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A rustic loaf of naturally leavened sourdough bread made with 50% heritage wheat, and bread flour. Makes for an amazingly nutty and flavorful bread. The heritage grain component is red fife flour.
I’ve fallen hard for this rustic loaf of sourdough bread made with 50% red fife flour, a heritage wheat that leads to fantastic flavor without taking away from the texture. A tender interior with small, porous holes, and a crispy crust that breaks the silence in all its glory when cut.
Whole grain flours keep every part of their seed architecture (bran, germ, endosperm) throughout the milling process. That means fiber, micronutrients, nutrition, flavor. These are great things for health, but they can prove a little bit tricky for baking, namely the fiber in the bran, which will interfere with carbon dioxide production in the dough and compromise rise.
Using whole grains in homemade sourdough bread baking takes a bit of practice and experimenting. And luck, if I’m being honest. Because the conditions are never going to be exactly the same in your house, but the one thing you can control every time is the flour you use. My go-to brand on whole grain flours are from One Degree Organics. I’ve been experimenting with everything from spelt, rye, khorasan, and red fife.
The foundation seed for One Degree Organics Bernie’s heritage Red Fife wheat is derived from the Keremeos strain that was brought to Canada from Scotland 170 years ago. Often referred to as Faith Red Fife (and also the oldest Canadian wheat), it has a different flavor compared to modern wheat, that of honey overtones and nuttiness.
It is a superior flour for baking bread, which attributes to it being the favorite wheat of the baking and milling industry of the 1800’s.
To keep this homemade sourdough bread soft on the inside, the hydration is moderate, at 75%. That means you’ll need to build strength in the initial stages of bulk fermentation, incorporating a few sets of stretch and folds. This technique helps develop the gluten and helps it hold its shape later on in the process.
Once the bulk fermentation and shaping is complete, you’re on easy street! Just slide the dough into the refrigerator for up to 12 hours for its second rise and bake when you’re ready.
This long, slow rise yields a traditional sourdough taste that I’ve been after for quite some time, a sweet tang with its own unique flavor.
Out of the oven this bread has a crackly crust: rustic fissures with golden brown undertones. The perfect balance between tender interior with HOLES! (sometimes difficult to achieve with whole grains), and substantial exterior structure.
With it being the end of summer, I’ve been enjoying it with these slow roasted cherry tomatoes, and avocado – of course. But it also makes a killer grilled cheese sandwich bread.
SCALE:
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Great recipe. Double it and also time for bulk fermentation is a bit short I found. If the dough is feels like a marshmallow it seems to be perfect
Yep, always go by dough feel and looks, rather than time to know when the bulk fermentation is complete!
This recipe was so good, will be making this a lot.
Hello! I have been using mostly bread flour for sourdough baking. I finally found organic red fife flour and want to try your recipe. What protein % should the organic unbleached, all-purpose flour be? Is this a concern in this recipe? Thank you!
Hi Sandra! Any unbleached all-purpose flour will work great. I prefer King Arthur’s all-purpose, which has an 11.7% protein content.
Thank you. I just noticed you mention bread flour (“made with 50% heritage wheat, and bread flour”) but in the recipe itself, it states AP. Just want to make sure I use the right flour. :)
Love this recipe, it is easy and so tasty!!! I just finished it last night and the result was unexpected, my wife and daughter both liked it, which made me happy. Thanks for your recipe
Taught my g-daughter this recipe to teach her how to read a recipe and cook it. Came out delicious.
Thank you, Amanda!
Hi Amanda,
I was looking for a new dish with coffee. I find it. Thanks for sharing this. I am excited to make it this Sunday.
Sourdough bread is the BEST. This is such a fantastic recipe! I am very intrigued by the Fife flour though. It looks wonderful because it is sprouted! I LOVE that!