SOURDOUGH

WHAT IS SOURDOUGH?

Sourdough is naturally leavened bread, which means it doesn’t use commercial yeast to rise. Instead, it uses a ‘starter’ – a fermented flour and water mixture that contains wild yeast and good bacteria – to rise. This also produces the tangy flavour and slightly chewy texture you’ll find in sourdough. Wild yeast has more flavour than commercial yeast, and is natural in the sense that it doesn’t contain any additives.

THREE SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

Basic sourdough is made from nothing more than flour, water and salt – here’s what you need to know about each.

FLOUR

Sourdough can be made with many types of flour, but for our basic recipe, we’ll be using strong white bread flour. It’s the most readily available, and means you’ll only need to buy one flour to start. But, we know ingredients are hard to come by at the moment, so you can also use strong wholemeal bread flour.

WATER

Good old tap water is absolutely fine, and it’s the only thing we’ve ever used to make our sourdough. Don’t waste money on mineral.

SALT

Fine, pure sea salt is the best, but if you don’t have it, you can use any type of cooking salt you have, except rock salt – that will need to be crushed before using.

THE RIGHT KIT

Sourdough has been made for thousands of years without any modern equipment. However, there are now a few basic pieces of kit available that help to make the process easier. We’ve also suggested everyday alternatives where