Midoriko Green Superfood Sourdough Bread

Fall is in the air, which means that it's now bearable to be in the kitchen baking! I'm still limited in what I'm able to do due to my injuries from the accident, but I'm praising God for the healing that has taken place so far. In the third episode of Michael Pollan's documentary series on Netflix,"Cooked," the benefits and history of using wild yeast fermentation to make homemade bread is discussed. But I actually first saw the idea on "Taste of the Country" with Danielle French, who hosts gorgeous events with delicious farm-to-table meals in Canada at her estate, South Pond Farm. P.S. If I ever get married, I would definitely not mind having the ceremony there! Her beautiful, rustic and elegant wedding planning singlehandedly changed my mind about eloping and not having an actual wedding. 

Danielle was doing a breadmaking demo at her home where the participants got to take home some starter to use for their own bread. At one point her wild yeast starter wasn't really fermenting like it was supposed to, so she enlisted the help of her authentically German mother for advice. She ended up moving it to behind her wood stove to allow a little residual heat to help the process along. It's pretty darn cool that the natural bacteria in the air helps create a process to ferment the starter and create natural yeast. Sourdough bread only consists of a few natural ingredients, which makes it much better than store-bought bread that is highly processed and contains unnecessary additives (including refined sugar in many cases!)

Making your own wild yeast fermented sourdough bread starter is really simple, it is a process that takes several days but is oh, so worth it. I've upgraded my sourdough bread with the addition of organic, vegan Midoriko Superfood Powder, (featuring spirulina, wheatgrass, and chlorella) which changes the flavor very minimally, but makes it an awesome green color! I know not everyone owns a breadmaker (myself included) so we're really doin' it old school and doing it all by hand. Read on below for the easy and delicious (and vegan!) recipe.

Ingredients (wild yeast fermented starter)

• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup water
• The same amount of the ingredients above, enough for five days of feeding total

Directions (wild yeast fermented starter)

1. Begin by mixing flour and water together in a large bowl. 
2. Cover with a kitchen towel or plate.
3. Place in a warm location in your kitchen (behind the stove is a great location, I ended up placing mine by a Himalayan salt lamp that's on my counter.) The heat and air help the fermentation process along.
4. Every day for five days, stir in another 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water to "feed" the starter.
5. By day 3 you should see bubbles forming on the top of the starter and it will start to have a yeast-y smell. That's how you know it's working properly.
6. Your starter will be ready to use at Day 5, keep feeding it every day to keep it alive and you will have a never-ending supply of sourdough bread starter.
7. If you're not ready to use your starter yet or just have too much to use at that time, you can refrigerate or freeze it for later use. When you're ready to use it, let it get to room temperature and feed it one more day before using the next day.

Ingredients (Midoriko Green Sourdough Bread)

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon Midoriko Superfood Powder or 1 tablespoon spirulina powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 3/4 cups wild yeast fermented sourdough starter (unfed and room temperature)
• 1 cup room temp. water
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar

Directions (Midoriko Green Sourdough Bread)

1. Stir all dry ingredients together until fully incorporated. Add wet ingredients and stir with a fork until fully combined.
2. Let rest for 20 minutes.
3. Lightly coat a bowl with olive oil (I like to use a Pyrex one.) Make sure the bowl is big enough to allow your bread dough to double in size.
4. Lightly flour a clean surface and knead dough by hand for 5-10 minutes.
5. Shape dough into a ball and place in the oiled bowl, then flip it over so both sides are covered in the olive oil. 
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for six hours hours (until it has doubled in size.) The long rise time makes it easier to digest.
7. Remove bread from the oiled bowl and place on parchment paper. (Reshape into a ball if needed. I’ve also used a silicone mat with success.) Using a serrated knife, cut a couple slashes in the top of the dough.
8. Cover loosely with a wet towel and allow to rise for another hour. (You can use a paper towel instead.)
9. When thirty minutes are left in your time for the second rising, put a cast iron dutch oven (with the lid) in the oven and preheat on 450 degrees for the remaining 30 minutes.
10. Very carefully place the dough (still on the parchment paper) in your dutch oven. Be careful not to burn yourself as this can be a little tricky.
11. Put the lid back on the dutch oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 12 minutes.
12. Remove the bread from the dutch oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.
13. Enjoy!

Want even more fermented probiotic goodness? Check out my quick and easy Spicy Kale Kimchi recipe. 

©2017 Cazoshay Marie. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cazoshay Marie with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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