The American Diabetes Association certifies that diabetes is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States. What’s even more staggering are the figures that say about 422 million people worldwide suffer from this illness.
Diabetes is not something to shove away. But others diagnosed with the disease just let it be without availing of treatments because they are expensive. On average, a person with diabetes could spend between $3,300 to $4,600 every year on out-of-pocket costs.
Fortunately, there are affordable solutions for combatting diabetes that won’t have you spending too much. It’s all about your diet. If you wish to stay healthy and away from this dreadful disease, you must change your lifestyle and choose to eat less sugary food. Join us here at TrueSourdough as we teach you how to easily make cheap homemade sourdough. Let’s get to it!
What Is A Sourdough Bread?
A Sourdough bread loaf is different from other types of bread in that it’s been leavened naturally. In other words, it’s a sourdough starter that does the leavening instead of a commercial yeast or a chemical-based leavening agent like baking powder or soda.
This bread is a bit sour and tangy compared with others, though you can make one with a milder and more well-balanced flavor if you don’t like too much tanginess. Diabetic people and those who want to avoid this condition love this taste.
Aside from helping fight diabetes, sourdough breads are abundant in antioxidants, support gut health, and reduce the risk of heart disease. So, how do you make homemade sourdough bread? Read on for the recipe.
How To Make A Homemade Sourdough Bread?
Ingredients
What you need to prepare before making sourdough bread isn’t plenty. You’ll just need the following:
- Sourdough starter: You can find this in stores, or if you are on a budget, you can make this at home, too.
- Bread flour: As much as possible, use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. Bread flour contains higher protein and makes sourdoughs with better crumbs.
- Olive oil: This will give the bread its chewiness and softness.
- Salt: A vital flavor, salt helps balance the acidity of the sourdough starter, strengthens the dough’s gluten, and even extends the bread’s shelf life as a natural preservative.
- Water: Hydration is crucial in making the perfect sourdough bread. With the right water content, the crumbs are neither too open nor too dense, not too sour yet still flavorful.
By this time, you’re ready to make the bread.
Prepare And Make The Dough
In a large bowl, mix together your sourdough starter, water, and oil. Be sure your sourdough starter is active and bubbly before adding it to the bowl. Then, add the flour and salt.
Stir until almost combined. That means you shouldn’t overmix them. Once properly mixed, cover and set aside at room temperature for about an hour.
Stretch And Fold The Dough
Start by forming the dough into a ball with your hands, occasionally running your hands in cool water. Then, stretch the top part of your dough up and over its bottom portion before turning the dough by 90 degrees. Repeat the process.
Do this stretching and folding four times. Then, cover it and let it sit in a warm area to rise for about half an hour.
Allow the dough to rise until it increases in size by 80 percent, doing the stretch and fold process every 30 minutes.
Assemble
Deflate the dough and form a rectangular shape on a lightly floured surface. Then, the right side of your dough must be lifted and folded over to the center. Do the same thing with the left side.
Afterward, roll the dough into a tight log, beginning with the shorter end of the rectangle and then tucking the ends under.
Grab your greased bread pan where you’ll place the dough. Cover, but don’t cover it too tightly. Refrigerate overnight.
Bake
The next day, get the greased bread pan with the dough from the fridge, but you’ll have to let it rest at room temperature first while your oven preheats. Then, score the bread around ¼ inches deep down the center. Once done, cover it with another bread pan or aluminum foil.
Bake it in your oven set at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes have elapsed, take it out from the oven, remove the cover, and bake for 20 more minutes or until the bread reaches 206 to 208 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pull it out from the oven now and let it cool in the bread pan for about 15 minutes. Carefully remove the bread from its plan and transfer it to a cooling rack. Let your bread cool completely before slicing. Enjoy it fresh!
Recipes You Can Make With Sourdough Bread
Give your sourdough bread an even healthier twist! Here are some recipes you can make using this bread of wellness:
- Open-Faced Prosciutto and Egg Sandwich – A healthy breakfast the family will love.
- Banana Bread Pudding – Sourdough bread is already healthy in itself. But adding bananas? Wellness heaven.
- Sausage, Kale, and Squash Bread Pudding – Perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. For all day, actually.
- Berry-Stuffed Fresh Toast – Simply irresistible.
- Ham & Jack Pudgy Pie – Give your warm and melty sandwiches a spicy kick.
- Grilled Cheese and Pepperoni Sandwich – Healthy doesn’t have to be boring.
- Sunday Brunch Casserole – The perfect dish for relatives visiting your house on a weekend.
Get An Expert Guide To Making Sourdough Bread
If you’ve perfected this sourdough bread recipe on the first try, then great. Congratulations. But it’s normal not to make it right on the first attempt. Should you wish to bake the bread the right way, join a sourdough breadmaking course by TrueSourdough.
Featured on several food media like Mashed, TrueSourdough shares helpful guides and tips on making the tastiest sourdough bread at home. For them, these healthy slices of bread should be accessible to everybody. Enroll now at TrueSourdough!