Wholemeal Sourdough Recipe using the 'Old Dough' technique!
There are many ways to get sourdough bread happening at home. Often, keeping a special sourdough culture alive doesn't work for occasional bakers. That's where the old dough sourdough technique comes in. It's great for making bread once a week or less, and the old dough starter keeps for ages without feeding at all. It's also very, very simple. You will find that many Australian and overseas bakeries use this technique because it's just so Zen.
This recipe will make lovely soft wholemeal sourdough, with a bit extra left over to keep as your old dough for next time you bake. Once you've begun to use the 'old dough' method, you may not want to keep a fresh starter any more at all! I find that this technique is excellent for batches of a set size. If you are just making one or two loaves at a time each week or fortnight, this is perfect.
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Wholemeal Sourdough (Old Dough) Recipe
This recipe makes 2 fairly large loaves, as well as 300 grams of dough for storage. The technique of doing the dough in two stages is really good for stonemilled wholemeal flour, because it will allow the flour to become fully moistened and make it softer. It's known as the 'Porridge Method', because it helps to soften and fully hydrate the wholemeal flour. You will need to plan a day ahead.
Stage One.
You'll need: 
- 500 mls of very warm water - warmer than luke warm, but by no means hot. The warmth will help to soften the bran in the flour.
 Method:
Mix the water and the flour together in a plastic container with a loose fitting lid, using a wooden or plastic spoon. Don't worry about mixing it too much - loose and lumpy is fine. Place in the fridge overnight. Stir it again when it comes out of the fridge.
Stage 2.
You'll need:
- 700g of unbleached stonemilled wheat flour (or spelt of the same grade will also work). While I've used a lighter flour here, it's still quite a full flavoured grain - quite a different thing to store bought 'wholemeal' flour, and yet it's not a 'white' flour either.
- 300 - 400 ml of warm water (again, warmer than luke warm)
- 300 grams of ripe sourdough starter - this can also come from a chunk of 'old dough', if you have already reserved some from a previous go at this section of the website.
- 24 grams of cooking salt. Hint - I measure out my cooking salt and put it in a container somewhere near the dough. That way, I don't forget to put it in when the dough has rested enough for autolyse to take effect.
Method:
 Remove the batter you made yesterday from the fridge. Add most of the warm water and all the sourdough starter, and stir together using your plastic or wooden spoon in a circular motion, until combined and relatively smooth. Now sift in the flour gradually, continuing to stir as you go.
 When it starts to become lumpy, combine roughly and begin kneading. Work until combined. You may find that the dough becomes quite tight - if it does, just add some more of the water, a little splash at a time. Don't worry about lumps or shagginess.
Leave the rough dough for an hour or so with a loose fitting lid or moist cloth to cover. You don't want a crust to form on the dough. If it's a really hot day, try lightly spraying or wiping the dough with water before you store it.
 Give the dough a little knead to bring it together, and cut off 300 grams. Put this aside in a small container with a loose lid in the fridge. This is now your old dough for use next time you make bread! It will be ready for use in a few days, but it will happily keep for a month in the fridge without doing anything to it.
Now sprinkle the salt over the remaining dough and work it through with your hands, kneading until you can't feel it anymore. You will find that the dough is now quite smooth and easy to knead - this is the way that the delayed salt method works.
Leave the dough in the container or bowl until it has doubled in size - usually this will be up to 24 hours later. It's ready when you can poke it and it doesn't resist you.
Divide into two approximately 1 kg lumps, and round them off. Put the seam at the bottom of the balls, and return to your container (This is why I like to use a plastic box here - it's got a flat bottom, so the two balls don't fall together, and is large enough to intermediate proof them comfortably).
In an hour or so, these balls will have gassed up nicely - by poking them with your finger you should see that they offer very little resistance.
Now lightly oil two medium sized bread tins, and shape your balls into cylinders, using the flats of your hands. Spray with water, and dust with flour or semolina if you have it. Slash diagonally three times, and place in the tins.
Place tins on the lid of your proofing box, and put the base over it. Viola! Your proofer.
Allow the dough to fill the tins, and bake, but before you do, have a look here..
Very briefly, for the impatient:
Preheat the oven to about 180 degrees celsius, making sure you've left a bowl of water on the floor well in advance. Wind down to 160 degrees, and bake for about an hour, checking after half an hour.You will have trouble burning the bread at this temperature. The longer it's in, the thicker the crust!
For more information on baking, see 'baking techniques' and 'domestic ovens'.
Other Recipes in this site you might also like to try include:
Basic Sourdough Recipe
White Spelt Sourdough Recipe
Wholemeal Spelt Sourdough Recipe
Basic Sourdough Recipe 2 (Old Dough Technique)
White Sourdough (Old Dough) Recipe
Light Rye Sourdough (Old Dough) Recipe
Medium Rye Sourdough (Old Dough) Recipe
Continental Bread (Semi Leaven) Recipe
Light Wholemeal Bread (Semi Leaven) Recipe
Light Rye Bread (Semi Leaven) Recipe
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Until next time,
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