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Monday, December 8, 2014
Whole Wheat Sourdough Rolls
I haven't made bread for quite some time. It's easy to get out of the habit, especially when things like surgeries and recovery get in the way. So, it's back to the bread board, so to speak, even though I just knead it on the counter.
I have a new sourdough cookbook that I haven't used before. It is written in a very straight forward, sensible language that is easy to understand and follow. There are also some great stories and good humor. I appreciate an author that doesn't make any bones about the fact that flops will happen when you make bread. They even have recommendations for brick bread, you know, when it doesn't rise and is ultra heavy. They make bread crumbs or crackers from this very heavy bread which I think is a great idea!
I chose a recipe with 100% whole wheat flour and no sweetener. Frank and I are changing our eating habits and trying to limit the carbohydrates we eat. Some of the sites I have researched explain that the process of fermenting, or proofing your dough allows the lactobacilli in the sourdough starter to predigest the carbohydrates in the wheat, thus lowering the production of insulin when we digest the bread. Another benefit of using whole wheat is the fiber and nutrients it includes. This cookbook also has some very good information and explanations about using whole wheat for a variety of bread recipes.
I took my starter out of the refrigerator a few days ago and starting feeding it twice a day, morning and evening, to sweeten it up a bit since I hadn't used it in quite some time. I explained how to recondition a sourdough starter here. I guess sweeten it up can be misleading. I didn't add any sweetener at all, but by feeding it flour and water, and discarding all but about a cup and a half of the starter after a couple of days, it decreased the acidity or sourness of the starter, allowing for a milder flavor and odor. This is a personal preference. Your starter can be as sour, or acidic, as you like.
The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast recommends you proof your dough for a minimum of six hours to allow for the dough to autolyze, or predigest, which "neutralizes harmful enzymes, breaks down the negative aspects of gluten, and frees up vitamins and minerals for human digestion" (page 43).I ground my wheat and fed my starter last night so I would be ready to make bread this morning.
This simple recipe includes: 1/2 cup starter 2 1/2 cups warm water 2 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. coconut oil (I used olive oil) 5-6 cups whole wheat flour
One of the recommendations I found in this book was to let your dough rest for 30 minutes after mixing. This allows the fiber in the whole wheat flour to absorb moisture and make kneading easier and more effective. There are many tips throughout the book that I found very useful. As you can tell, I would recommend this book, especially for beginners with sourdough, like me.
I let this dough proof for seven hours before I made up
the rolls. Then I let the rolls rise for another two hours before
baking.
The recipe I used makes two loaves of bread. We chose to make rolls this time. This dough does not look like regular whole wheat yeast rolls. It doesn't brown or fluff up as much, and took a little longer to bake. But you know what? We like it. One of the reasons we do is because we know how much better it is for us. It is another step toward trying to improve our health.
Fern, it sounds like a very useful book. When you made your starter did you use packaged yeast or let it develop on its own? Years ago I found a very good recipe for sourdough bread in one of the Tightwad Gazette books. It worked for me and was very easy to make. Haven't made it in several years though because I lost the recipe in one of our moves. I wish I remembered which of the Tightwad Gazette books it was in -- I'd order the book so I could make it again.
I didn't make my starter, C.M., I got it from a relative. I talked about it in the first sourdough post titled "Adding Sourdough to the Menu" back in January of this year. I have never had any of the Tightwad books. Good luck finding the one you are looking for. Thanks for sharing.
CM, on page 19 of the cookbook, the authors offer a free sample of natural yeast to anyone who purchases the book. They also give four other sources that will give away free starters: 2 that are listed as mild starters and 2 that are listed as sour starters.
I hadn't run across the starter offer, Machelle. Thank you for pointing that out. I'm really a novice and have only used this one starter. I tried to make a starter a couple of times, but they never 'started'. There is so much to learn in this life, so thank you for sharing with us.
Love my TG books! I went thru and indexed each book for the recipes which I have in the front of each book...which is now hidden behind my stack of canning jars at the moment and hubs is asleep in that room so no can get to at the moment to tell you exactly which page, but she says it's in the third book.
