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Who doesn’t like the smell of fresh homemade bread? That heady, warm aroma that makes your soul sing? And you know what? To make your house smell like a bakery, you don’t even need a breadmaker. This whole wheat sourdough bread tastes like an artisan sourdough bread and will fill your house with that kind of the heady aroma that will warm your heart!

I am not sure what it is about bread that simply returns my memory back to my childhood. And up until now, bread is my favourite meal, or a dessert, or a snack.

Do I sound weird?

I hope not 🙂 And I hope there are more people who love bread as much as I do out there 🙂

I have already shared the sourdough bread recipe for a bread machine on my blog. However, the older breadmaker we purchased on Craiglist couldn’t stand the daily use and hard work…

After it broke, we looked for a few machines in stores and online. But at the end of the day, simply decided to try and make it work without the machine.

The best sourdough bread is the one made with love

I have heard people saying that when you knead the dough, you transform your love and energy into it. This is why the end result tastes so good.

It might be true, but Mr. BreadMaker doesn’t have time to knead it for as long as needed. And since he is the one who makes bread for us, we don’t mind if he lets our stand mixer knead the dough for him.

So, let’s jump to the recipe!

We add sunflower seeds to the dough, as this is how I like it.

However, you can make the bread taste differently by adding different herbs, caraway seeds or caraway seeds powder when you knead (or fold) the dough.

Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Well, maybe not right at the first time you make it. But after a while, you will probably want to surprise your family or friends with the “new” bread recipe 😉

This will make 2 loaves.

Homemade Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

This recipe does not require a bread machine. However, having a good stand mixer is helpful.

Author: Nat

Ingredients

1.75 cup water
1.5 cup sourdough starter
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
3.5 cups whole wheat
3 tbsp rye flour
2 tbsp avocado oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin and coriander seeds
3 tbsp sunflower seeds
1/4 cup whole wheat flour for kneading

Instructions

Add all ingredients but the sunflower seeds to the mixer bowl and knead on low speed with the dough hook for 2-3 minutes.
While kneading add the sunflower seeds.
When the dough is not sticking to the bowl anymore, stop the mixer.
Cover the bowl with either plastic wrap or silicon cover and let rise for the first time in the warm place for about 1.5 hours.
The dough will double in size.
When it is ready (doubled in size), pour the remaining flour to the surface (counter) and fold the dough for about 5 minutes by hand.
Folding it from the sides to the centre, turning the dough and doing the same motion on the other side - repeat it for a couple of rounds.
Shape the dough into either a round or an oval or put it into the molds to rise again.
The dough will need to rise again and expand to 2 - 2.5 size.
Pre-heat the oven to 430F. Place the bread to the oven and let it bake at 430F for about 20 minutes.
In 20 minutes, change the temperature to 330F and bake the bread for about 20 minutes more.
Note: every oven is different. You might need to adjust your baking times to get the perfect results.

So, why the rustic sourdough bread?

There are many articles around the Internet siting the disadvantages of using commercial yeast. Though I sometimes use yeast for baking, like for these chocolate yeast dough twists, I try to limit its use.

For this bread recipe, we are using the rye flour starter. It takes time to make it, but it can then serve you for many years!

The rye flour adds that unique flavour and colour, usually found in Russian and Polish breads. Add some caraway seeds and you have created a piece of a culinary art!

The whole wheat flour creates that great texture that you want to see in the homemade sourdough bread which you cannot achieve using the white flour.

I am not saying the white flour bread made at home is not good. I love the homemade challah-bread fresh from the oven! (That reminds me that I am yet to share the challah recipe on the blog! Don’t want to miss it? Sign up to receive the blog posts updated using the form below :))

Did I mention I can eat bread with borscht, or homemade eggplant relish, or jam spread, or even on its own?

Yes! It is That good!

Just make sure you don’t eat it all at once or on your own! Share it with your family and friends! 🙂

Sharing feels good!

And if you like this recipe, please share it with your friends as well 😉

Enjoy!

BTW, if we decide to buy a breadmaker again, this is what we are going for!