What to do with the sourdough if I don’t bake every week?

For theu003ca href=u0022https://forthepleasureofeating.com/rye-sourdough-starter/u0022u003e sourdough starteru003c/au003e: I now keep it in my fridge. A fairly small portion, maybe 1/2 of a jam jar, less than I need for the next bread. I’ve kept it unused for up to 2 months, then tipped out the liquid on top, maybe, if I could be bothered, scraped off the top layer, which looked a little grey (not mouldy though) and underneath had perfectly fine and fresh-looking sourdough starter, which gets happily bubbling away within a day or two once fed, depending on temperature.

Doesn’t sourdough require a lot of measuring and tending to?

Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I used scales or even cups to measure flour or water for it. I usually just throw in 3-6 heaped tablespoons of flour, depending on my starting amount (if you want to make different breads, you can also use plain white flour. Or wholemeal. Or whatever you have on hand. Sourdough is very forgiving) and top it off with enough filtered drinking water to make a thick pancake like consistency and at least double the original amount.

Can I overfeed sourdough?

You can’t overfeed sourdough, the little guys love a feast, but you can underfeed it, which makes it less active. If you bake more often than me, you can also leave it on the countertop and just feed it a spoonful each day, to keep it very active. There are tons of sourdough and sourdough discard recipes out there, to use it up. I will post more over time. u003ca href=u0022https://forthepleasureofeating.com/buttermilk-sourdough-waffles-with-protein-and-wholewheat/u0022u003eSourdough-Buttermilk Wafflesu003c/au003e are another favourite I make regularly.

What to do with all the Sourdough discard?

If you do feed it and have too much, you can use the discard in a million recipes. Try my u003ca href=u0022https://forthepleasureofeating.com/sourdough-protein-pancakes-with-wholewheat/u0022u003eSourdough Protein Pancakesu003c/au003e or u003ca href=u0022https://forthepleasureofeating.com/sourdough-oatmeal-white-chocolate-chip-cookies-with-black-garlic/u0022u003eSourdough Oatmeal White Chocolate cookies with Black Garlicu003c/au003e.

Since not everyone has one of those professional bakery style convection ovens with automatic steaming function, the Dutch oven essentially takes over that function. u003cbr/u003eThe pre-heating supports a lovely crust and instant, high and very even heat. u003cbr/u003eWhile the tight fitting lid keeps the all important steam inside for the first half of the baking, giving you a lovely crisp and not too dark crust.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you have no Dutch oven or cast iron pot, you could add a tray with some hot water to the bottom of your oven for the first half of baking, which creates steam. But honestly, I never found the results quite as satisfying. Plus the cleanup is messy with all the water.

How do I create pretty patterns on my bread?

I'm frankly mostly too lazy to do it, but the trick for sharp looking patterns is to freeze the shaped but unbaked bread for about 30 minutes, then use a sharp knife or scoring blade to cut the pattern.

German Sourdough Rye Beer Dutch Oven Bread

Name: German Sourdough Rye Beer Dutch Oven Bread - No Knead
Prep time: 8 h 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 9 h 10 min
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 1 cup sourdough starter; 2 cups Stout (Or any beer. I prefer dark ones for this.); ½ cup water (lukewarm ); 1 tsp active yeast; 1 Tbsp Barley malt extract (Can be replaced by Maple Syrup or Honey, but gives a nice malty flavour); 2 tsp Baking Malt powder (Optional. Gives a lovely colour, malty flavour and adds crunch to the crust); 2 tsp Vitamin C (Optional); 3 cups white bread flour; 2 cups rye flour; 2 cups einkorn flour (or wholewheat bread flour.); 3 tsp salt; 3-6 Tbsp mixed seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, hemp, linseed ( Optional); 1 Tbsp Caraway seeds (Optional. Very typical German)

Description

This recipe makes one large loaf of beautifully crusty, malty, and moist sourdough rye mix bread, similar to what you find in German bakeries, which goes well with anything from cheese over charcuterie to even sweet toppings, as it cuts through them with its slightly sour flavour.
It’s fantastic to pair with stews, as a side to salad or just on its own with a bit of good Irish butter.

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 cup sourdough starter
2 cups Stout (Or any beer. I prefer dark ones for this.)
1/2 cup water (lukewarm )
1 tsp active yeast
1 Tbsp Barley malt extract (Can be replaced by Maple Syrup or Honey, but gives a nice malty flavour)
2 tsp Baking Malt powder (Optional. Gives a lovely colour, malty flavour and adds crunch to the crust)
2 tsp Vitamin C (Optional)
3 cups white bread flour
2 cups rye flour
2 cups einkorn flour (or wholewheat bread flour.)
3 tsp salt
3-6 Tbsp mixed seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, hemp, linseed ( Optional)
1 Tbsp Caraway seeds (Optional. Very typical German)

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Instructions

Stir all the wet ingredients plus yeast and barley malt together and leave the mix on the side, so the yeast can dissolve, while you mix the dry ingredients in a huge bowl. Make sure there is plenty of space in the bowl for the dough to rise. Depending on your starter and the room temperature, it can double in size.
Mix the wet with the dry ingredients until you don’t see any dry flour. Don’t knead. It’s supposed to look a bit rough. The sourdough will do the job overnight.
Cover with clingfilm and leave to stand in a warm spot for about 1h. Then leave it in the fridge overnight. If you want to bake earlier, leave it at room temperature for about 3-4h, depending on how warm your room is.
2 hours before you want to bake it, tip the dough on a floured surface. I use semolina sprinkled baking parchment at this point (the semolina adds even more crunch to the crust), as the dough is still fairly sticky, and it allows me later to easily lift the whole thing into the hot pot.
With floured hands fold in thirds about 3 times. Put in an oiled bowl or heavily floured breadbasket (if you are using parchment, you can skip the oiled or floured part). Cover with a damp towel. Leave to rest for 2 hours.
Put your empty Dutch oven/Cast Iron pot into the oven and preheat to the highest temperature (250 Celsius/ 480 Fahrenheit) with the lid on.
When it’s hot, take it out and transfer your dough into the pot.
If you are using parchment, make sure to cut off any large overhanging corners, so the steam stays in the pot. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, just give it a little shake to settle it and slice the top crosswise about 1cm deep. Or create a pretty pattern. Put the lid back on and put it in the oven. Set the temperature down to 220 C/420F and let it bake for 40 minutes. If you halved the recipe, bake for 30 minutes here.
Take off the lid. Bake for another 20 minutes, until it’s nicely browned. Check after about 15, depending on your oven. Tip it out of the pot and knock on the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it’s done. If not, put it back into the oven for longer.
Leave to cool on a rack for a few hours (if you can). Enjoy. 😊

Equipment

Glass bowl

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banneton

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Dutch Oven

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Notes

The equipment section may contain affiliate links to products I know and love.

This keeps in a bread tin for about 4 days and freezes beautifully.

My favourite thing about the German rye sourdough bread is its incredible crust and malt flavour, so the barley malt powder and sirup are selected to emphasize those characteristics. The vitamin C adds structure, helps with the rise and more crunch to the crust.

You can easily vary this by mixing in different seeds or even crispy fried onions.

The calories and slices are a very rough estimation, as everyone likes their slices differently.