I first looked into sourdough last summer when I was just tired of eating bad-for-you bread and spending lots of money on the decent stuff. In my research, I found a few recipes to get me started with sourdough that weren’t intimidating like those beautiful round artisan sourdough loaves. Maybe one day I’ll get there but for now I am loving that I’ve perfected a delicious no yeast sourdough sandwich loaf.
Why does sourdough bread need yeast?
It doesn’t. Sourdough is meant to rise on its own with no help except from time.
Being new to bread making, I wasn’t familiar or comfortable with the rise times so I found a sourdough sandwich bread to get me started that didn’t take all day. This recipe included yeast but the knead-to-bake time was significantly shorter.
So why change the recipe?
I took out the yeast for a few reasons. One being that with the yeast, it’s basically regular ol’ bread and I wanted to keep the sourdough properties in a longer, slower process.
Removing the yeast and allowing more time for the sourdough to rise has yielded a much more sour flavor in my bread that my family all loves.
THE YEAST-FREE RECIPE
100g sourdough starter
250g water
500g organic all-purpose or bread flour
10g Redmond Real Salt (not sponsored or affliated) or whatever salt you want
20g organic raw cane sugar
60g grated butter (homemade butter is the best)
RECIPE NOTES TO CONSIDER
- Kitchen scale heavily recommended.
- Recipe is a guide. If you need more water, add more.
- Butter notes: 60g is just over half a stick of butter so I usually eyeball this and don’t fret if it’s not perfectly 60g. Frozen butter grates better.
Prep time 40 minutes. Rise time 12 hours. Cook time I’ve found the perfect amount to be 42 minutes in my oven at 350 degrees.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine sourdough, water, flour in a bowl. Mix until dough is well combined and not very flaky. This is where you may need to add a little more water so it’s not flaky but also not gooey. You may use a standing mixer but I use my hands. It feels very therapeutic. Wash them first, obviously. Cover dough & let rest 30 minutes.
2. Add salt, sugar, butter to the dough and knead for 3 to 6 minutes. Dough should be silky and elastic. Really work that butter into the dough. You’ll find the dough to be very oily/greasy because of the butter. It will start tearing and not kneading back together very well. This is fine. Just ball up the dough as best you can and leave it in the bowl.
3. Then you’ll cover the bowl and leave dough to rise. A few hours, somewhere between 3-5 hours. Dough needs to double in size.
4. Tip dough out onto a clean counter, sticky side up. Ease dough out and fold over on all four sides. Shape into a rectangle. Place inside loaf pan, seam side down. *Note: once you get good at this recipe, you’ll just dump the dough in your hands and quickly stretch it and fold it right in your hands before quickly putting it in the pan.
5. Then cover with tin foil or plastic wrap loosely. Too tight and it won’t be able to rise like it needs. Using a towel will dry the top of the dough out since it does need to rise for a few more long hours.
6. Let sit to rise 8 hours. I do this overnight.
7. Finally, bake on 350° for 42 minutes or until golden brown. Preheating the oven is fine.
8. Use a good bread slicing knife to cut. Enjoy with your homemade butter and strawberry jam or dandelion jelly or apple jam!
What it looks like for me now…
Because I like the slower fermentation process that gives a much tangier, sour flavor to this no yeast sourdough sandwich loaf, I start this whole process right after lunch time. This way it is ready for its final rest in its pan overnight while I am asleep. Then the next morning I will bake it.
You can also start this early in the morning and be ready to bake for dinner time 12 hours later.
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