According to experts, the quality of store bread often leaves much to be desired, and bakery products, which are really tasty and healthy, are not cheap. Housewives, caring for the health of loved ones and not differing in waste, prefer to bake loaves and loaves with their own hands. Homemade bread is tasty, fragrant, lush and not harmful to health, especially if it is cooked without the use of yeast, on leaven. Its preparation and maintenance in the active state requires attention and taking into account many details, but the result justifies the effort spent. Sourdough for wheat bread is more capricious compared to rye, ripens longer, but the beginning baker is able to make it if she takes proper care of her.
Cooking Features
Many housewives treat sourdough bread, as a living organism, which needs protection from negative factors and which constantly needs to be “fed”. As a “pet,” experienced bakers accurately determine when the leaven has fully matured, when it only begins to gain strength, when it begins to “starve”. But if you strictly follow the instructions for preparing the starter, accompanying the selected recipe, and follow a few simple rules, the expected result can be obtained from the first time, not having a lot of baking experience.
- For wheat bread, a yeast is made from wheat flour. Some bakers make wheat bread and rye sourdough, but in this case, to obtain a satisfactory result, you must comply with many conditions: use young sourdough, keep the dough and dough at a temperature of 20-22 degrees (not higher), add less sourdough than the recipe requires . Still, there remains the risk of getting a loaf with a sourness, not typical of wheat bread. It is advisable to still tinker with the preparation of wheat sourdough, then the taste of the loaf will meet the standards.
- The leaven of the whole-grain flour comes out more active and stable than the wholemeal flour. Such a product does not usually arrive at the store shelves, so some housewives prefer to do it at home or purchase it at a flour mill. When choosing flour for sourdough in the store, it is better to give preference to flour 1 or even 2 grades. Sourdough flour may not turn out.
- The sourdough made of wheat flour is made thicker than that of rye, so that it is more stable.
- Wheat flour sourdough should be fed frequently. Mature ferment, “living” in the room, fed 2 times a day, morning and evening. If she stands in the refrigerator, she is fed every 2-3 days. If you do not feed the starter in time, putrefactive processes begin to occur in it, it becomes covered with mold. Experience shows that it is usually not possible to revive a spoiled product.
- When feeding sourdough to one part of it, add 1, 5-2 parts of water, 2-3 parts of flour. So that the volumes of the product did not grow exponentially, usually only 1-2 tablespoons of sourdough are fed, and the rest is thrown away.
- The higher the temperature in the room, the better the ferment will ferment and the faster it will be ready for use.
- It is recommended to use earthenware or glassware for the starter. Usually it is prepared in glass jars, keeping them in a warm, but protected from light place. It is impossible to close the container tightly so that the leaven does not suffocate. Holes are made in the lid or the neck is sealed with gauze.
- At the first stage, the flour will settle to the bottom, the contents of the jar should be stirred every 4-6 hours.
It takes several days to prepare the sourdough for wheat bread, but experienced bakers do not advise using it as soon as it comes up. Young leaven is not stable, bread does not always come out of it successful. After 2-3 weeks, it will gain strength and mature fully, then it can be used to make loaves without fear of unpleasant surprises.
Sourdough for wheat bread made from wheat flour
Composition:
- wheat flour - 150 g;
- water - 120 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Boil water and cool it to about 40 degrees.
- Mix 50 ml of water with 50 g of flour. Place the mixture in a half-liter jar. Tie neck jars with gauze or just a thin cloth. Leave in a warm place, protected from direct sunlight. During the first day periodically mix the composition and monitor its condition.
- After a day or two, single bubbles will appear in the mixture, which means that it is time for the first feeding. To do this, separate 25 g of the mixture, dilute 35 ml of boiled water, add 50 g of flour. Stir. Leave for a day.
- After a specified time, the starter will begin to show clear signs of fermentation, and it needs to be fed once more. Feeding is carried out according to the same scheme: 25 g of leaven, 35 ml of water, 50 g of flour.
After a day, the starter can be put in the fridge or left in the room, without forgetting to feed it. Continue feeding the leaven 1-2 times a day if it wanders in the room, and every 2-3 days if it is stored in the refrigerator. After 2 weeks you can start using it for its intended purpose. At the same time for baking, it is advisable to take only a portion of the leaven, while continuing to feed the rest, so that it is always ready for use.
Rice sourdough for wheat bread
Composition:
- water - 0, 25 l;
- rice - 100 g;
- wheat flour - 0, 2 kg;
- sugar - 15 g.
Method of preparation:
- Rice pour warm boiled water. Add a teaspoon of sugar. Stir.
- Place the rice in a jar and place it in a dark place. Keep it at room temperature or slightly lower for 3 days.
- Pour 75 g flour and 5 g sugar into the mixture. Mix well. Continue to insist at room temperature for another day.
- Pour a large spoonful of flour (with a slide), add 100 ml of warm boiled water. Stir. Leave another day.
- Strain the composition. Add 100 g of flour and a teaspoon of sugar to the drained liquid. Stir until smooth. Return to the bank, wait half a day or a little more.
After a specified time, the starter can be used to make a dough and then bake wheat bread.
Potato ferment for wheat bread
Composition:
- wheat flour - 130 g;
- potatoes - 100 g;
- honey - 20 ml;
- warm boiled water - how much will leave.
Method of preparation:
- Peel and chop the potatoes. Boil until cooked, but do not overcook. Decoction drain - it is not needed.
- Mash the potatoes, dissolve the mashed potatoes with warm boiled water to the consistency of sour cream. Mix with melted honey.
- Put the potato mass in a clean jar, tie the neck with a cloth. Leave it warm.
- The next day, add 40 g of flour and 50 ml of water to the potatoes. Stir, leave for another day.
- Add 30 g of flour and 20 ml of water, mix again and leave for a day.
- After a specified time, set aside 3 tablespoons of the leaven, discard the rest of the starter. Add 40 g of flour to the deferred mass, add a tablespoon of water, mix.
- Next day, pour the remaining flour into the leaven, add 20 ml of water, mix.
Wait another 4 hours, and you can use sourdough as a basis for making wheat bread.
Sourdough for wheat bread is considered capricious, but it is only at a “young age”. Mature ferment behaves confidently and does not present unpleasant surprises. You can make a sourdough for wheat bread from flour alone, diluted with water, or on the basis of potatoes, rice, and some other products. Each option has its admirers, it all depends on the gastronomic preferences of the chef.
