I am really loving the sourdough bread that I make in my bread machine. I am soooo glad that when I got the email from my friend inviting me to an event, I went! It was to hear Melissa Richardson, the Bread Geek, (pictured above), and author of The Art of Baking With Natural Yeast, speak at a sourdough bread making class about 30 minutes from my home. At first I thought, I don’t need to go, I already have her book (pictured below) but the Spirit persisted and told me that I needed to go. Of course, the Spirit was right! As always! I learned so much from the class and it helped my bread turn out a lot better, so that it wasn’t dense and moist but light and fluffy! Before I attended the class I was making the bread when my starter wasn’t ready to be used.

Did you know that even homemade bread made with commercial yeast, even if it’s whole wheat, can be unhealthful? That’s because commercial yeast is made in a laboratory, and as Melissa said, “If it takes a lab to create it, it takes a lab to digest it.” Sourdough bread is a lot better for your body. The sugars in the flour get predigested by the sourdough starter so that when you eat this bread your blood sugar doesn’t rise as quickly or as much. The minerals in the flour are a lot more absorbable in your body because they phytic acid in the grain is broken down by the sourdough starter.

I know the world makes homemade bread sound very daunting, but once you learn how to do sourdough and get in the rhythm of feeding your starter and figure out what works best for you, you can enjoy sourdough bread every day without it being a big deal! Since I don’t have a bread mixer, like a Bosch, I use my breadmachine, because I hate kneading dough and getting my hands messy. I used the recipe in Melissa’s book for breadmachine bread but found it calls for too much natural yeast, so I cut the amount in half and now my bread turns out perfectly. The recipe follows the photo.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread from Breadmachine

Melt 2 T butter, put in the loaf pan

Add 1 3/4 c hot water

Add 2 T honey

Add 1 c sourdough start

Then add the dry ingredients:

4 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 1/4 tsp salt

Mix up the ingredients a little with a rubber scraper. Put in your breadmachine and choose the longest setting for whole wheat bread.

When it’s done, smother with lots of butter and honey while it’s hot and enjoy!