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fresh milled flour sourdough bread recipe for beginners
Kate Downham

100% Whole Grain Fresh Milled Flour Sourdough Bread for Beginners

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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Fermenting + proofing time 5 hours
Servings: 2 loaves
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the pre-ferment (levain)
  • 225 g whole grain flour (1 3/4 cups) see headnotes for flour choices and adjustments
  • 225 g water (scant 1 cup)
  • 20 g sourdough starter (4 tsp)
For the main dough
  • 450 g pre-ferment (scant 2 cups)
  • 675 g whole grain flour (5 cups + 3 Tbsp) see headnotes for flour choices and adjustments
  • 550 g water (2 1/4 cups)
  • 16 g salt (5 tsp)

Equipment

  • 1 Mixing bowl
  • 2 Loaf pans (or dutch oven + bowls + tea towels)

Method
 

  1. Mix Pre-Ferment, Ferment Overnight
    Combine a tiny dash of sourdough starter with 225g fresh milled flour and 225g water in a mixing bowl. Mix until combined, then leave to ferment overnight (or you can ferment for just 4-6 hours instead if your kitchen is very warm.
  2. Remove Starter, Mix Dough
    Remove some of the pre-ferment to use as the next day’s starter. Add 675g (5 cups + 3 Tbsp) flour, 550g (2 1/4 cups) water, and 16g (5 tsp) salt to the pre-ferment and mix until no traces of flour remain. The dough will look pretty rough at this stage.
  3. Rest, Stretch, and Fold
    Allow to sit for around 20 minutes, then do a series of stretch and folds by lifting up half the dough, folding it over the other half, rotating the bowl a quarter turn, then repeating the stretching, folding, and rotating, until all four sides have been stretched and folded. Stop this if the dough starts to tear at any point.
  4. Ferment
    Ferment for around three hours, or until puffed up, doing another two stretches, folds, and rests early in the fermentation period if you wish to make a very strong dough.
    In cool room temperatures, it may not rise much, so allow it to ferment for up to eight hours if it is showing no signs of rising and then move on to the next step.
  5. Divide, Shape, and Proof
    1. Grease pan loaves with butter. If you’ve made more than one loaf, divide the dough with a wet flat hand with fingers together, as if you were doing a karate chop.
    2. Using wet hands, take one piece of dough and hold it in both of your hands. Move one hand slightly higher than the other, holding the dough in the upper hand, and using the lower hand to gently support the dough without dragging it.
    3. Allow the weight of the dough to gently stretch itself. It’s better to stretch it too little, than to stretch it too much and risk tearing it.
    4. Mentally divide your loaf into three pieces. Take the bottom third and drag it under the centre of the dough, then repeat for the top third. Alternatively, if the dough is very slack, you can roll it up in a spiral as if it were cinnamon buns.
    5. Place in a loaf pan, seam-side down.
    6. Sprinkle lightly with flour and leave to rise for around two hours, or until puffed up and feeling airy when poked (or allow it to rise for longer in cooler temperatures).
  6. Bake
    Preheat the oven to 210ºC (410ºF).
    Place your loaves in the oven and bake for around 60 minutes, or until the top feels firm and the sides of the loaf are golden and it has shrunken slightly in the pan.
    For a crusty loaf, cool on a cooling rack. For a soft-crusted loaf, wrap in a tea towel to cool.
    For the best taste and keeping qualities, allow to cool for at least four hours before slicing.

Notes

If you wish to make dutch oven loaves instead of pan loaves, see the instructions above for how to shape, proof, and bake this.
For einkorn and spelt variations, reduce the amount of water in the recipe by