose levels. Those with diabetes should eat it in moderation, and even then they could end up with a blood sugar spike after finishing their meal. Still, just because people have the condition,  it doesn’t mean they should cut out bread from their diet. In one of our articles, we talked about the best type of bread for our blood glucose levels – sourdough bread. In this article, we will tell people how to make it at home and enjoy it without worrying about their blood sugar levels. But first, let’s remind ourselves why this bread is better than other bread for blood glucose.

Why Sourdough Bread is Better Than Other Bread

Instead of baker’s yeast, the traditional recipes for this bread require wild yeast and lactic acid. This lactic acid bacteria is the same good bacteria like that found in yogurt, kimchi, kombucha, pickles, sauerkraut, and other fermented foods. The starter begins to ferment the dough sugars, breaking down the components and altering the entire molecular structure, eventually producing lactic acid and lactobacilli. Gubba Homestead shows that people who ate sourdough bread had lower blood glucose and insulin response than those eating standard bread with baker’s yeast. Besides improving blood sugar control, this bread is more nutritious than other bread. It contains high amounts of iron, potassium, folate, vitamin E, B12, B1, B6, riboflavin, thiamin, manganese, zinc, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, and niacin. What’s more, it digests easier, and the nutrients and minerals it contains are easily used in the body. Even most those with gluten intolerance can eat it without any reaction. However, since it’s made from wheat or rye, those with celiac disease should avoid it.

Traditional Sourdough Bread – Recipe

To make sourdough bread, people need to make a starter first. People will use it instead of yeast. Even though the starter takes about 5 days to develop, we can keep it alive and use it whenever we like in the future.

How to Make the ‘Starter’

Ingredients:

• Half a cup of warm water (105-115 °F);
• A package of active dry yeast;
• 2 cups warm water (105-115 °F);
• 1 tbsp. of honey;
• 2 cups all-purpose flour.

Directions:

Take a cup and half fill it with warm water. Dissolve the yeast, and add two cups of warm water, flour, and honey. Beat with a wooden spoon until there is a smooth consistency. Use a 100% cotton cheesecloth to cover the mixture, and let it stay for 5-10 days at room temperature (the time depends on the room temperature, the warmer the temperature, the faster the fermentation.) Don’t forget to stir the mixture 2-3 times a day. In the end, the vigorous bubbling should stop, and it should get a fermented aroma. Transfer it to a plastic container, cover it, and put it in the fridge. Then, take the amount needed and bring it to room temperature before using it. For each cup of starter used, replenish with ¾ cup of water, ¾ cup of all-purpose flour, and a teaspoon of honey. Once again, use a cheesecloth to cover and let it stay for a day at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate it.

How to Make the Bread

This recipe makes two loaves.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Starter;
• A package of active dry yeast;
• three and a half, or four cups of all-purpose flour;
• one and a half cups of water;
• 1/4 cup of honey;
• one and a half teaspoons of salt;
• 3 tbsp. of canola oil;
• 1/4 cup of wheat germ (toasted) or flaxseed meal;
• one and a half cups of whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour;
• Half a teaspoon of baking soda;
• 2 teaspoons of flax seeds;
• Flax seeds, water, and flaxseed meal - optional.

Directions:

Let the starter stay at room temperature for half an hour. Mix the yeast and 2-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour in a large bowl and set aside. Then, heat and stir the water, oil, honey, and salt at 120-130°F, until warm. Pour this mixture into the yeast one and add the starter. Use an electric mixer to beat for half a minute, on low to medium speed. While beating, make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl all the time. Then, continue beating for three more minutes, but this time at high speed. Take another bowl and mix the whole wheat flour, half a cup of the remaining all-purpose flour, two teaspoons of flax seeds, ¼ cup of flaxseed meal, and the baking soda. Once mixed well, add it to the yeast mixture and stir using a wooden spoon. While stirring, add as much of the remaining all-purpose flour as possible. Sprinkle some flour on the counter before taking the dough out of the bowl and kneading it. Make smooth and elastic, moderately stiff dough by adding enough of the remaining all-purpose flour. This should take around six to eight minutes. Then, form the dough into a ball. Grease some bowl lightly, and place the dough ball in it. Let it rise covered in a warm room for 45-60 minutes, or until it doubles in size. After punching down the dough, place it on a lightly floured counter. Divide it in half and cover, allowing it to rest for ten minutes. At the same time, lightly grease 2 baking sheets. Make two dough balls and place them on the baking sheets. Flatten them slightly to around six inches in diameter. Then, make crisscross slashes across the loaf tops using a sharp knife. Cover and allow them to rise in a warm place for half an hour, or until they almost double in size. Brush them with water and sprinkle some flaxseed meal and flax seeds - optional. Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes in a preheated oven at 375 °F. It should make a hollow sound when lightly tapped. Also, use a foil to cover it loosely in the last ten minutes of baking to prevent over-browning. Finally, cool it on wire racks. Enjoy the delicious, healthy bread!