Sourdough Imitation Prophet Bread Recipe

sourdough, crust and crumb

Here is the sourdough version. I came up with it myself, for which I am pretty proud of myself. While I am verging on being a good bread maker, I still have certain problems with consistency, especially when it comes to chaning recipes from baker's yeast into sourdough so it was nice that this came out perfect the first time.

Ingredients

• 170g white starter
• 42g whole wheat starter
• 231g bread flour
• 8.5g salt
• 170g milk
• 14g sesame seeds
• 14g hulled millet
• 14g poppy seeds
• 14g flax seeds (I forgot to toast these, but they're probably better toasted)
• 14g sunflower seeds (toasted)
• Egg white for brushing the top
• Extra millet, poppy seeds and sunflower seeds for sprinkling over the top.

Method

Day 1

• Measure all the ingredients into a the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Mix with the paddle attachment until the dough comes together. It should be slightly sticky.
• Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
• Use the bread hook and mix for 4 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and fold a few times for good measure
• Let the dough rest for two hours covered by plastic wrap or similar.
• After, the two hours, place it in the refrigerator overnight.

Day 2

• Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Just over four hours before baking.
• Let it warm up for two hours.
• Turn it on to a floured surface
• Shape it:
• Separate the dough into three equal pieces
• Roll these pieces between the hands into ropes about 15 inches long (approximately).
• Braid the loaf from the middle to the exterior.
• Turn the braid onto its side and bring the two ends together. Pinch them together.
• Fold the braided ring such that the pinched-together portion is on the bottom. Place it in an oiled loaf pan (mine was oiled and then floured, but i don't think the flouring was necessary).

• Let it rise for 2 hours at room temperature (about 75 degrees F) or until the dough feels light and puffy to the touch (covered with plastic wrap or similar)
• Brush the top with egg white and sprinkle extra seeds on top right before baking.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (325 degrees F convection) for 50 minutes. I baked mine at 300 degrees F convection per the instructions, but I had to extend the baking time immensely and so I think baking them at a higher temperature is better. Bake under steam the first 25 minutes for maximum oven spring, according to the lovely people on the Fresh Loaf. Bake until the internal temperature is between 180-200 degrees F.

Sourdough, crumb, close up

You can see here, the crumb is more open and creamier than the baker's yeast counterpart

Crumb Comparision: Baker's Yeast (left), Sourdough (right and top)

The bread was delicious. I liked it better than the baker's yeast one because it had a creamier taste and texture and it had just the slightest hint of acidity. However, they were both delicious.

Lunch the other day: Sourdough toast with egg whites

I highly suggest everyone tries one of these two versions. You can make the seed mixture depending upon your own personal taste. And, even for those who do not appreciate multigrain bread, the base is almost entirely white flour, so it shouldn't be too hard on the palate. Enjoy!