Rye and Whole-Wheat Sourdough Vegan Bread Recipe
This sourdough vegan bread recipe let’s you embrace the carbs without the guilt.
If you’re looking to slim down and boost your health, the first thing you are likely advised to do is cut out bread. It contains too many carbs, too little nutrition, and the oh-so-feared gluten, to say nothing of the butter and eggs that also often find their way into the mix.
But, what if I told you that you can eat bread as part of a slimming and healthy diet? Sourdough bread may be the answer. It is a fermented bread that contains healthy bacteria, making it easy to digest and easy on the waistline. Try the following rye and whole-wheat sourdough recipe and witness the benefits yourself!
Sourdough bread dates back as far as 3700 BC in Switzerland but is said to have an even older history, with origins in the Fertile Crescent several thousands years earlier. Sourdough bread is unlike other breads in that is is made by the fermentation of dough by way of lactobacillia and yeast. The taste of sourdough bread is slightly sour – vinegary – and the texture is firm. Sourdough bread is a naturally vegan bread.
Generally speaking, a vegan bread recipe doesn’t always excite the senses, but it really doesn’t have to be a bore or devoid of any noteworthy nutrition. In fact, with this vegan bread recipe, you not only get the benefits of the fermentation process but also reap the rewards of using maple syrup as the sweetener and rye and whole-wheat flours as the base.
The downside to homemade sourdough bread is that it takes time to prepare and requires you to think ahead. However, the process is quite the labor of love and the resulting bread is something to be proud of!
Rye and Whole-Wheat Sourdough Vegan Bread
Makes 2 loaves
Ingredients
Directions
In a large bowl, mix together the ¼ cup warm water and 2 teaspoons active dry yeast. Set aside until it begins to froth.
In a separate bowl, mix together the sourdough starter, vegan milk, 1 cup warm water, vegetable oil, maple syrup, and salt. Add ½ cup of each the rye and whole-wheat flours and mix. Knead. Add equal amounts of both flours, up to 1 cup each, until the proper consistency is reached – the dough should be pliable but not sticky. Knead with clean hands for 10 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and turn over, now with both sides of the dough coated with oil. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and place the bowl in a warm place in the kitchen or elsewhere in the house. The dough will double in volume over the next 2 hours. Once doubled, push down on the dough until it has deflated, and then cover the bowl and let sit for another hour in a warm place.
Spray two loaf pans lightly with vegetable oil and sprinkle lightly with rye flour. Push down on the dough once again and then cut it in half, placing each half in its own loaf pan. Make sure the edges are tucked in properly in the edges. Sprinkle again with rye flour and then cover each loaf with a kitchen towel. Let sit for up to two hours in order to rise.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Once risen, use a knife to score a few diagonal cuts along the length of the loaves. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack for about 15 minutes before removing the loaves and letting them cool further.
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Loaves of Bread image from Shutterstock
