Naturally Leavened enriched bread

1-1/2 cups Well-Fed Starter

3-1/2 cups Water

5 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Honey

1/2 cup Coconut Oil

9 ish cups Whole Wheat Flour

Naturally Leavened Enriched Bread

Before making bread make sure your starter is well fed. If it hasn’t been fed two or three days before then feed it, wait 8-12 hours and feed again, wait 8-12 hours and then make your bread dough. 

You may mix this dough in a mixer but I like working it by hand and it works just as well.

 Mix everything but flour and salt in a bowl.  Mix the salt into the flour and add little at a time to the other ingredients. Mix with danish dough hook or your hands until it is soft but not terribly sticky and cleans the bowl. 

 If you are around give it a fold after an hour rest, and another fold in another hour.

 Let sit on the counter covered with plastic until doubled and domed, or I like to mix it in a Tupperware bowl or a large tub and then put the lid on it.  

 At this point you can check for window pane and gluten strength if it needs give it a couple of folds. Then shape into 3 big 1 Kilo (2lb) loaves or whatever shape you want.  The trick is to shape with a smooth skin over the top rounded part of the loaf.  This helps hold in the gasses to get a good rise.  Cover with plastic or a towel and let rise until about double. Do not rise completely to finished height or it falls when cooking.  

 (Note to self:  Make dough at 7:00am, Shape at 4:30pm, Bake at 6:45  Perfect!)

 Preheat oven to 450 degrees. This bread works best in regular bread pans.

 When oven is ready slash loaves with a razor blade or very sharp knife 1/4-1/2” deep across the top.  Place in oven.  Turn oven down to 420 degrees for 15 min.  Then turn it down to 350 to finish for another 15 min. Cook to an internal temperature of 180 degrees.

 Let sit for at least 30 min before cutting to prevent it from being gummy.

Naturally Leavened Whole Wheat Pizza

Make Bread Dough: Using the recipe above. You may want to leave out the Honey and change the coconut oil to olive oil.

Let sit for 8-12 hours. Preheat oven to highest temperature possible.  Mine goes to 550 degrees.  Preheat your pizza stone if you have one at this time for at least 45-60 min.  If not use the back side of a cookie sheet. Just set the cookie sheet upside down on the oven rack and preheat it with the oven.

Shape into pizza on parchment paper

Top with your favorite toppings like marinara sauce, mozzarella, and basil, or olive oil and garlic salt with basil and some Italian spices. Slide Pizza with paper onto stone or pan.  Cook for 3-5 min or until very browned.

This is very yummy cooked on the grill. Not too hot of temperature, spread with oil, grill for a minute or two, turn spread with oil add spices or pizza toppings. Yum!

Naturally Leavened Pita

Do the same thing as for Pizza but leave off the toppings. The Dough will puff if your oven is hot enough. Cut immediately after coming out of the oven, be careful of the escaping steam!

One of my favorite ways to eat pita/flatbread or bread sticks is with dipping oil.  Just get a good quality olive oil (We really like the Sciabica brand flavored oils we get at Harmons, try the basil!).  Add your favorite herbs and spices and let them sit for a day or so if you have time to get the flavors really going in the oil.  We love rosemary, minced dried garlic, coarse salt and then some parmesan or Bellavitano cheese (also Harmons) finely grated into the oil.   Soooo Delicious!

Naturally Leavened Bread Soup Bowls

Make your bread recipe and shape in to 8 oz balls. You can make them smaller but they will barely hold any soup. I just know that a soup bowl costs me $0.18.   So if I throw away half of it from my 4 year old not eating the whole thing, that’s ok. It’s probably the cheapest food that I throw away that he doesn’t eat and it’s good nutrition and a lot of fun!

Bake at 350-400 for about 20 min or 180 degrees internal temperature.