As far as sourdough goes, this garlic Parmesan sourdough is easy to make – a great recipe for beginner sourdough bread makers. The recipe does assume that you have an active starter, but if not, there are plenty of instructions all over the web for making or even buying one. (Please note that if you make your own starter it will be awhile before you can actually make bread with it and get a proper rise.)
Also, this recipe is only about making bread – not about making, caring for, or maintaining a sourdough starter. There are many other resources out there for that.
The Equipment:
Stand Mixer (with dough hook):
Once you have an active starter, the mixer does most of the hard work (although you can do the mixing by hand if you so desire), and the majority of the time the dough is either resting or baking.
(Note that although you CAN mix this recipe by hand, I highly recommend using the mixer. It’s very difficult to mix dough by hand for as long as needed to develop the gluten, and using a mixer frees up your hands to work on other things.)
Clay Baker:
Although clay bakers do require a little adjustment, once you get the hang of using one the results are so delicious you’ll never want to go back. With a slightly chewy crust and a soft, fluffy interior, this garlic Parmesan sourdough is the kind of bread you’d buy at a bakery … but you just made it yourself!
Again, using a clay baker is *probably* not a necessity to this recipe … however, I have not tried it without one, and cannot say what the cooking times and temperature would be without it, or speak for the results. If you wanted to try making this recipe without a clay baker, I would try a lower temperature (probably about 350) for a longer period of time. The texture would probably be different as well; however, if you do try this recipe without a clay baker please come back and let us know the results!
Garlic Parmesan Sourdough:
If you don’t have the green can kind of Parmesan cheese, you could try regular shredded Parmesan … although it’s not nearly as finely shredded, I think it would work just as well. Please let us know if you try it. It would probably just give a stronger Parmesan flavor.
Also, you could try using dough enhancer in a 1:1 ratio for the vital wheat gluten.
Phew! That was a lot of notes and instructions! Ready to make bread? Woot! Let’s go!
Garlic Parmesan Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- stand mixer (with dough hook)
- clay baker
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c sourdough starter active
- 1 1/4 c water
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 1/4 c vital wheat gluten
- 1 c whole wheat flour
- 2 c white whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 c Parmesan cheese green can kind
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese green can kind
Instructions
First Rise Instructions
- In a mixer bowl, combine starter, water, garlic powder, honey, coconut oil, vital wheat gluten, whole wheat flour and 3/4 c Parmesan cheese.
- Mix until well combined.
- Add white whole wheat flour, and mix again until dough pulls away from the bowl and all of the flour is mixed in.
- Let rest 20 minutes.
- Add salt and mix for 9 minutes.
- Grease a large bowl, and place dough in bowl. Cover and let rise for 6 hours.
- In the last twenty minutes of your six hour rise, start soaking your clay baker. (Follow the instructions for your individual clay baker for soak times).
Second Rise Instructions
- Dump water out of your clay baker, and place in cold oven.
- With empty clay baker inside, preheat oven to 425 F.
- Heat clay baker in oven for one hour. (Continue with next step of recipe while clay baker is preheating).
- Divide dough into two equal halves. Shape each half into a loaf, and separate into two separate greased bowls, seam side up.
- Let rise for one hour.
Baking Instructions
- Carefully flip one loaf worth of dough onto a piece of parchment paper, seam side down.
- Score the top of the loaf, and sprinkle with 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese.
- Your clay baker should have been preheating for an hour while the bread loaves rose. Remove clay baker from oven, and place the parchment paper and dough carefully inside, cheese/scored side up. Place the lid on the clay baker, and place in oven.
- Bake for 15 minutes with the lid on. Carefully remove the lid, and continue baking for another 5 minutes.
- When in the last five minutes (without the lid) of baking, prepare the second loaf (starting from step one after the "baking instructions" heading.
- Carefully remove the freshly baked loaf from the clay baker and place somewhere safe to cool. Place the unbaked loaf inside the clay baker. Put the lid back on the clay baker, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the lid, and bake for the remaining five minutes. Remove second loaf, and cool.
- Enjoy!
I love this bread for making sandwiches, or just eating plain (slightly warmed) by the slice!
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
[…] for a more traditional flavor of sourdough bread? Try this delicious garlic Parmesan sourdough bread […]