How to Make Bread with a Fermentation Starter

I have been experimenting for some time now using my own fruit based fermentation starters in replace of store bought yeast in my breads.  After making many small loaves and tweaking things a bit here and there, I believe I have finally perfected it though I plan to keep experimenting, especially for using with things like hamburger buns, cinnamon rolls, pizza crust, and more.

There are some similarities between using this yeast and doing a sourdough, but the taste is different, more sweet than a sourdough is and I like the fact that I do not have to keep a sourdough starter alive at all times when I can just use my multi purpose fermentation starter.
Since we do not eat bread on a daily basis as we are trying to limit our grain intake, using the fruit based starter works best for me.

You can find the "how to" post on making your own starter in the hyperlinks above or you can click here. 

  Also be watching for more posts to come on the many different things you can use this starter for.

Now on to the bread making.  I start by taking about a half cup of my home milled organic whole wheat flour and and half cup of my starter (liquid only) and mixing them together well in a glass container such as a Snaplock or a mason jar.  Keep in mind, this is for making a very small loaf that is enough to feed two people for one meal.  You can double, triple, or quadruple depending on how much you want to make.

I cover with a tight fitting lid and let sit in a warm place for about 24 hours.  At that point you have a couple of options, you can go right into making your bread or you can feed the mix with another half cup of flour and then let it sit for another full day.  I have done this for up to three days and found I got the best results and a fluffier bread doing that and I believe it makes a healthier bread as well since it has had more time to ferment. 

Once I am ready to turn it into bread, I add my salt, which for this small loaf is about a 1/4 teaspoon, and mix it in well.  If one desires, they can add a Tablespoon or two of a healthy fat like grass fed butter or avocado oil.   I then start to add more flour, working it in a bit at a time until the dough is to the point I can knead and shape it.   

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead just until it is easy to shape.  
One of the other things I discovered when working with this type of bread is that kneading less and leaving it just a bit sticky gave me a more airy bread.

Place in a slighty warmed (not hot) cast iron pan of choice.  Some suggestions are the loaf pan if making a larger amount or a 6.5" skillet like I am using here for this smaller amount. Cut a few vent slices in top with a sharp knife. Cover with a cloth and let rise for 1-3 hours.  You may find it does not rise a lot until you go to bake it, this is often the case for me.

When you are ready to bake it, stick it into an NON preheated oven and then turn your heat to 400°.  Bake for 30 - 35 minutes.  This was another little trick I found works best for this bread rather than using a preheated oven.

In the video below I demonstrate the whole process using the 24 hour period ferment time and a blend of organic white flour and organic home milled whole wheat flour: 

Thank you for your time and I hope you find this information useful! ~Heidi

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