Fern can you expound on the health benefits of breads made w/einkorn (sp?) or spelt? wheats. i.e. unhybridized wheats? My readings in 'Grain Brain' by Perlmutter and 'Wheat Belly' by Davis have turned us off most commercially available wheats, breads and flours.
Some of my favorite childhood memories are of Momma's 'Silver Dollar Sourdough Pancakes'. Which is sourdough pancakes made in silver dollar size. We kids slurped them up like gangbusters.
Thanks for the discussion of the 'carb' digestion discussion Fern. We too are on the low-carb quest (Nutritional Ketosis) and have each in our household lost considerable weight which is a good thing! ~Sassafras
Thank you for the link, Sassafras. It has a good explanation of starters and a bread recipe.
I haven't ever used spelt or any other type of wheat besides hard red winter and hard white. I still buy unbleached white flour, even though we know it has no nutritional value, but we are trying to eliminate it from our diets now. I grind all of our whole wheat flour in small batches to help it retain more nutrients before it is used. I haven't read either of the books you mentioned about wheat, so I can't comment from that perspective.
There are a number of sites out there that discuss the transformation of flour during the fermenting stage of making sourdough. One of the first recipes I tried only had the sponge sitting out overnight fermenting before making up the dough, which then rose a few hours before baking. Some of my later cookbooks discussed the benefits of making up the dough, then letting it proof or ferment for a minimum of six hours and as long as 12 hours to allow the grains to be autolyzed throughout the entire dough. If I understand it correctly, this is where the transformation of the wheat takes place, eliminating the carbohydrates in their original state and creating a form of bread that is not only more easily digested, but one that does not stimulate the creation of great quantities of insulin like regular flour. This process also releases vitamins and minerals that are not otherwise available to the human digestive system. The fiber in the fresh ground wheat also offsets the affects of the transformed carbs in the final product.
The more I read and learn about it, Sassafras, the more amazed I become. The finer intricacies of life truly are what feeds us, both body and soul. We hope you join your household in the weight loss aspect of carb reduction. Thank you for sharing.
I have that book also and really like it. It is very helpful, but not so much information that you feel overwhelmed. I want to be making more of my bread from sourdough because of the health benefits. I like that this book combines both sourdough baking and whole grain baking for the most healthy choice.
I agree with you, Machelle. I really like the straight forward, and sometimes humorous way the authors explain things, like how wheat releases nutrients during the fermentation process. It's really quite fascinating. I never knew that regular whole wheat bread could actually rob your body of nutrients instead of providing them. Thank you for commenting.
I am going to try this recipe asap. We both enjoy bread but we know modern bread has some serious issues and with Ralph working at the bakery we have learned about the things they put in it...not like the bread our mothers made! I have some of your posts to catch up on and as usual you write an excellent read! God Bless you both!
As you know, Fiona, sometimes we make jokes about some foods. But Frank actually liked this bread and will eat it. He even asked for an extra piece. I hope you enjoy it as well. Thank you for sharing.
I have a new sourdough cookbook that I haven't used before. It is written in a very straight forward, sensible language that is easy to understand and follow. There are also some great stories and good humor. I appreciate an author that doesn't make any bones about the fact that flops will happen when you make bread. They even have recommendations for brick bread, you know, when it doesn't rise and is ultra heavy. They make bread crumbs or crackers from this very heavy bread which I think is a great idea!
I have lots of bread crumbs in my freezer, lol
ReplyDeleteYou are funny, Tewshooz! I usually feed my brick bread to the chickens. At least they will eat it. Thanks for the funny.
DeleteFern
Fern, it sounds like a very useful book. When you made your starter did you use packaged yeast or let it develop on its own?
ReplyDeleteYears ago I found a very good recipe for sourdough bread in one of the Tightwad Gazette books. It worked for me and was very easy to make. Haven't made it in several years though because I lost the recipe in one of our moves. I wish I remembered which of the Tightwad Gazette books it was in -- I'd order the book so I could make it again.
