Honey Wheat Germ Sourdough Bread

For this small loaf, I use Nosey’s Humboldt County sourdough starter, thinking the slightly tangy flavor would be a nice contrast to the sweetness added by the honey. This is a nice everyday bread that lends itself well to toasting. The use of honey makes for a nicely browned finished bread.

You will need:
1 cup starter
 3/4 cup water
1 T honey
half teaspoon salt
4 to 6 T wheat germ
2 to 2-1/2 cups flour
2 T olive oil

I almost always start my sourdough the night before I plan to make bread by adding 3/4 cups each or water and flour to my saved starter. In the morning, before I make the bread, I put one cup of starter back into the storage container to be placed in the refrigerator until you need it next.

To one cup of nourished starter, 4 to 6 tablespoons of wheat germ, 3/4 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of honey, a half teaspoon of salt, and 1-1/2 cups of flour. Stir until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan. Turn onto a board with 1/2 cup of flour. The point is not to add as much flour as possible, but to fold, press and turn not so much to knead as to incorporate enough flour to take the dough just to the point where it loses its stickiness and is just slightly tacky.

Round up the ball of dough and place it in a bowl that contains about a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Turn it so that the entire dough ball is covered with a bit of the oil to prevent drying out while it rises.

Allow it to rise for at least an hour, or until double. It could be two hours, depending on the stiffness of the dough or the temperature of the kitchen; probably even the weather makes a difference.

When double in size, put a bit of olive oil on your hands, fold and turn the dough a bit to make it into a loaf shape. Gently place the dough into a buttered 4-1/2” x 8” loaf pan and allow to rise until it reaches the edges of the pan. Then turn on the oven to preheat.

By the time the oven is ready the dough should be a bit above the edge, but will rise more while baking. Bake in a preheated over at 425 F for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven to 350 and bake another 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

Karen Herberman lives in Double Adobe, Ariz.,  where she and her now-retired husband  raised a large family. She works as a writer and columnist for The Bisbee Observer in Bisbee.