I didn't make my starter, C.M., I got it from a relative. I talked about it in the first sourdough post titled "Adding Sourdough to the Menu" back in January of this year. I have never had any of the Tightwad books. Good luck finding the one you are looking for. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteFern
CM, on page 19 of the cookbook, the authors offer a free sample of natural yeast to anyone who purchases the book. They also give four other sources that will give away free starters: 2 that are listed as mild starters and 2 that are listed as sour starters.
DeleteI hadn't run across the starter offer, Machelle. Thank you for pointing that out. I'm really a novice and have only used this one starter. I tried to make a starter a couple of times, but they never 'started'. There is so much to learn in this life, so thank you for sharing with us.
DeleteFern
This site has the Tightwad Gazette recipe for sourdough...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com/artman/publish/Homemaking_and_Other_Practical_Topics_15/Baking_from_the_Last_Frontier_Sourdough1002661.shtml
Love my TG books! I went thru and indexed each book for the recipes which I have in the front of each book...which is now hidden behind my stack of canning jars at the moment and hubs is asleep in that room so no can get to at the moment to tell you exactly which page, but she says it's in the third book.
Fern can you expound on the health benefits of breads made w/einkorn (sp?) or spelt? wheats. i.e. unhybridized wheats? My readings in 'Grain Brain' by Perlmutter and 'Wheat Belly' by Davis have turned us off most commercially available wheats, breads and flours.
Some of my favorite childhood memories are of Momma's 'Silver Dollar Sourdough Pancakes'. Which is sourdough pancakes made in silver dollar size. We kids slurped them up like gangbusters.
Thanks for the discussion of the 'carb' digestion discussion Fern. We too are on the low-carb quest (Nutritional Ketosis) and have each in our household lost considerable weight which is a good thing! ~Sassafras
Thank you for the link, Sassafras. It has a good explanation of starters and a bread recipe.
DeleteI haven't ever used spelt or any other type of wheat besides hard red winter and hard white. I still buy unbleached white flour, even though we know it has no nutritional value, but we are trying to eliminate it from our diets now. I grind all of our whole wheat flour in small batches to help it retain more nutrients before it is used. I haven't read either of the books you mentioned about wheat, so I can't comment from that perspective.
There are a number of sites out there that discuss the transformation of flour during the fermenting stage of making sourdough. One of the first recipes I tried only had the sponge sitting out overnight fermenting before making up the dough, which then rose a few hours before baking. Some of my later cookbooks discussed the benefits of making up the dough, then letting it proof or ferment for a minimum of six hours and as long as 12 hours to allow the grains to be autolyzed throughout the entire dough. If I understand it correctly, this is where the transformation of the wheat takes place, eliminating the carbohydrates in their original state and creating a form of bread that is not only more easily digested, but one that does not stimulate the creation of great quantities of insulin like regular flour. This process also releases vitamins and minerals that are not otherwise available to the human digestive system. The fiber in the fresh ground wheat also offsets the affects of the transformed carbs in the final product.
The more I read and learn about it, Sassafras, the more amazed I become. The finer intricacies of life truly are what feeds us, both body and soul. We hope you join your household in the weight loss aspect of carb reduction. Thank you for sharing.
Fern
I have that book also and really like it. It is very helpful, but not so much information that you feel overwhelmed. I want to be making more of my bread from sourdough because of the health benefits. I like that this book combines both sourdough baking and whole grain baking for the most healthy choice.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Machelle. I really like the straight forward, and sometimes humorous way the authors explain things, like how wheat releases nutrients during the fermentation process. It's really quite fascinating. I never knew that regular whole wheat bread could actually rob your body of nutrients instead of providing them. Thank you for commenting.
DeleteFern
I am going to try this recipe asap. We both enjoy bread but we know modern bread has some serious issues and with Ralph working at the bakery we have learned about the things they put in it...not like the bread our mothers made! I have some of your posts to catch up on and as usual you write an excellent read!
ReplyDeleteGod Bless you both!
As you know, Fiona, sometimes we make jokes about some foods. But Frank actually liked this bread and will eat it. He even asked for an extra piece. I hope you enjoy it as well. Thank you for sharing.
DeleteFern